Trouble for expatriates in Kuwait

Kuwait City: Kuwait's Prime Minister has said the country's expatriate population should be more than halved to 30% of the total, as the coronavirus pandemic and a slump in oil prices send shudders through Gulf economies.

Foreigners account for nearly 3.4 million of Kuwait's 4.8 million people, and "we have a future challenge to redress this imbalance," Sheikh Sabah Al-Khalid Al-Sabah told the top editors of local newspapers,according to an official statement carried by state-run KUNA.

The comments are a rare public acknowledgement by the executive of one of Kuwait's most contentious issues, and follow a renewed push by lawmakers to reduce the number of overseas workers, particularly unskilled labour, with the economy under intense strain. MPs are proposing a quota system as well as replacing all expatriate government employees, estimated at 100,000, with Kuwaitis.

Critics of the approach point out that small pools of citizens will make replacing many foreign workers difficult, especially in occupations Kuwaitis are reluctant to take up, and will lower overall consumption. On Twitter, some reacted with scorn.

"The percentage of domestic helpers alone is more than 50% of Kuwaitis, let alone the other residents," said Sajed Al-Abdaly, a prominent political columnist. "Some statements are impossible from the moment they're made. Your Excellency, talk to our minds so that you can help us to believe in the seriousness of your proposition."