Oh leadership … Kuwait needs a decision-maker
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IN a blog post in the prestigious Bloomberg News, economist Fiona MacDonald wrote, “Leaders in the Middle East use oil and gas wealth to gain influence and shake up economies, but in Kuwait there is a concern that the country is going backwards.”
This comment shows the extent of the situation in the country as a result of relying on reactions and disputes over trifles between members of the two authorities. They are distracted by outdated issues such as coeducation, homosexuality, normalization of ties with Israel, smuggling of goods from Israel and others, all of which can be solved by decisions of the undersecretaries of the concerned ministries without the need of the nation to be preoccupied by such issues.
It seems as though the challenges and problems facing the country have come to pass, and we have plenty of time to even figure out the gender of the angels.
Readers of the economic agency’s analysis find that there is a crisis of awareness and scientific approach when the younger generation loses faith in the state. This is a huge disaster.
The leadership must realize that the uncertain situation and the data-driven future, especially in terms of educational output, do not bode well, so we must find the cause and make efforts to fix it.
On the other hand, the scene is different from reality, because no one cares about the pressing issues that the people are concerned about, or the problems that the countr
y is enduring. The reason is the instability of the government.
When a government is formed every two or three months, and the number of retired ministers increases, this suggests that a ministry has become a pragmatic body rather than a body of national service.
How many MPs and ministers receive pensioners’ salaries? How much does it cost the state budget? Much of that is supposed to be allocated to construction and development projects in various sectors, instead of turning the first chapter into wages, of which about 50 percent goes to voluntary unemployment.
Most of the Gulf states, and indeed the world, have begun to operate in a market economy, but in Kuwait, it is still protectionist and closed, and it repels investment initiatives. This confirms the blogger’s conclusion that “Kuwait, which is the most democratic state in the Gulf, has become the least progressive.”
Legislative and executive bodies are content with competing with each other without making efforts to develop. For example, food security is considered the most important pillar of the national security system, but food crises have been emerging since the COVID-19 pandemic.
As for the industry, which is the backbone of a country like Kuwait, nothing has progressed. We even import sanitary items and toilet paper from abroad. There are restrictions on the owners of the development projects. Testimony to that is the hurdles encountered by the Souq Sharq Mall and the Agility Company, as well as the industrial and agricultural plots that serve as a great example of what the economy’s economy is exposed to.
A few days ago, the Saudi government issued a decision to demolish the palaces and villas built on the shore of the city of Jeddah. This is because the coastline is a public property for all, and no one has the right to monopolize it, and projects must aim to serve all citizens and promote tourism in the city.
On the other hand, in Kuwait, there is a vicious war ongoing between government agencies and contractors. Influencers are trying to exploit their power in some official bodies to usurp the rights of others.
Therefore, the blogger of the American report was right when she said, “Oil money cannot buy progress for Kuwait.”
Democracy is supposed to have intensified and become productive, but here we are back to square one with the issuance of the rulings of the Constitutional Court, as if there is a teenager in the elections, which applies to the practices of the executive authority, or rather a teenager in the fate of the state.
Because of all this, Kuwait needs a firm decision-maker who can make decisions with an iron hand in order not to lose the country.
By Ahmed Al-Jarallah
Editor-in-Chief, the Arab Times
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