Kuwait MP calls for expat driving ban

Kuwait’s only female MP has called for expats to be banned from owning more than one car and the halting of licenses for newcomers to the country.

Safaa Al Hashem’s latest proposal follows a lawsuit with similar demands filed last month by Mohammad Al-Ansari on behalf of Kuwaiti citizens.

Read: Kuwaiti lawyer calls for ban on new expat drivers

Kuwait Times reports that Hashem’s plan would prevent expats from obtaining new licences for one year until traffic problems are addressed.

Those with article 20 visas allowing them to be employed as private drivers would be exempt.

Expats without a driving licence would also be prevented from owning cars and those that do have the right to drive would have their licence linked to their work permit.

Those without a driving licence from their home country should also be prevented from obtaining one in Kuwait, she said.

For the plan to be accepted it would require approval from the country’s National Assembly and the government, which seems unlikely.

Hashem has become known for submitting proposals against the country’s foreign workers, estimated to account for 70 per cent of the 4.4 million population.

Previous measures she has encouraged include charging expats for medicine and remittances to their home countries.

A number of MPs have also called for the country’s population to be rebalanced, with MP Abdulkarim Al-Kandari proposing the establishment of a special department this week to oversee the process.

Read: Kuwait study calls for deporting of labourers, deadline for expat hiring