‘Political will vital for reforms’

‘Govt policies new song in old tune’

“THE neoliberal economic policies that the government is preparing enthusiastically for their implementation based on the dictates of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, and the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) or the World Bank (WB) is simply the application of economic models canned and of well-known results in advance, because they lack creativity since they are are a repetition,” columnist Dr Bader Al-Daihani wrote for Al-Jarida daily Wednesday.

“In other words, these instructions have been applied in many countries around the world and these countries have found themselves knee deep choking in indebtedness and are actually forced to use all their financial resources to offset the debts.

“In this connection we say what have the countries such as Greece, Spain, Ireland and Italy gained after paying due respect to instruction issued by the IMF and the WB? We say nothing, expect the wealth of their nations was monopolized by the business tycoons at the expense of the bankruptcy of those countries.

“To add insult to injury, poverty and unemployment has been rampant in these countries and widened the gap between community groups and the so-called tycoons and people who live below poverty line. This is in addition to the political and social instability which these countries suffer from.

“But the question is: Do we in Kuwait have another alternative to address the actual and prospective financial deficit in the State budget and maintain the durability of national wealth and social well-being in the country?

“The answer is in the affirmative, and we can, whenever there is a political will, to coincide with the innovative human development independently taking into account the nature of our economy commensurate with the social and political circumstances, and achieve social justice, and maintain social and political stability.

“Of course, the humanitarian and fair economic model has an initial requirement and it is necessary in order to be implemented successfully, first and foremost to reform the political system end political corruption because development and corruption do not mix.

“Moreover, the human development does not require restricted freedoms but open public space and political action and the existence of democratic and fair electoral system so that there will be broad popular and active participation in the policy-making and public decision-making including decisions related to public finances of the State.

“Likewise, this pattern requires the relinquishing of the current consumptive economy and eventually transform the latter into a productive one capable of bearing fruit under the existence of a productive private sector, provided the latter does not constitute a burden on the State Budget, rather this sector must constitute a support for the budget through the imposing of taxes on the incomes and profits in addition to providing job opportunities for the citizens.

“Furthermore, the fair economic pattern requires remedying the country’s financial management system in a transparent manner. In this context, we suggest the sovereign funds should be legally annexed to the State Budget so that the country can benefit from the profits made by these funds which constitute a basic source for the State general revenues, provided the oil revenues are protected and transformed into a reserve to meet the country’s future requirements.

“Add to that the necessity of taking into account the issue of social justice, both in national wealth distribution process, or bear the consequences of the fiscal deficit so that it distributes the burden, according to benefit from the State budget, so the general rule, which is to benefit more from the budget contributes more to support them.

“In conclusion, one may refer that the fair economic pattern, requires also the restructuring of the population equation in the country in addition to changing the manpower structure and eventually restructuring the State administrative organization drastically and properly.”

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Al-Daihani

“The current deficit in the State budget is an evidence of rampant the corruption in the State institutions,” columnist Abdulmohsen Al-Hussaini wrote for Al-Shahed daily.

“I think the budget of some State institutions has been inflated but when it comes to accomplishments on the ground nothing has been realized.

“In this context, we suggest the budget of each ministry, for instance, should keep abreast with its achievements including the upgrading of its services which are rendered to the citizens.

“But in reality the citizens are complaining of bad services they received at the State institutions; this is in addition to the red tape theory they have to make do with they go to process their transactions.

“Such being the case, we wonder what role the senior officials are playing in the various ministries and government institutions. And what about the role played by the ministers in terms of issuing instruction to their respective ministries and institutions to encourage them to compete in providing better services to the citizens.

“In this context, however, we cite we cite the example of former minister the late Dr Ahmad Al-Rubei, we pray to the Almighty Allah to bestow his mercy upon, who had once warned of corruption prevailing in State ministries and institutions.

“Not just that, the late Dr Rubei had stressed on the need to fight corruption and had warned of a day when we will not be in a position to rescue the country.

“He had said, ‘history has taught us that nations which had closed an eye to corruption had actually become bankrupt’ given the fact what was said by the late Dr Rubei in this connection is applicable to our current situation — rampancy of corruption in various State ministries and institutions.

“Apart from the above, we have also observed a deficit that has been shown by the State in terms of surmounting the corruption in question, and this entails that the supreme command in the country must replace the officials in these ministries with new blood who are mature and with a developed mentality capable of taking decisive decisions to pursue and surmount corruption in the State ministries and institutions.”

“In the past, one or two individuals used to get arrested for impersonating police but this phenomenon has aggravated in recent times, especially with the arrest of six individuals in Farwaniya area for impersonating detectives,” Talal Al-Saeed wrote for Al-Seyassah daily.

“Very soon we may end up witnessing the arrest of large groups of impersonators who will set up security checkpoints and steal as much as they can from passersby. The Asian expatriates are specialized in operating liquor factories, mostly Indian expatriates but sometimes even Koreans as well.

Recently some domestic workers, who were reported as absconding, were arrested after they were caught working as nurses in a private clinic. The employer did not pay any attention to the fact that they are in violation of the laws since he knows that the sponsors of those individuals are the ones who will bear the legal consequences in order to avoid the blocking of all his transactions.

In the past, Kuwait was the transit point for drug smuggling operations but now large quantities of drugs are being consumed inside Kuwait. The concerned authorities have been confiscating enormous quantities of drugs every year. Each time, the seized quantity is much bigger than the previous one. This does not mean the authorities are not doing their best. The truth is that the problem is growing bigger and has extended beyond the capabilities of the authorities.

