O Government … Study your decisions before announcing them

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NOTHING seems to work when it comes to our governments, which have issued laws and decisions for more than four decades only to quickly discover how wrong those decisions were. This is due to the fact that such decisions are improvised or are issued in reaction to an incident, and not the course of the state. Therefore, the confusion opened all doors to corruption and nepotism, and eventually led to laxity. It highlighted the state’s weakness and its lack of a strategy like the rest of the world.

There is no doubt that this situation led to further weakening of the national cohesion. That is because when nepotism is present, decisions are based on the interests of some people, and not for the benefit of society. Hence, an employee will not hesitate to breach the code of conduct because he is backed by “wasta”, irrespective of the kind. As usual, it is our habit to place blame for all the misfortune we endure on expatriates, even though we manipulate issues with ulterior motives.

Expatriates whose services have been terminated from the government are hired through the “wage clause” or sub-contract companies, which means an increase in costs for the state. There are many examples of confusion suffered by official institutions and in all fields, starting with driving licenses for non- Kuwaitis, which are only issued to those who have a university degree and whose monthly salary is more than KD 600.

Really, will this expatriate invent an atom with a driving license? Or is this decision the result of the absence of proper planning? More than two years ago, the Director General of the Public Authority for Manpower issued an administrative decision, outside the framework of his powers, to stop the renewal of residence permits for expatriates over the age of 60 years, and to deport them from the country. It was later circumvented by a decision to charge those who do not have a university degree more than KD 850.

This decision involved a constitutional defect, which is the inadmissibility of placing two taxes on one service. At that time, some of the expatriates who had the ability to pay acquiesced, but Kuwait lost many of those who worked in this country for several decades, know our customs and culture, have long experience, and are distinguished by honesty. This is because they felt safe, secure, and stable in Kuwait throughout those years. They had entered Kuwait as young men and were able to assimilate into the society and master their craft.

The decision-maker, not even those who supported this decision, did not realize the extent of the loss incurred because the objective was not in the interest of Kuwait, but rather of a few people who are visa traders and had benefited from that by bringing in more workers to throw them on the streets. In all countries of the world that seek to achieve social renaissance and stability, the state is the sponsor of foreign workers, allowing them to enter the country and search for a job opportunity. When they find a job, the state issues them with a residence permit, as is the case even in the Emirates, Qatar, Oman, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and the world.

Among the failed decisions are also the fees on medicines for expatriates. This is actually a decision that will harm Kuwaitis because it increases the costs for them, as they will ultimately have to pay increased costs. This will in turn increase the inflation rate. Among the latest cases of government confusion is the decision issued a few days ago to increase fees on industrial plots and those allocated to warehouses and chalets. It becomes clear in the end that the intended beneficiary of this decision is a specific company, and no one knows the purpose of that. However, because impromptu and capricious decisions are usually rooted in our governments, it will not be surprising if we will find tomorrow that fees will be imposed on all properties, homes and real estate.

Therefore, whoever does not have the acumen does not hesitate to take any action. All the governments of the region launched the so-called e-governments, and decades ago they began working with the comprehensive labor system. The documentary cycle for completing transactions was shortened, except for Kuwait, which still has its archaic documentary cycle, irrespective of whether it is in commerce, industry, services, the municipality, etc. It is all useless, as you need dozens of signatures and documents to obtain a project license. On the other hand, in some Gulf countries, there are dozens of free trade zones where an investor – a citizen or a foreigner – does not need more than a day or two to start his project. All this leads to circumventing the law.

For example, a man was looking for a house to rent, but no landlord would rent his house to him because he had eight children. So when he felt he was about to give up, he asked his wife to take seven of their children to the cemetery to visit the grave of her deceased father. He took his eldest son with him to search for a house to rent. After locating a suitable apartment, the owner of the apartment asked him how many children do you have? He said, “Eight. Seven are in the cemetery with their mother, and this is the eighth.” When the man signed the rental contract, he turned to his son and said, “There is no need to lie, my son, but you have to choose the right words.” Our governments choose the right words to embellish the wrong decisions, as they always talk about the welfare of the people, while trampling on the belly of their future, the future of the state, and future generations.

By Ahmed Al-Jarallah
Editor-in-Chief, the Arab Times
[email protected]
[email protected]

This news has been read 54776 times!