Kuwait, outside of time
THERE is no doubt that the current government has a heavy legacy to deal with, and it needs a clear vision to get out of the impasse.
This is because what the previous Cabinets left behind represented a great damage to all vital sectors in the country, and led to an exacerbation of the decline in government performance.
In fact, it made Kuwait appear to be outside of time. What we recently saw of the ministers, undersecretaries, and other public employees being sent in a wholesale manner to the Public Prosecution indicates the extent of corruption.
Here, we beg to ask Was the plundering systematic to this extent?
When an executive official is accused of stealing public funds, which he did while preaching abstinence and concern for the interests of the state, this calls us to doubt the entire government structure.
When the Council of Ministers flatters fanatic parliamentarians with a set of laws that make the country appear to be following in the footsteps of the Taleban, or when some of the retrogressive parliamentarians defend saboteurs and those who adhere to destructive ideology or work to insinuate themselves through the channel of other components, while the successive governments remain silent about them, this definitely means only one thing, which is a change in the social nature of the country. This is a historical crime against Kuwait.
The insistence on closing the country based on the need in the hearts of some short-sighted people, and the issuance of laws that led to expelling expertise abroad under the slogan of reforming the demographic composition without appropriate study, means obstructing the economic cycle and restricting its ability to move.
When the Bedoun issue becomes a dilemma because there are those who do not want to solve it for personal motives and considerations, this means seeking to plant a social, economic, and security minefield, the mines of which explode every day.
Yes, this government has many issues that cannot be postponed, as every day that passes without solutions means adding more fuel to the fire of administrative, economic, and ministerial failure.
In other countries, residents, for example, are three times more than citizens. They generate a lot of revenue from it because they add value. However, Kuwait is a closed country. When the family visa was opened, we saw the reactions of economists, traders, and other experts, as these people will spend their money here, and their overseas transfers will not increase.
Likewise, when a citizen complains about potholes on the roads and the high cost of repairing his car due to the lack of restoration of the streets and with no one taking any action, this indicates the extent of the failure of ministers and their ministry staff, because the employee sees his job as an acquired right, and no one will hold him accountable, because he is convinced his back is covered by a parliamentarian or an influential person.
This also is an indication that corruption has become a general phenomenon, and it cannot be eliminated unless there is a strict decision to hold “head of the snake” accountable in the ministry in order to make things right.
In order for this government to get rid of the corrupt legacy, it must confront without hesitation, fear, shame or complacent, and put things in their right place.
The reform workshop begins by amending or abolishing backward laws, which cost the State a lot of time and money, such as banning co-education, closing the country, and other laws that brought harm to the country.
Also, no parliamentarian or influential person should be allowed to interfere with its powers. They must implement the principle of separation of powers and cooperate without the encroachment of one authority over another.
May Allah help His Highness the Prime Minister and his Cabinet. The next stage will be tough, but it is not impossible if everyone puts hesitation behind their backs and makes firm decisions. We believe that this is within their reach, because they are facing the test of proving themselves, before anything else. The question that begs to be asked is - “Will they succeed?”