‘Homeland deserves best’
Congratulations to Kuwait despite all the doubts and cynicism that have been directed at it after a report surfaced stating that Kuwait is on the World Bank’s list of the top 20 countries that have introduced radical reforms to improve the business environment.
It is natural that some people do not agree with the report, but I see daily improvements through my dealings with various departments in the Ministry of Commerce. I believe that many of my people have noticed the positive development in the business environment, which we have waited for many years. It was only achieved over the past two years.
Kuwait has continued to follow the 2035 Roadmap as a guide for economic and regulatory reform, and has merged the Kuwait Business Center platform with the Public Authority for Civil Information, making it much easier to obtain a commercial license.
The Ministry has also succeeded in simplifying the procedures of starting any business, obtaining electricity through digitization of the application process and integrated connection work and cooperation with other bodies in the state in terms of the provision of services and the implementation of a new geographic information system that simplifies the process of reviewing provision applications.
The registration of property transfers is also faster thanks to the Municipality’s internet system with the Ministry of Justice. The credit information is also easily accessible by ensuring that borrowers have the legal right to examine their credit data and provide credit ratings as a value-added service to banks and financial institutions.
After the ministry successfully automated its commercial services, it activated the service of introducing the financial statements (budgets) for all companies through the Kuwait Business Center website, thus reducing the time limit from 3 weeks to 3 days maximum.
In addition to the above, the Companies Law was amended to allow shareholders to extract more information and engage by increasing the minimum notice period for general assembly meetings.
The Ministry of Commerce also facilitated cross-border trade by improving the customs risk management system, implementing a new e-clearance system and much more thanks to the team of the Minister of Commerce, Khaled Al-Roudhan, and also to the great efforts of the Director-General of the Kuwait Municipality Engineer Ahmad AlManfouhi.
On the other hand, the Minister of Public Works, Jenan Bushehri, succeeded in overcoming all the criticisms leveled against her, and resisted the pressure from almost all sides, did not heed or respond to hundreds of ridiculous messages in the media and succeeded patiently in reaching a new asphalt mix and assigned the paving of roads to a limited number of qualified construction companies after excluding the unqualified ones. We will all see the results of this with the expected rainy season in October.
I have a good relationship with the minister, but she has never asked me for anything and I have never initiated or attempted to use my good relationship with her to request paving even one meter from any road I use and there are many damaged roads around my home and office.
I and others have been suffering a lot, and I am still, from the roads of Jabriya and the destruction of Tariq bin Ziyad Street in Surrah, the worst of its kind, which I use almost daily.
I will stand by the Minister not because she will enter history with the arrival of rain this month, but also because she is the most steadfast and bold Minister of Public Works in the face of severe partisan and parliamentary criticism and pressure that tried to force her to back down from her positions.
She has saved us, even if by suspending some companies temporarily, she saved us from some of the corrupt people in the world of construction, and this is credit to her, a tribute to her and to every sincere person who works honestly to help this small and beautiful homeland advance. Our homeland deserves the best of us all.