06/04/2022
19491 times read
06/04/2022
19491 times read
BLINDNESS is the inability to see the truth in front of you. Given that the knife has reached the bone, it is necessary to call a spade a spade and not a big spoon, and avoid looking behind democratic crusts, the true meanings of which we did not understand. Because of this, our country is in trouble. Therefore, things must be restored to their rightful place.
Past experience has proven that separating the crown princeship and premiership was the cause for the erosion of the reverence of the state and the government. Since rectifying an error is a virtue, these two positions need to be merged once again in order for Kuwait to return to the right path, and to restore reverence to the premiership.
Throughout the decades during which the Crown Prince was the prime minister, the country witnessed development and political stability. Even during the suspension of the constitution in 1976 and 1986, there was an executive authority capable of working, despite the failures.
When the late Sheikh Jaber Al-Ahmad was the Crown Prince and Prime Minister, Kuwait witnessed a great institutional renaissance, social and cultural openness, and economic movement. The same happened when the late Sheikh Saad Al-Abdullah assumed these two positions.
At that time, the reform steps were proceeding according to the plan set for it. No deals were made to hold the prime minister accountable, and no exorbitant prices were paid to obtain the voice of an MP from anywhere.
Therefore, the Prime Minister was fully devoted to his mission, and took appropriate decisions. The language of communication in the National Assembly was more sophisticated than what it is today.
Given that the Prime Minister is the future Amir in his capacity as the Crown Prince, he did not view the premiership the way the current prime ministers view it, as the sword of grilling remains hanging on their necks.
Therefore, the prime ministers were not subject to parliamentary blackmail. The laws recognize the power of right, not political money and electoral interests.
Since the separation of the two positions, three prime ministers have fallen into the game of electoral blackmail, and development in the country has been disrupted. Instead of increasing public money and the parliament exercising its correct oversight role, successive governments have been subject to financial and administrative attrition, to such an extent that the ministerial position has become repulsive, and many competent figures have shied away from ministerial positions.
As a result of all of that, economic activity declined, the country became increasingly closed, and everything fell under the mercy of MPs, each of whom sees himself as a ruler, such that we have 50 amirs in the National Assembly, while the legitimate one is in Bayan Palace.
Among them are MPs who still live in the caves of Tora Bora, and do not care about the future because they are advocates of a past based on reprimand, prevention, slander and ironfist. This is why the sovereign classification has declined, like everything else in the country.
In this atmosphere, the state began to stumble in paying the dues of some institutions, including the “Afia” project for providing health insurance for retirees, in addition to health offices abroad, as well as the payment of KD 800 million to the Kuwait Credit Bank, which was promised by the government to ensure one of the ministers remains in his position.
The same applies to the pensioners’ bonus, which was delayed because the government has been unable to pay those amounts, as is the case with the front-liners’ rewards, which to date has not been paid to all those entitled.
In all the neighboring countries that are similar to us in the social and economic system, the decision was made by one man, including in the Sultanate of Oman during the era of the late Qaboos bin Said, or his successor Sultan Haitham bin Tariq, and in Qatar under the leadership of Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad, as well as in the UAE where Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid and Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed are leading their country to further development and progress.
In Saudi Arabia, the Crown Prince and Deputy Prime Minister Prince Mohammed bin Salman was given broad powers to modernize the country. The country has been taking great strides towards modernization and economic stability.
However, some might wonder that Kuwait is different from those countries. The response to it is a comparison between our current reality and the period during which the Crown Prince was Prime Minister and had the decision-making hand.
This is contrary to the current setting where His Highness the Prime Minister does not hear the voices of people. Even if he hears, he does not move because his first and last concern is to preserve his position. This is one of the disasters that destroyed many countries.
By Ahmed Al-Jarallah
Editor-in-Chief, the Arab Times