‘Beauty after corruption beast’

Other Voices

ABy Ahmad alsarraf

lmost 12 years ago, I was part of the establishment of a new company and the money was the biggest for any such operation. The founders were late for a few days in providing me the receipts thereof in spite of my repeated requests.

A few days later, one of the founders of the company called me and told me that the delay in submitting the receipts was due to the fact that they were in the process of shifting the office from one place to another and nobody remembered where the receipts were kept. Despite the logic of the reason, I refused to change my position, and after two years the company went bankrupt.

I wrote last Wednesday an article saying that I suffered to get a license for a warehouse building next to an ongoing project, and my representatives continued to run in vain for two months from pillar to post – between the Kuwait Municipality and the ministries of Public Works, Communication, Water and Electricity and the Public Authority for Industry.

I received a call on the same day of publication of the article from a senior Municipality official apologizing for the tiring efforts and loss of time, and the confusion the company’s representatives had to suffer. He said the reason is the request came precisely at the time when the Municipality was moving from the old to the new online electronic system, which the Director-General of the Municipality Engineer Ahmad Al-Manfouhi and his team developed for the first time in the history of Kuwait.

alsarraf

He added this system exempts the contractor or the owner of a construction project from visiting dozens of departments, so the Municipality solely can issue the license immediately as long as the area required to establish work offices is within 500 square meters.

The official explained that there is no need to check with any government agency and all process thereof will be done online. This was done the same day when the Municipality avoided the mistake and canceled the transaction from the old system, entered it on the computer in the new system and the license was issued at the same moment.

The senior official also told me that the Municipality has made other qualitative transfers, which have always been the subject of resentment and complaints from citizens a breeding ground for bribe to get a nod. After many of the previous applications were canceled, the work was greatly facilitated.

The Municipality also sought to ensure that each government agency fulfills its responsibilities and does not throw it at the municipality.

The Ministry of Electricity has specialized inspectors whose role is to inspect the buildings and match the plans with what has been implemented, and so on.

In conclusion: I have wronged the Municipality in my article. They have my apologies. I am a fan of its development and daring to use the latest administrative and supervisory systems, not to mention its success in exposing serious abuses, violations and thefts of state property. Thanks to the open-minded engineer AlManfouhi and his team.

habibi.enta1@gmail.com