This does not mean Kuwait lacks talent. It reflects instead how blurred the definition of competence has become and how absent the mechanisms are to measure it. Competence is not simply years of service dressed up as experience, nor long hours at a desk mistaken for discipline. The greater danger lies in mislabeling. Too often, competence is reduced to loyalty to a powerful figure or to an institution. Proximity is rewarded while achievement is ignored. In this way, the concept becomes a tool for entrenching favoritism rather than a standard of merit.

From this confusion arises the dreamer official. They speak of visions and plans but lack the substance of leadership. They announce projects that promise results in ten or twenty years, knowing they will not be in office when the deadline arrives. Each unfulfilled promise chips away at public trust while the official enjoys the illusion of achievement simply for making declarations. If competence is difficult to define, then results must be the measure. In the private sector, some individuals turned modest firms into large enterprises, multiplying staff and revenues within a few years. These people have proven themselves not with slogans but with tangible outcomes.

Bringing such achievers into government requires more than appeals. Why would someone earning generously in the private sector accept a heavier workload and a smaller salary in public service? The only way is to create an environment that both values them and allows them to lead with their own vision. Hiring proven performers only to silence them with “yes, sir” culture would render their presence meaningless. Kuwait cannot live on dreams forever. Public promises without execution turn into burdens and walls separating citizens from their government. Real progress will come only when proven achievers are invited to take charge, equipped with the tools and freedom to act. They will deliver, and credit will go not only to them but also to the leaders wise enough to appoint them.