Is Kuwait ready for the phase after oil, queries MP Fadhala

‘Fight corruption, theft of public money’

KUWAIT CITY, Feb 15: MP Yousef Al-Fadhala says the real question that needs to be answered today is whether Kuwait is ready for the post-oil phase, reports Al-Anba daily.

He stressed that the matter relates to the new economies and new global policies, adding that Kuwait is not the only country that suffers from this problem, but all the GCC states as well, in terms of relying on one source of income, which is oil. In his speech during the symposium dubbed “Kuwait after oil” organized by the Association of Students of Administrative Sciences at Kuwait University, MP Al-Fadhala explained that the United Arab Emirates (UAE), especially the emirate of Dubai, celebrated the last shipment of oil but the rest of the UAE cities are still suffering. Oil revenues represent 60 percent, and therefore, the problem is in the region as a whole and not only Kuwait where oil resources generates more than 80 percent of the revenues.

He said, “There are countries that were suffering from the same problem and were dependent on oil directly. Those countries found and implemented solutions to end such dependence to the point where the primary dependence on oil became only two or three percent of the state’s revenues, like in Norway and Sweden. There are countries that do not depend on oil revenue but have revenues equivalent to all the Gulf countries, for example Singapore and Korea.”

Al-Fadhala affirmed the need to fight corruption and theft in order to prepare for Kuwait after oil, highlighting that the wealth looted in Kuwait outnumbers the deficit that the government is talking about.

He insisted that offering “pink” visions away from Kuwait’s capabilities is unacceptable.

Al-Fadhala said, “Yes, we have an economic imbalance, and solutions are offered, but unfortunately they are still in the shelves. The lack of seriousness in dealing with this matter is a problem, and some people have created fake battles to achieve fake victories at the expense of real issues and concerns.