‘Kuwait is different’… we build not, but demolish

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IT is no longer a secret to anyone that the government is in a fix and has no priorities. In fact, the government has not adhered to its program on the basis of which it built confidence.

Therefore, after making a random noise, it leans in accordance with the demands of the parliamentarians, in order to distance itself from the bitter cup of interpellation, through settlements that it knows in advance that will not last long. In the end, it will face the fate that it drew for itself when it abandoned its basic mission.

In this regard, the developments that the country witnessed yesterday may be a warning bell for it, as well as a step on the path to reform, if there is intention to walk the walk despite the anticipation of bumps and potholes ahead. This is the basis for the development of any country whose authorities seek serious development and work to cleanse its institutions of the corrupt and get rid of favoritism.

Similar to what the neighboring countries did, they worked on cleaning their institutions of the corrupt and negligent, and developing their laws in accordance with what is required for development, and not based on the principle of “finders, keepers” like the way it is happening in Kuwait.

The government abandoned its priorities and did not pay sufficient attention to diversifying the sources of income, which was the most urgent task. Rather, it resorted to the easy solution, which is to take advantage of the high oil prices to fill the deficits it generated under pressure from parliamentarians. This happened either by increasing pensions or financial aid in terms of salaries, under the realization that this is a temporary and artificial abundance and not continuous, and therefore there will be a deficit in the future.

Also, the government did not realize that solving the housing issue is much more important than bribing Kuwaitis through financial handouts that will increase the cost of living, because the price-related chaos is overwhelming, and that the solution is by developing economic and investment laws and opening the country to all people, in accordance with what the Gulf Cooperation Council countries worked on including reducing their dependence on oil 90 percent 20 years ago to 30 percent now.

This happened in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, the Sultanate of Oman, and the Kingdom of Bahrain, because of the presence of a determination to build and not demolish, which is not the case with Kuwait.

It goes without saying that countries benefit from the experiences of others and work to harmonize themselves with their surroundings and the world in order to enhance their sources of income.

This matter is missing in Kuwait due to the naive vision that controls political and economic behavior. The rule of “Kuwait is different” or “All is well” is a wrong and skewed mentality.

We have said over and over again that this mentality only leads to ruin and demolition of buildings on the heads of its owners, as if development could only occur through freedom of opinion and by insults, and not through hard work.

We reiterate that continuing with a skewed vision of investment, the closure of the country, and the long documentary cycle that was established 50 years ago are today a major obstacle to development. In addition to this is, of course, the corruption that is disguised by laws that aim to benefit one group at the expense of others, and to monopolize commercial, investment, and construction work, which has led to the abnormal situation that the country has been experiencing for years.

There is no doubt that all of this has led to the spread of corruption and the systematic plundering of public funds, to the extent that some officials who were entrusted with it had indulged in it and betrayed.

They, along with other beneficiaries, caused this major decline in the country, which used to be a cultural and economic icon, and has been generous to citizens and residents.

What we fear the most today is that we will wake up one day and find that it is no longer sufficient for its people due to the uncalculated adventures it has witnessed in the past three decades. Is anyone aware of this danger?

By Ahmed Al-Jarallah

Editor-in-Chief, the Arab Times

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