‘Curfew couldn’t harness virus’

‘Need to review lockdown measures’

“IT HAS become clear that the total curfew – lockdown – needs a comprehensive review in order to fill the gaps that have surfaced over the past few days, the most important of which is the failure of food delivery to people, because shopping centers are no longer able to meet the demands of the citizens and expatriates because of the shortage of supplies on the one hand, and the destruction of large quantities of foodstuffs that are prone to get spoiled quickly,” columnist Sattam Ahmad Al-Jarallah wrote for Al-Seyassah daily.

“This is in addition to the system which is in force at the moment which to a large extent appears ineffective. Add to this the inability of the grocery stores to meet the demands of the customers on a daily basis because of shortage of home delivery workers and lack of supplies.

“This issue is a daily concern for people while some food centers are throwing away large quantities of bread in the garbage bin because they are just unable to sell their stuff.

“Another issue that should be looked into is the two-hour break from curfew during which people can relax their muscles and this has raised concerns because all people who are virtually in a sort of home quarantine hit the roads at the same time and this increases the fear of the spread of the coronavirus because a large number of people come in contact which means the possibility of lifting the total ban cannot happen in the near future if the rate of infections continue to increase.

“The rate of infections swelled after a week of total ban, and therefore the concerned authorities must look for other ways to prevent the spread of the virus. This has become an urgent necessity otherwise this will affect the health system and with it all measures taken over the past couple of months will render meaningless. This is what those living in Kuwait do not want to see.

“These issues must be of concern to those who are responsible for planning the prevention of the spread of the disease among people, otherwise, the lock down will continue, which means more losses to the national economy, which is already suffering from deflation in light of the large decline in oil prices globally, and the resulting decrease in the state budget.

“There are countries which have gradually opened the doors for business within strict controls, which can happen in Kuwait, after reviewing all the measures that were taken and did not lead to the desired result.

“Is the assessment, which the government announced that it will look into after ten days after the start of the total ban, realistic and bridge the gaps based on an innovative plan that saves Kuwait all these losses?”

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Al-Jarallah

“If we shift a little from our current focus while in the midst of this pandemic, which has occupied us and the whole world, we would have thought about the consequences especially the economic effects on all the countries of the world, The situation has become a crisis that may be the largest since the 1930s, making us wonder how the countries and the world as a whole will recover and revive their economies, especially the capitalist countries wherein some companies are accustomed to multiplication of profit,” Waleed Al-Rujaib wrote for Al-Rai daily.

“In the past century, these countries turned to global wars of acquisition and re-sharing of influence and wealth in order to solve their deep crises, which may be prevented by new global circumstances, at the level of alliances, technological development and destruction of the weapons industry.

“Because the capitalist states will not bow to the economic consequences that will follow the end of the epidemic, they will resort to a tried method without resorting to all-out wars. This is to make sure the burden of consequences of the epidemic will be borne by the people especially the poor and working class to compensate for the deficit in their budgets by imposing or increasing taxes on those groups, increasing the fees of services, and lifting the subsidies on goods.

“These measures, which put pressure on people’s lives, will be met by discontent, anger and public protests, but the regimes will be ready with measures to restrict freedoms with repressive police measures under many pretexts such as national security and the fifth column. It will restrict freedom of expression and opinion, prevent peaceful gatherings and marches, and restrict freedom of the media. That is all what is needed to deter the invisible enemy, although many regimes and governments do not need crises to take such measures.

“It will depend on the quality of the system to solve such crises. If it is a system that is biased towards the minority at the expense of the majority of people, it will be strict in restricting freedoms as it is the easiest way to implement a policy of bias. However, if it is biased towards the majority of the people, it will search for the best scientific and correct solutions to evaluate and improve the economy. There are some bright examples of countries that suffered from extreme poverty but then rose out of that because of their clear plans and strategies to build a solid and sustainable economy.

“All countries possess the capabilities for production and construction, educated human energies with multiple skills, and vision and management that qualify them to invest resources and energies provided by mother nature in the form of human beings, seas, rivers, winds, sand and solar energy, not to mention the climatic conditions and the wealth contained in the lands of these countries. So, why take advantage of the misery of human beings and opt for easy earnings instead of cooperation, work and production?”

“The current health crisis that the world is experiencing and the consumer fear it has produced exacerbated the food security issue as a result of fear-consuming behavior. The government indirectly encouraged such behavior in spite of its assurances on the availability of food supply, through unnecessary imports, thereby, dumping products in the markets and stores,” columnist Riyadh Al-Sanae wrote for Al-Nahar daily.

“This attitude could have contributed to the statement of the commerce minister that the validity period of products in the stores has elapsed. We are wondering whether it is a spike of fear over poor food security in the future or does this ministry recognize only the logic of profit and loss?

“It is not a secret to anyone that one of the most important challenges the State of Kuwait is facing in light of the pandemic’s (Covid-19) repercussions is harmonization between achieving food security and promoting consumer behavior, especially since oil prices in the global market declined to unprecedented levels, in addition to the disruption of operations in many vital sectors in a bid to combat the coronavirus outbreak.

“For decades, food security did not constitute a real problem for the State of Kuwait as a result of the high purchasing power of its citizens, abundance of its economic and financial resources compared to its population, and its ability to provide the largest proportion of food from regional and international suppliers to fill the shortfall in local production, which is often the lowest.

