KUWAIT CITY, Aug 30: In its latest report, the Supreme Council for Planning urged government agencies to expedite the completion of draft laws, including the draft law on establishing a public electricity and water corporation under the Ministry of Electricity, Water, and Renewable Energy. Economic expert Hajjaj Bukhadour told the newspaper that transforming the ministry into a corporation and involving the private sector in the provision of electricity and water services could lead to a break-even point between expenditures and revenues, achieving profitability and making the State treasury save about KD2.5 billion. He pointed out that this is categorized as annual government support for electricity and water production and ministry expenditures, and is included in the annual general budget. He asserted that many successful models in various countries have involved the private sector in the provision of electricity services to customers, which is nothing new in economic systems. He said the success of the experiment hinges on the model, which will be implemented in Kuwait, in order not to repeat the negative consequences of the previous implementation of some service models.

He stated that the proposed model must ensure the achievement of several fundamental objectives, most importantly, providing better service at lower cost and opening opportunities for employing nationals in the companies that will provide these services, which are among the most important in daily life. He added that the trend toward privatization should not be solely aimed at strengthening and empowering the private sector, but also providing better service at a lower cost to citizens, especially since “we are dealing with customers accustomed to not paying electricity and consume large amounts of energy for various reasons like the construction system in which a small family lives in a ‘villa’ that consumes large amounts of electricity – many times the actual electricity need. He called for conducting a thorough study on privatizing electricity and water services by the Secretariat General for Planning and Development or the relevant authority to ensure the achievement of the desired goals.

By Mohammad Ghanem
Al-Seyassah/Arab Times Staff