O government, we need a decision from the above
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A QUESTION that keeps coming up is – Why is it difficult to achieve development in Kuwait? Is money the obstacle? Or is the problem with the management and decision-making? Money is available, but we have poor management. This is because the established rule is that as long as there is oil, we do not need to work or establish projects.
The least that can be said in this regard is that this mentality is corrupt. If the situation continues as it is, the bubble of luxury in which we live will burst. Yet, if we are committed to the belief that the renaissance our country witnessed at the beginning of the emergence of oil must continue, we will enjoy real prosperity that is based on production and work.
This entails fostering individual initiatives and optimizing the national output, which today resembles a poor country. We therefore beg to ask – Why does the government not work on withdrawing about USD 200 billion or USD 300 billion from the future generations reserve and foreign investments, and invest that amount in real development projects inside the country? These projects can be related to developing the Kuwaiti islands, or implementing entertainment and tourism projects, or launching the long-awaited planned projects in the northern economic region, and working to wrap up the Mubarak Al- Kabeer Port project, which, if completed, will serve as a link between East Asia and Europe.
Also, why doesn’t the government work on developing the infrastructure to be on par with other modern countries and benefit from it in full investment? With this money, the economic movement in the country will be boosted, so that it will emerge from the vicious circle in which it has been stuck for nearly five decades. Throughout that period, the two authorities were busy bickering and signing personal deals, and Kuwait was lost in that absurd conflict that continues to this day. It is known throughout the world that each authority has its own tasks in accordance with its powers, and one does not exceed the other in this aspect.
The legislative authority legislates and monitors the work of the Council of Ministers. However, in our case, the National Assembly appears to be the ruler, while the executive authority is nothing more than an implementer of the legislators’ orders. Parliamentarians, irrespective of their convictions, ultimately work for their electoral interests first because of the corrupt conviction that has taken root that their election was based on the personal services they provide to the voters of their constituency and their tribal and sectarian affiliation.
Therefore, the first concern of the parliamentarians has turned out to be to take advantage of their power to enhance their electoral balance, and increase their personal wealth. The situation is the same when there are ministers, including their boss, who put their personal interests before the interests of the country and its people, and fear for their chairs. Their first concern becomes maintaining their seats, irrespective of the price they pay in terms of positions, appointments, jobs, and public money. Consequently, they acquiesce to the demands of parliamentarians, knowing that interpellations and scrutiny come at a cost. This leads to a culture based on the corrupt notion of “you scratch my back, I scratch yours.”
If there is a will and a decision, Kuwait, in consideration of its geographical location, can become an economically and commercially effective country in the region. It must be highlighted here that the northern economic region will not only serve our country, but it also serves the population of southern Iraq that comprises about 30 percent of the total number of Iraqis, which is a total of 41 million. There is an urgent need for more industries of all kinds to serve such a high number, which is expected to increase over the next twenty years. It also serves the approximately 15 million Iranians who live in the Iranian region near Kuwait.
Also, developing the islands through a vision that commensurate with the developments taking place in neighboring countries will firstly limit Kuwaitis’ spending on foreign tourism, which amounted to about KD 3.53 billion last year. Their spending in their country will then be similar to that in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Emirates, as their residents’ spending abroad reduced to a few million dollars.
This requires a government that is determined to implement its decision, and not listen to the extremists, the deep state, and weak souls who were working as local agents for major companies and monopolizing projects. However, canceling this law gave the state the assistance of international companies to implement it, as its value was exaggerated twofold. Today, amidst global developments, international crises, and regional agreements like the recent Development Road project signed by Iraq, Turkey, the Emirates, and Qatar, there is an opportunity for Kuwait. Instead of the elected parliamentarians’ dissatisfaction with the exclusion of Kuwait from the aforementioned project, here is an opportunity for the two authorities to implement the agreements concluded with China in order to begin putting the Silk Road and its city into practice, instead of “murmuring.”
By Ahmed Al-Jarallah Editor-in-Chief, the Arab Times
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