12/01/2023
34725 times read
12/01/2023
34725 times read
WHEN the government drowns in an inch of water, how can it deal with the many files on its table? When the ministerial team is unable to differentiate between white and black, it must be noted that this pushes for more political escalation that Kuwait does not need at present. Therefore, the government’s withdrawal from the session held the day before yesterday, during which the issue of citizens’ loans was raised, indicated the absence of its decision, or render it an argument for a greater goal that it is pursuing. In any case, the issue of dropping loans remains a popular priority, which must be taken into consideration, as it is not possible for a few hundred people to impose their will on 120,000 Kuwaitis and force them to submit to them.
![](https://www.arabtimesonline.com/news/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/ahmad-jarallah.jpg)
Those who benefit from the continuous refusal to resolve this issue are playing a dangerous game, as they are seeking to create a rift between the people and the ruling house. There are always demons lurking to increase the chasm between the two parties. We should remember what happened in the years 2011 and 2012. Those against resolving the loan crisis have exhausted all arguments. The chants of “social justice” and “preserving rights” no longer please anyone, especially after what people are asking for became clear, which is to rid them of debts amounting to KD 1.9 billion, which they had to borrow out of necessity. This is not like the way the government, along with the investors in people’s tragedies, tries to claim that the loans amount to KD 14 billion, and another KD 25 billion, by merging housing loans and regular commercial debts secured by mortgages with these simple loans.
There is no doubt that the government’s insistence on refusing to resolve this issue, not doing justice to the disadvantaged and relieving them, and confusing the undeserving and the deserving means that the current Cabinet is following the path of other previous governments that found themselves distanced from the people because of their practices. This was clearly demonstrated by the Council of Ministers’ approval to increase the salaries of ministers at a time when voices were rising from all directions to solve the living and economic problems that the country suffers from, as if it was telling the citizens to “drink from the sea.” In this case, what remains is for the citizens affected by the loan issue and the defaulters to benefit from the bankruptcy law, and to go to the courts to file insolvency cases.
The judiciary will order the cessation of all coercive legal procedures, and it will give the insolvent time to resettle his private affairs. With citizens benefiting from this law, no influential person can demand the continuation of the travel ban, or, as some demanded a while ago, to re-work exactly and bring summons. However, the government that rejects the principle of dropping loans must answer some fundamental questions - What does the declaration of bankruptcy mean for 120,000 Kuwaitis?
What is the impact of this on the country’s international economic and financial reputation? Due to the death of the previous stubborn governments, and the attempts to circumvent popular demands, which led to the exacerbation of crises, the current Cabinet taking the path of its predecessors means spinning in a vicious circle and the continuation of the economic and political deterioration in the country, which in turn is reflected in everything. Therefore, either the government must realize what the people want, or it must declare clearly what it wants, instead of remaining captive to the advisors of greed, like the saying - “Greed makes a man blind.”
By Ahmed Al-Jarallah
Editor-in-Chief, the Arab Times
[email protected]/[email protected]