publish time

07/12/2020

publish time

07/12/2020

TODAY Kuwait is entering a new era of its distinctive democratic process with the parliamentary elections in which Ku-waitis demonstrated great popular awareness. They held the corrupt MPs accountable by sending them packing, as well as those who had misplaced loyalty and had sectarian motives with the aim of spreading division in the society.

This great political shift in the Parliament should not be limited to faces only; rather it must extend, by default, to the legislative content to completely close the page of populist slogans. We collectively embark on facing various challeng-es which require cooperation and national spirit to deal with several files, so that we avoid returning to square one of dual failures, either by the National Assembly, which in its previous term was dominated by the whims of some who look at the half empty cup and do not see the real national interest, or an executive authority that was not up to the required level of challenge to face the situation.

There are many files that must be worked on between the two authorities. The first among them is the economy and the exit from the tunnel of downfall either in the credit rating or the sovereign wealth fund, which was caused by poor handling of the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic, or in terms of the major projects that have been frozen, the need to address the housing crisis in a scientific manner, and without extemporization that would portray Kuwait as a closed country that is unable to cope with global developments.

Of course, such files cannot be subject to exploitation so as not to repeat the tragedy of the former minister of Public Works Jenan Boushahri. She had summarized the reality of parliamentary practice by saying at the end of her famous parliamentary grilling, “From this platform, I announce my resignation, because it is unfortunate that companies and people with influence are stronger than rights. I stand majestically in the face of those with influence, and I am proud of every decision that I have taken to preserve the state’s right.”

She went on to say, “I am proud that those who are grilling me are MPs whose unjust demands I rejected.”
Nonetheless, this incident involving the former minister is well positioned to correct the mistakes made by the previ-ous government, as well as the previous Parliament, which appeared at a political moment to have violated the consti-tution by creeping over the powers of the executive authority.

All this requires is a capable government which is well aware that populism is not in Kuwait’s interest. It must there-fore work towards reconsidering all the laws approved by the previous Parliament, and impose its vision for revitalizing the national economy, protecting public money, and improving credit ratings by increasing the returns of the country’s strategic investments.

There should be a government that benefits from the experiences of other Gulf states, which are opening up a path of development and modernization, not only at the governmental level, but also in the private sector, and are ad-dressing the wrong decisions that have been taken, the intentions of which appear to choke this vital sector.

What is required is an executive authority that takes the positive aspects through which some countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council have developed, the most recent of which is the Sultanate of Oman, which amended the labor law in line with the requirements of the market, as well as the UAE, Qatar, Bahrain and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

The country should not adopt racist laws or put in place crippling legislation concerning the issue of financing and loans.
Everyone knows that the measures taken in the past months have strangled the private sector and impoverished more in this country.

What is required today is a government that stands on right and honesty in all situations. This means it should be a rul-ing executive authority that is not subject to the whims of the MPs who entered the Parliament, either on the tribal or sectarian wings or vote-buying. Their primary concern is to achieve their own interests or the narrow factional inter-ests of those who elected them – as was the case with the previous Parliament – and not allow tampering under any circumstance.

Finally, we wish His Highness the Amir and His Highness the Crown Prince would mull over these words.

By Ahmed Al-Jarallah
Editor-in-Chief, the Arab Times