“Like the rest of the Arab and Gulf countries, the State of Kuwait suffers from multidimensional challenges related to excessive consumption, as it is evident during occasions that it is through great lavishness in providing feasts and sacrifices. In the end, most commodities end up in the garbage bin -- a behavior that the Gulf community has been exhibiting for several years. If it expresses societal generosity, it reflects more of the ill-considered extravagance.

“The government’s role in these conditions necessitates more oversight of products and countries of origin in order to achieve food security compatible with health security. This will also cut off the road for crisis dealers, as all suppliers have an interest in flooding the internal market with products due to the financial solvency of the economy, and the immediate payment that governs commercial relations, which makes the consumer market vulnerable to the entry of suspicious products that lack quality.

“Nonetheless, it is imperative to encourage businesses and the government itself to invest in agricultural sectors in other countries, such as Serbia, the United States, Sudan, Jordan, Somalia, Turkey and other Arab and African countries, in order to maintain resources, especially in countries that are known for their fertile soil and water abundance. Therefore, it is necessary to take a closer look at these suggestions in the short term.”

“The government referred to the National Assembly a bill to amend the civil labor law for allowing employers to obtain approval from Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor to reduce the salaries of their employees or grant them unpaid leave or reduce their numbers in times of crises. However, this bill was rejected by some MPs,” Dr. Abdullah Fahad Al-Abduljader wrote for Al-Anba daily.

“This proposal by the government reminds us of what happened in 2008 during the global recession when many companies in the private sector as well as banks decided to lay off about 4,000 Kuwaitis, putting them in a difficult situation in terms of fulfilling their financial obligations, especially those are living in rented spaces and have families.

“Due to this reason, the private sector has become repellent for Kuwaitis to work in. It is unfortunate that nothing has been done despite demands to amend the labor law of the private sector to guarantee stability and job security for Kuwaitis.

“During the current coronavirus crisis, some companies and banks started to flounder by issuing decisions such as calculating the period of total lockdown as part of the annual leave of the employees. However, such decisions were canceled due to pressure from the public.

“Also, government agencies stopped paying salaries to Kuwaiti employees who returned from their leave irrespective of whether they were on annual leave or maternity leave or had returned to the country during the COVID-19 crisis. This measure was taken based on the law or regulation of the Civil Service Commission (CSC) that employees must resume work in order for salaries to be issued after leave.

“I think that the government and parliament should review and reconsider many of the laws and decisions that have been issued regarding the employment of Kuwaitis, their salaries, their leave and everything related to their livelihood, both in the public and private sector. They must take into account the current and future circumstances and crises so to plan properly and benefit from past experiences in order to ensure there is no confusion and randomness that can be harmful to Kuwaitis.”

“Many Kuwaitis are shocked whenever they watch video recordings of the situation in some areas, such as Farwaniya, Khaitan, Hawally and Mahboula, which are crowded with expats on narrow streets and tall buildings packed with thousands of foreign workers,” columnist Abdulmohsen Jouma’a wrote for Al-Jarida daily.

“It is difficult to pass through chaotic streets, because they are full of cars and pedestrians walking in the middle as there are no regular paths for them. These are densely populated areas without access for security cars and services. The situation in these areas is out of control due to riots and law enforcers cannot reach such areas.

“For more than 15 years, my colleagues and I have been writing about organizational chaos in these areas -- from the increase in building proportions and height of the investment buildings, without any plan that takes into account the street spaces, to the availability of suitable parking lots, services and security points.

“Kuwait Municipality and the successive ministers who supervised the institution did not hear voices warning against the transformation of investment areas in Kuwait into haphazard areas within a few years due to corruption in the Municipality’s decisions and its areas for beneficiaries of this chaos. This is due to the construction of buildings with cheap commercial specifications that accumulate foreign laborers without adequate health and humanitarian considerations.

“As a result, we are now witnessing wretched scenarios in Kuwait’s investment suburbs. We will soon see such scenarios in private housing areas due to certain decisions like increasing the building proportions and construction of apartment buildings.”

“In its meeting Monday evening, the Council of Ministers moved in solidarity with Minister of Health Dr. Bassel Al-Hamoud Al-Sabah against the comments published on some social media and television channels,” columnist Hassan Ali Karam wrote for AlSeyassah daily.

“The warning and the health minister’s disappointment are attributed to certain questions and doubts about the prices of surgical masks that the Health Ministry purchased from mediators. It seems the minister resents those doubting and challenging his staff who agreed on the prices and bought the masks!

“Under exceptional circumstances, the minister is destined to lead the ministry and form a field commanding the medical army to fight the most dangerous and deadly epidemic, which fell on all of humanity at one time with one name -- corona.

“In these difficult circumstances, no one stands against the minister, throws a stone on his path, wishes to take his seat or does not wish him success.

“The success of the minister is the success of the entire Kuwait, as well as the medical crews and soldiers who work day and night to defeat this dreaded epidemic, and to save the country and its people.

“We, the citizens, are grateful to Minister Dr Bassel and his medical staff for their efforts, their close monitoring of pandemic developments day and night, and the services and preparations needed which exhaust all their efforts.”

— Compiled by Ahmad Al-Shazli