KUWAIT: TwoEgyptian fishermen were deported due to violations at the fish market, informedsources said. They were also refusing to go to sea, and urged other fishermennot to fish in protest against the commerce ministry's decisions with regardsto organizing fish auctions, the sources added. The commerce ministry soughtthe help of the interior ministry to deport the fishermen, and provided namesof another group of fishermen, who are awaiting deportation, the sourcesfurther indicated.
The sources saidthe commerce ministry coordinated with the Public Authority for AgriculturalAffairs and Fish Resources and the Public Authority for Manpower to checkviolations by expat workers as well as fishermen at the fish market. They saidnames of all fishermen are accounted for and registered at the three governmententities. Meanwhile, the agriculture authority is contemplating granting newfishing licenses to Kuwaitis, which is expected to be announced within twomonths. They said the plan is to accept National Assembly proposals to issuethe licenses to Kuwaiti youth under the umbrella of supporting small businessprojects.
KuwaitCompetition Protection Agency had said Thursday it was investigating allegedpractices harmful to competition in the fish market, which were reported bynewspapers and social media. The agency sent a team to monitor alleged illegalpractices and to take action accordingly, the agency's Executive Director DrAbdullah Al-Uwaisi said in a statement. He asserted the agency was pursuing allmeasures to address monopoly in order to guarantee fair prices for allconsumers. Uwaisi officially asked the Ministry of Commerce and Industry fordocuments related to the alleged violations monitored by the ministry'sinspectors at the fish market. The agency is a government department taskedwith monitoring competition in markets in Kuwait.
The commerceministry's new circular released last week helped drop prices before a reportedfishermen strike caused prices to soar back to their original high rates.Ministry inspectors were present at the daily auction to monitor theimplementation of the new circular, which was imposed with hopes of preventingalleged manipulation of prices. The circular had been released in response tocomplaints that auctioneers, who are mostly expatriates, allegedly raise theprices to increase their profits. The circular stipulates that expatriates arenot allowed to enter fish auctions unless authorized.
In other news,Director of Public Relations at the Social Affairs Ministry Abdullah Al-Hamdansaid there is joint cooperation between his ministry and the interior ministrywith regards to checking donation collecting violations. He said in case anyperson is found collecting donations personally, he will face consequences. Hesaid the social affairs ministry received applications for donation collectionfor the udhiya (sacrifice) project in April, and the number of participatingcharitable societies reached 37 for projects outside Kuwait and 22 for udhiyainside the country.
By A Saleh