Sahel is working on the app’s English release.The official spokesperson for Sahel, an Arabic-only unified government application, acknowledged the difficulties encountered by non-Arab expatriates in using it and told Kuwait Times about plans to release an English version soon.

“We are positive that a sizable portion of the population, particularly non-Arabic speakers, requires simple access to the e-services via the application. Without mentioning a release date, Kazem said, “We are currently working on introducing the English version in upcoming updates as we respect their concerns.”

Although the primary goal of the application is to make government transactions easier for everyone in society, non-Arab speakers have found it extremely difficult to obtain basic services via the platform, as reported by expats who spoke with Kuwait Times about their experiences.

“I don’t see any obstacles in the way of the application’s English translation. In actuality, Abhishek, an Indian expat living in Kuwait, 41, stated, “We are the ones having actual trouble with the app.” Abhishek, who is not able to read, write, or speak Arabic, related an incident in which he had to take screenshots of more than 20 pages in order to use Google Translate for a single transaction.

George, a 33-year-old expat from Serbia, claimed that he has found it very difficult to complete government transactions in Kuwait, particularly at establishments where staff members don’t speak Arabic at all. He claimed that even though the Sahel app exists and is meant to make processes easier for everyone, he still feels that it is an additional burden. “I literally have to take screenshots of the entire process and send them to my Arabic-speaking friends who translate them for me in order to renew my civil ID, driving license, or visas for my wife and son. It really is a hassle,” he continued.

The Sahel app’s official spokesperson responded by acknowledging that, because the official transactions themselves do not support the English language, it is true that the language barrier was not taken into consideration when the app was first released. On the other hand, the Sahel app team has been improving the translation procedure for the last two years. Kazem stated that they will get ready for the English language portion of the application’s testing procedure very soon.