KUWAIT CITY, Jan 12: The head of the volunteer committees for the Mutlaa Residential City Mishaal Al-Hajri revealed that the Kuwait Credit Bank has stopped disbursing financial payments for construction loans after the citizenship of some citizens’ wives was withdrawn under Article 8. In a press statement, Al-Hajri appealed to the Minister of State for Housing Affairs Abdullatif Al-Mishari to quickly intervene to resolve the issue affecting citizens whose residential plots are still under construction, both in Mutla’a City and other areas. He explained that many citizens were surprised when the bank suspended financial disbursements during the construction phase. A “block” had been placed on their transactions due to the withdrawal of the wife’s citizenship, which made her non-Kuwaiti.

The Kuwait Credit Bank asked the husband to amend the wife’s legal status by visiting the Public Authority for Housing Welfare (PAHW) to amend the allocation, exclude the wife from ownership rights, and grant her only housing rights. Afterward, the husband must return to the bank to sign a new contract to lift the block and resume payments. These procedures have led to delays in disbursing payments, and directly harmed Kuwaiti families, resulting in huge financial burdens, such as paying engineering office fees and incurring late charges due to disruptions in the construction process. Citizens who approached PAHW found the matter complicated, as there was no clear decision for allowing the wife to be excluded from ownership, which left the potential solutions unclear. Al-Hajri urged the Minister of State for Housing Affairs, who also serves as Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Kuwait Credit Bank and PAHW, to urgently resolve the crisis. He stressed the need for an electronic solution that simplifies procedures and eliminates the need for temporary visits to relevant authorities until a clear regulation is issued. Al-Hajri called for the immediate disbursement of financial payments for real estate loans to protect Kuwaiti families from both material and moral damages resulting from delays.

By Mohammad Al-Enezi
Al-Seyassah/Arab Times Staff