WHEN an official makes a mistake, he must be held accountable. Also, when he works hard and with sincerity, he must be applauded. This applies to all ministers, irrespective of whether they succeeded in their mandates or failed.
Therefore, if there is any ministerial reshuffle, as is being rumored, the successful ministers must be kept, and the failed ones must be removed. This is because the country can no longer tolerate failure. We need to avoid the instability of the ministerial position like the way it happened in the past.
Despite this, Fahad Al-Jarallah must complete his work on diversifying sources of income, increasing the national product, and having his say regarding opening the country and allowing entry for those who wish to invest. In fact, they must be granted the privileges they need, as other countries do, which have opened their coffers to development projects and their doors to investors.
It is not reasonable for Kuwait to remain a single-income state and continue imposing high fees to balance the budget. This is like turning on a water tap on the ground to cool oneself.
Minister Mohammed Al-Aiban also issued a series of decisions, some of which were bold. The latest among them was a decision that allows companies and their subsidiaries to have a unified automated number only.
Nonetheless, stimulating the economic cycle requires a series of other creative measures in order to straighten the productivity cycle.
Among these measures is to provide opportunities for primary industries, granting industrialists privileges that qualify them to further reduce the import bill, relying more on the local product, putting an end to complex procedures that burden industrialists, and preventing the exploitation of judicial control for personal interests.
All of this led to obstructing a group of factories, and tampering with plots, because the most important factor in any development field is stability.
It is necessary to take into consideration a group of obstacles in the field of industry. The same applies to food security, which is controlled by the “vegetable market mafia”.
If primary industries integrate with local products, there will be an important basis for enhancing food security.
In this regard, we must pay attention to the argument put forward by those who benefit from these two important elements, which is that Kuwait lacks sufficient water, due to which it cannot be wasted on agriculture. However, officials forget that there are many desalination plants in Kuwait, and increasing them could be an economic factor, similar to what many countries do.
For example, Egypt, although it is the gift of the Nile, is working on building seawater desalination plants to increase agricultural lands in new areas and provide fresh water to the population.
When there is a will for change and reform, officials work to perform miracles. However, when the minister, the prime minister, or the parliamentarians are all concerned with appearing in front of the cameras and buying praise, then the state, no matter how strong it is, will fall into the swamp of failure.
What Kuwait lacks is will and determination as well as integration between ministries. This is because the main concern is the seat, not the person who sits on it. Irrespective of whether or not he is qualified to manage a ministry, it clearly seems that there is no conviction that managing countries is different from managing grocery stores.
There are ministers who proved their ability to reform, while others failed and caused many losses to Kuwait. This means that there are capable national leaders, but they need the opportunity. Am I the only one who realizes this fact?
By Ahmed Al-Jarallah
Editor-in-Chief, the Arab Times
