Your Highness the Prime Minister, protect our sovereign wealth by investing it at home

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ONCE upon a time, there was a governor who hosted a singer whose songs and style of singing he enjoyed. When the singer saw that the governor was enjoying himself, he began to ask him for some favors. Without hesitation, the governor said to him, “You deserve more than what you ask for.”

The next morning, the singer came to the palace to obtain what the governor agreed upon, but the governor said, “You delighted us with your songs, and we delighted you with our words.”

This story crossed my mind when I heard the delightful talk about the decisions that the Council of Ministers will take. It seemed like the beginning of some good measures, but these measures are yet to be implemented on the ground.

This is due to the fact that this as usual depends on the upcoming National Assembly and the extent of the Council of Ministers’ cooperation with it.

It is true that the people have finally felt the prestige of the state through some of its decisions, but it must be emphasized that they are not as ambitious as the citizens who yearn for action in reality.

It takes them out of the vicious circle that they were in as a result of the absurd conflict between the National Assembly and the Council of Ministers over the past years.

They lacked the simplest elements of joy and entertainment, and saw their country static and closed, floating in a space other than planet Earth.

Here it is necessary to remember, which perhaps will benefit the believers. We have suggested in previous articles about investing Kuwait’s sovereign money locally, including the USD 200 billion that the government extracts from the sovereign fund, which, according to reports, is approaching one trillion dollars.

This money should be injected into local urban projects either on the deserted islands or infrastructure and roads, as well as the establishment of housing cities with integrated specifications, and entertainment cities that will be a haven for both citizens and residents instead of migrating during each vacation to neighboring countries. Once upon a time those countries were just desert lands but today they are the destination for every visitor to reside and spend their income there.

Unfortunately, when extremist mentalities interfere in the decisions, the result is what we are currently seeing in Kuwait, while in other countries there is determination and resolve.

The decision maker does not listen to a parliamentarian or influential person, and does not close the country or cause the cost of projects to be artificially inflated.

There are several proposals to get rid of this corruption by seeking the help of foreign companies that have a long history in urban projects, technology, etc., without the need for a local agent.

In fact, the previous government did well by abolishing this type of fraud on public money through the local agent who doubled the cost by entrusting the project to a foreign company and obtained large profits.

What we need in Kuwait is a decisive executive decision that will bring the country into a major reconstruction revolution with all facilities, instead of just concrete slums, buildings and houses. It has been proven by experience that their owners do not live in many of them, and simply rent them out. In fact, some of them are empty.

Also, entertainment projects have been prevented, because some people affiliated with some parliamentarians hate seeing people enjoying and having fun.

Your Highness the Prime Minister, Kuwait needs a reconstruction revolution at all levels. At least one fifth of its sovereign wealth must be invested at home, because its risks are close to zero. It can be used to benefit the country. However, if we wait for the approval of any MP, it will be like we have done nothing, and the effort that we have been applying will be equal to zero.

By Ahmed Al-Jarallah

Editor-in-Chief, the Arab Times

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