Kuwait MPs table bill to hand citizens $17K each

Kuwait legislatures introduced a bill proposing the government grant each citizen KWD5,000 (US$17,755), arguing that low income citizens would benefit from the measure, Kuwait Times reported.

The bill also calls for the government to grant unemployed women an extra KWD300, the newspaper reported. If just one third of the Kuwaiti population was given the grant, it would cost the government at least KWD4bn (US$14bn), according to the paper. 

Kuwait's government has already distributed KWD1,000 to its each of its citizens.

The oil rich emirate, which has one of the highest per capita incomes in the world, has been marred by a political face-off between parliamentarians and the government for several years, which has delayed economic reform, dampened growth, held up the country's privatisation programme and curbed investor appetite.

The restructuring of Kuwait Airways, the country's national carrier, has been delayed four years.

The country's economy is projected to shrink to 1.9 percent this year after growth slowed in 2012 to 6.3 percent, according to International Monetary Fund estimates.