Oh leadership … Sheikh Rashid and before him Franco allowed ownership

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AFTER World War II, the Minister of Tourism under the then Spain’s ruler Francisco Franco had issued a decision to allow foreigners to own real estate in Spain. This decision had agitated notable families in the country.

They agreed to meet the head of state General Franco to stop the decision. After meeting them, Franco asked the concerned minister to explain the matter to him.

The minister said, “The bank to which the foreigners transfer the money to buy the land is Spanish. All the workers in the construction field are Spanish. The foreigners pay higher taxes to the state than the citizens, and spend their money here. And if they wish to leave the country, they cannot take the property with them.”

Franco replied, “Go ahead. Do not pay attention to what these people are saying.”

Within a few years, the number of foreign tourists reached about 70 million in Spain, and Spain was able to overcome its economic crisis caused by the civil and world wars.

This matter was repeated in Dubai in the mid-1970s when the late Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum allowed the ownership of real estate in Dubai by foreigners, and some citizens objected.

He said to them, “If you have the ability to build these deserts, then you are welcome.”

They said, “We do not have the funds.”

He answered: “To build these, a Kuwaiti will not take the architecture with him to Kuwait, but rather it will remain in Dubai.”

In 2002, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid developed the law that allows Arabs and foreigners to own property. Dubai has since turned into an investment and tourist destination. Also, it is common to see many retired Europeans and Westerners in that country. The same applies to the Kingdom of Morocco, which for decades has allowed foreign ownership of property.

In this manner, Bahrain followed. In fact, it was the first to consider building a city for foreign retirees.

A few years ago, Saudi Arabia and Qatar, as well as the Sultanate of Oman, announced foreign ownership within specific terms.

All of these countries were able to encourage domestic investment in a few years by attracting capital from abroad and encouraging the spending of their residents, and they thus overcame their economic crises.

In Kuwait, the mentality is different, based on the idea that this is the only country on this planet where people believe it is the Garden of Eden, and therefore, its laws are still deficient and backward. This also includes shares in real estate companies.

While Kuwaitis have the right to buy half of the lands in the United States of America, Australia and Britain, and spend many times more than what they invest in Kuwait, they do not ask themselves, “What if those countries treated them similarly, and prevented their ownership, what would happen to their real estate?”

Let us say it frankly – Kuwait lacks the spirit of initiative that was a Kuwaiti title in the region as a whole several decades ago.

What is lacking in Kuwait is its inability to keep pace, even at a minimum, with what the Gulf states have reached, decision, firmness, and for it to have an executive authority that understands what renaissance means and works to encourage investment internally and attract capital from abroad.

As for the current situation, which is mainly called “mishmash”, and the absence of the will to act, Kuwait will continue to drown in its crises because poverty and miserliness give rise to strife.

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