The violation of law is becoming obvious especially since those people are committing violations publicly. Citizens are feeling out-of-place in their own country while the foreigners have taken Kuwait as a substitute homeland. We are forced to accept this situation and be satisfied with it. Expatriate mandoubs have become controllers of everything. When we talk about mandoubs, we are talking about bribes and forging of official reports.”

“On Feb 28, local newspapers published a report about the intention of officials, who are responsible for the state developmental plan, to allot KD 102 million for improving the international image of Kuwait,” Muthafar Abdullah wrote for Aljarida daily.

“I recalled this after Fuhaid Al-Daihani and Abdullah Al-Turki won medals at Rio Olympics 2016. These two champions and their fellow team members were carrying out the abovementioned objective despite the difficulties that face the Kuwaiti sports field. Furthermore, those who allotted the development plan did not pay any attention to the field of sports or the sportspeople. Since we are deprived of the opportunity to participate in international sports competitions, the planners were excused of neglecting sports from their plan.

The target of lifting the name of Kuwait was carried out for free through the winning of gold and bronze medals by Al-Deihani and Al-Turki at the Rio Olympics 2016. The lesson that can be obtained from this experience is that Kuwaiti people are hungry for such wins. Kuwaiti youths are ready to succeed but they need support, encouragement and opportunity.

Many Kuwaiti youths carried out positive initiatives such as the campaign called ‘Start’ with the aim of supporting cancer patients and the disabled, another called ‘Nest’ for helping the Syrian children in Lebanon and another called ‘Charity’ for supporting orphans.

The victory of Al-Deihani and Al-Turki at Rio 2016 and the victory of a group of Kuwaiti students in the competition called ‘BrainSmart’ in Thailand must be used as an opportunity to promote the principles of success and hard work.”

“One of the front page headlines in Al-Shahed newspaper recently was ‘Penalty for refusing DNA test is revocation of citizenship’. In response to a story published last week concerning expectations from Ministry of Interior, it has been reported that 200,000 Kuwaitis will not go for DNA testing,” Abdulaziz Khuraibet wrote for Al-Shahed daily.

“They are afraid that the fraudulent way they got their citizenship will be exposed. Ministry of Interior has prepared for this situation with legal backing and irreversible decisions. According to a mechanism titled ‘Revocation of Citizenship’ against citizens who fail to attend the DNA testing, they will not be allowed to obtain e-passports. The issue will not end there, as the government will decide on procedures to be taken following expiration of the ultimatum for the exercise.

An ongoing procedure has been allotted to cancel the current passports even if they are valid. Governmental departments have been instructed to sack employees who fail to attend the DNA testing. The houses allotted to them will be withdrawn, their treatment in hospitals will be stopped and travel bans will be imposed on them. Their transactions in ministries and state agencies will be suspended and they will be denied admission into public schools.”

“Deputy Premier and Minister of Interior Sheikh Mohammad Al-Khalid Al-Sabah doesn’t have magic wand for solving problems in various sectors of the ministry but he possesses something more valuable than the magic wand,” Abdul-Rahman Al-Awad wrote for Al-Sabah daily.

“The minister is blessed with will power; he’s prompt in field movement, quick and spectacular in responding to complaints from citizens and expatriates pertaining to their transactions at the sectors affiliated to the ministry. We all saw on-the-spot official assessment visit he paid to the General Department of Citizenship and Travel Documents while the issue of late applications for renewal of passports became complicated and difficult.

“According to the Director General of Public Relations and Security Media at Ministry of Interior Brigadier Adel Al-Hashash, the remarkable visit served as the turning point for all employees at the sector to revive team spirit. The outstanding and respectable ideology, if implemented in all government institutions, will facilitate transactions without encountering many problems would.”

“Interference of authority happens in the Criminal Investigation Department and the Public Prosecution despite the existence of a clear law that mandates the investigation department to deal with misdemeanor cases while the prosecution handles criminal cases wherein the penalty is a jail term of more than three years,” columnist retired Major General Hamad Al-Saree wrote for Al-Anba daily.

“One of the main reasons behind this interference of authority is the lack of clear-cut regulations for the police officers to follow in determining whether the case should be referred to the investigation department or the prosecution. A few months ago, Minister of Justice, Awqaf and Islamic Affairs Yaqoub Al-Sanae said the Public Prosecution referred more than 1,300 cases and complaints back to the investigation department in 2015. It means justice has been delayed because of such interference and absence of clear guidelines in this regard.

“When an incident occurs, the investigation department and prosecution might disagree over a case as suggested by the initial evidence. The former will argue that the case is criminal in nature and the latter will say otherwise. Therefore, the case will be referred to the concerned court only after the intervention of the Criminal Evidence General Department and Forensics.

“I suggest that Criminal Evidence General Department and Forensics should take samples from the crime scene as per the request of the police station. The report issued by these two departments will then be used by police as a guideline for determining which authority will handle the case. In this manner, the procedures will be easy for the concerned departments.”

“In Kuwait, there is a culture of political, revolutionary or critic songs, while there are no political or revolutionary poets but there are social critic poems, just like in most countries in the world including the Arab World,” columnist Waleed Al-Rujeib wrote for Al-Rai daily.

“Why is cultural creativity separate from political work in Kuwait, whereas this creativity is cemented in other countries similar to Kuwait, such as Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Yemen and Oman? Is it because Kuwait’s political factions do not accommodate artists and people with a creative mindset, and they do not even think of the value of creativity as a form of struggle?

“In my opinion, critical or revolutionary political songs will put political jargons and slogans away and retain words that will penetrate the daily concerns of the public and their suffering, especially in the social, political and livelihood spectra. But the question is, will it be our culture or will it be mere circumstantial or temporary reaction, like the political jokes during the invasion?”

— Compiled by Zaki Taleb