KUWAIT: The interior ministry has placed a block on around 247,000 driving licenses of expatriate residents as instructed by Interior Ministry Undersecretary Sheikh Faisal Al-Nawaf Al-Sabah and tied their issuance to meeting certain conditions, Al-Jarida daily reported yesterday. Security sources said the block prevents renewal of the license until after updating the applicant's data at the Public Authority for Manpower, especially with regards to salary, academic qualification and job description.

It is also expected the traffic department will ask all residents to replace their licenses at the start of the new year. Sheikh Faisal met senior officials and insisted on filtering the driving licenses of expats and make sure they meet the stipulations for issuance. Meanwhile, another report raised concerns about whether the interior ministry can face the challenge of renewing an estimated one million driving licenses if all holders of old licenses are asked to replace them with the new one (with the electronic chip). "Replacing this large number of licenses requires huge numbers of employees, in addition to large stocks of magnetic cards," sources quoted by Al-Rai daily said yesterday. The interior ministry refused to comment on the reports when contacted for confirmation by Kuwait Times yesterday.

These measures come as local authorities scramble to find quick solutions to the country's debilitating traffic jams' problem. On Monday, MP Abdullah Al-Turaiji submitted a proposal to the National Assembly calling to restrict vehicle ownership by expatriates to only two and impose extra fees on any additional vehicles, saying the proposal aims at reducing traffic jams. Turaiji's proposal calls on the interior ministry to take the necessary measures to restrict the number of vehicles foreign residents can own for personal use to only two "to counter the illegal trade in vehicles, reduce traffic jams" and "ensure there are enough spaces for the use of Kuwaiti citizens at commercial malls, markets and public places".

The proposal states that if residents want to own more than two vehicles, they should apply to the traffic department, and if approved, they must pay extra fees for additional vehicles. The lawmaker said there are scores of dilapidated vehicles on Kuwaiti roads owned by expatriates, causing traffic jams, chaos and accidents. He added that these vehicles are normally parked in public squares and car parks of schools, mosques and commercial malls, and efforts by the Municipality have failed to resolve this problem.