By Meshaal Al-Enezi

KUWAIT: Secretary General of the Supreme Council for Planning and Development Khaled Mahdi stressed that despite the government shutdown, the council's secretariat general still carries out many of its tasks through online communication amongst its officials. Mahdi added that regular reports will be issued as usual, in addition to a periodic report issued by the Kuwait Center for General Policies about COVID-19.

Mahdi noted that the secretariat's officials discuss the impact of COVID-19 on development plan projects, the projects affected and those unaffected, monitoring manpower at strategic project sites, implementing the Cabinet's decisions and reviewing the measures taken by site managers. He added the secretariat general also takes part in the government-private sector joint economic team formed to deal with the COVID-19 crisis. Mahdi said some development projects have been affected due to the crisis, while others are still proceeding according to schedule.

Camping sites
The head of the 2019-2020 spring camps committee and manager of Jahra municipality cleaning department Fahd Al-Quraifah said control teams assigned to remove the 2019-2020 spring camps in Jahra and Ahmadi had started notifying camp owners to remove their camps as soon as the Municipality announced concluding the camping season on March 15, adding that it distributed 688 warning notices urging camp owners to willingly remove the camps in view of the current circumstances and the precautionary measures taken to fight COVID-19.

Quraifah highly commended the response of camp owners who complied, adding his inspection teams removed 1,082 illegal camps in Jahra and Ahmadi, impounded 209 ATVs, removed 26 grocery trucks, confiscated 1,300 water guns and removed 40 illegal ads and three camps used as cafes.

'Capital' crackdown
As part of efforts exerted by the Municipality and precautionary measures implemented to prevent the spread of COVID-19, the Municipality's PR department announced Capital municipal inspection teams conducted field inspection tours on April 4 around Shuwaikh Industrial Area, Rai and various residential areas to verbally urge various shops to implement decisions 709 and 710/2020. In this regard, Capital municipality emergency team leader Zaid Al-Enezi said 1,200 shops were inspected during the tour, two citations were filed, two shops were closed and 53 reports and inquiries had been dealt with.

Bachelors' residence
Upon directions from Minister of State for Municipal Affairs Waleed Al-Jasem to intensify field inspections on bachelors residing in private residential areas and with direct follow up from Kuwait Municipality Director Ahmad Al-Manfouhi, Jahra municipality's follow up department recently disconnected electricity at 12 properties where the ministerial resolution number 57/2019 pertaining with banning letting bachelors in those areas was violated.

In this regard, Jahra municipality engineering follow up manager Ahmad Al-Jassem said that electricity was disconnected at 12 properties, that recent inspection tours had detected 37 other violating properties and that legal action was being taken against them. Jassem added that inspection tours will continue in collaboration with various relevant state bodies, and urged the owners to cooperate with them.