In 1966, I bought a Mustang car, with a soft top, and it was the only one of its kind in Kuwait. Shortly thereafter, I was appointed as manager of a bank branch in the Jleeb Al-Shuyoukh area.
Reaching the area was tiring because the branch was in a remote area and there was always ‘work in progress’ all along the roads which made driving difficult and I do not think the matter is much different after 56 years.
The Mustang was my favorite car, second only to the Volkswagen, and I was careful to ensure it did not have any scratches, therefore I had to memorize the locations of all potholes, especially while I was going to work in the Jleeb branch.
On a day like the weather these days, there was heavy rainfall the previous night and before I reached the branch, more than an hour late. I discovered that the rain had covered most of the potholes, so that it became difficult to single them out to avoid them, so, I stopped bewildered on the side of the road, and a taxi passed by me.
I thought that its driver, who works on the same line all day, may have passed that road several times, and able to identify the excavation sites, and I only have to follow him, and he will save me the trouble of falling into a pothole but I was wrong.
Some people do not learn, neither from their own mistakes, nor from the mistakes of those who preceded them. The driver, the son of the district, put me in every pit without exception, and he was insulted by me, which I regretted later, because it was not his fault but was mine because I put my trust in him, and that experience had a subsequent impact on my life.
They say: If someone deceives you once, he does not deserve respect. And if he deceives you again, he is undoubtedly a fraud. And if he deceives you for the third time, the fault is in you, and it has nothing to do with him.
For the twentieth or thirtieth time, we discovered, over the last twenty years, at least, that some of those who were chosen as ministers, or those in the same category, or as undersecretaries or managers, lacked one or more of the conditions for appointment to senior positions, whether related to the validity of their university degrees or what is above it, or that they were convicted in cases related honor, or that they are awaiting court verdicts that may prevent them from holding public office, and other obstacles.
The reason behind these wrong choices was often the unjustified trust in the recommendations of the consultants, and the unjustified high confidence as well, in the claims of the candidates and their certificates without research or scrutiny.
The selection of leaders was, and may still be, made in the last hours of the issuance of decrees, and mistakes occur because of haste. These mistakes, often unintended, have put governments in very embarrassing situations, and of course no one has ever been held accountable for the error of the recommendation.
In order to avoid these silly situations, it is necessary to implement the rules and procedures adopted by the Civil Service Commission regarding the selection of senior leaders, which were mentioned in the parliamentary question addressed by Representative Jenan Boushehri.
The authorities have nothing to do in the future but implement them, to absolve themselves of any responsibility in the future, and not have to retreat whenever it becomes clear that there is a mistake or defect in appointing a minister or an undersecretary.
We are tired of poor choice and undoing it. If I were in the place of any of those who were appointed to their positions, rightly or otherwise, and they received congratulations from family and friends, arranged their affairs because of that appointment, and gave up some of their jobs, then it became clear to them after a few days or weeks that their appointment was incorrect or correct, I will always feel depressed and let down.
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By Ahmad alsarraf
