Initial approval to allow bedoons to perform hajj and umrah

KUWAIT: Manager of Mangaf Co-op Society Mohammed Al-Fadhli suspended two Egyptian employees and referred them to the public prosecution over charges of embezzling KD 36,000. Fadhli explained that one of the suspects was caught red-handed stealing goods worth KD 2,600 from the co-op's warehouses, adding that the suspect had also forged the signature of a supply company representative for goods returned to the supplier of a total value of KD 24,000. Fadhli said that further investigations revealed the involvement of another employee in one of the co-op's branches.

Hajj and umrah
Minister of Awqaf and Minister of State for Municipal Affairs Fahd Al-Shola announced Saudi Arabia's initial approval to allow bedoons (stateless) to perform hajj and umrah. Shola added that the ministry is keen on facilitating bedoons' hajj and umrah and that he had contacted his Saudi counterpart in this regard. He added that he ordered rehiring bedoons who had been terminated from the ministry. Shola noted that he will preside over the first meeting of the supreme planning committee on Jan 28 to discuss various related concerns.

Allowances' demands
Ministry of Electricity and Water (MEW) machinery technicians at the main power plants again demanded noise and pollution allowances like those given to peers working in other governmental bodies. Notably, MEW's assistant undersecretary for grids Jassem Al-Nouri had contacted the ministry's administrative affairs department asking it to contact the Civil Service Commission (CSC) in this regard in April, but the allowances were not approved although the technicians are subject to pollution, noise and toxic gases in oil facilities and industrial areas. In another concern, MEW listed a new water supply project in this year's fiscal plan with the aim of improving water storage capacity at Doha water plant, adding the total daily capacity to 220 million imperial gallons by the end of 2021.

Medical evacuation plane
Jahra sports club's media coordinator Saleh Al-Jenfawi said His Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak instructed Health Minister Dr Basel Al-Sabah to follow up on the condition of the club's football player Saad Al-Waleed, who is suffering from quadriplegia after being injected at a private hospital to treat a neck disc problem, and provide a medical evacuation plane to fly him to the US for treatment.

By A Saleh