KUWAIT CITY, March 10: The item ‘salaries and similar expenses’ consistently constitutes the largest expenditure in the State’s general budget, surpassing all other budgetary items. The abovementioned item frequently becomes a point of controversy due to its continuous increase, which often outpaces the growth in overall revenues. This issue is compounded by the dependency on fluctuating oil prices, as well as global supply and demand dynamics or geopolitical disturbances that can drive oil prices up. The inclusion of the phrase ‘and similar expenses’ within the budget classification has sparked debate between the concerned authorities, as it is categorized under salaries, even though it does not fall under the traditional definition of ‘employee compensation’.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Finance clarified that ‘employee compensation’ refers to the total cash and in-kind benefits paid to employees for work performed during the relevant period (Chapter One). However, ‘salaries and similar expenses’ encompasses employee compensation in various sectors like ministries and government departments (Chapter One), judicial affairs (Chapter Eight), affiliated entities (Chapter Six), independent institutions (Chapter Six), social security contributions (Chapter Six), support for national employment in the non-governmental sector (Chapter Seven), and social care under the Ministry of Social Affairs (Council of Ministers-Chapter Seven). According to statistics compiled by the daily from the final accounts for five fiscal years (2019/2020 to 2023/2024), the item ‘salaries and similar expenses’ amounted to KD 64.56 billion over this period, accounting for 57.16 percent of the total budget, which was KD112.94 billion.