Cairo: Kuwait has collected KD23 million worth of electricity bills over the past year under an arrangement barring foreigners from leaving the country without settling dues on them, a Kuwaiti newspaper has reported.
The money was grossed until September 1 this year, Al Jarida said, quoting sources at the Kuwaiti Ministry of Electricity, Water and Renewable Energy.
Last year, the ministry established a linkage with the ministries of the interior and justice, ensuring that expatriates are not to leave Kuwait or conduct transactions until they settle debts that they owe to government institutions.
“The linkage system, especially between the ministries of electricity and the interior works with high efficiency, thereby enabling the collection of these large debts,” the sources added.
The set-up went into effect in mid-April 2023 and has since proved successful, they said.
The arrangement is part of the Kuwaiti government’s keenness to collect overdue debts for the benefit of the public treasury.
As of September last year, Kuwait began implementing a government decree requiring all expatriates to pay their electricity and water bills before their departure from the country’s land and air exits.
Earlier, the Interior Ministry had alerted foreigners to clear all their outstanding traffic fines before leaving Kuwait.
The government has said the measures are aimed to protect state money and collect overdue revenue.
Expatriates constitute 3.3 million of Kuwait’s overall population of 4.9 million.
