Taxes, more fees ... country on verge of major economic crisis
“WE MAY get out of the Corona pandemic unscathed or with minimal human losses, but we are on the verge of a major economic crisis. The Kuwait Chamber of Commerce and Industry has provided solutions and ways out but solutions are for the benefit of its members and not in the interest of the public,” columnist Mubarak Al-Moasherji wrote for Al-Rai daily.
“Our fear is that our government will consider imposing taxes or increasing fees, or lifting subsidies on some basic commodities and materials under the pretext the high bill of treatment for pandemic patients, and the prices of various vaccines for all citizens and residents of the country.
“It is too difficult for the ordinary citizen with low incomes -- especially those with low salaries, pensions and aid -- to be able to pay any fees or taxes when most goods and services will cost much.
“A citizen feels our government is stumbling and staggering in its steps as it spends on a few luxuries and adopts the austerity policy on the basics. It has not yet thought about the debts owed by people, such as electricity and water bills, and the rent of various real estate holdings, such as factories, stores, farms, etc.
“For many years, the government has been talking about its intention to amend the demographic composition to reduce the annual budget, and we have not seen any step on the ground of reality except for the deportation of violators of local laws and regulations, and or those whose residence expired and sometimes the deportation is at the expense of the state without collecting its rights and fines.
“The government has not yet dispensed with the army of foreign experts and advisors who earn high salaries who have not so far found a solution to any of our chronic problems while the government is able to seek the help of specialized local and foreign advisory offices, when needed and at the lowest cost.
“As for the real crisis facing our government is its submission to some MPs to their many requests, through which they serve their constituents, forgetting that the role of the representative is to enact laws and monitor the government, not to blackmail it.”
“According to the statement of the Minister of Health, the number of people who receive the corona vaccine daily is 1,200, and this means that within a year the number of vaccine recipients will reach 438,000, and according to this rate, we need 5 to 6 years to reach the target of about 3 million people. The statement of the Minister of Health means a disaster and that we will not get out of the epidemic safely until after 6 years,” columnist Tha’ar Al-Rashidi wrote for Al-Anba daily.
“This is a statement that has been issued by the Ministry of Health admitting that its timetable for providing the vaccine to all target groups will take six full years, and this is inconceivable and illogical. The statement is followed by another statement issued by the minister’s advisor who is gone on record for saying, ‘We are the slowest, but we are the most efficient.’ The slowest, sir, is a reasonable six months but 6 years is a disaster, and your justification is a new catastrophe.
“Our health is not subject to verbal manipulation of the statements of the advisers of the Ministry of Health, this is not a policy that can forgive you for the manipulation of words and terms between the most efficient and the slowest, we are talking about the health of human beings and lives, so you either speak with transparency and scientific logic or remain mum.
“It seems as if the ‘slowest’ to ‘the most efficient as if you are talking about the story of the hare and the turtle the ‘slow’ turtle, which lives long and the faster leopard, for example. Here the analogy is not sound as none of them can change any of their characteristics, slow and fast. As your proposition of comparing between the most efficient vaccine and the fastest vaccine, we say here that the Ministry of Health has the option to purchase the best quality but it has failed.
“Instead of admitting to failure an advisor appeared justifying the wrong measurement and the minister then appeared to admit the slow which would take more than 6 years.
“Since the emergence of the pandemic, the Ministry of Health has been able to confront it in a scientific, practical and successful manner, and the performance of Minister Dr Basil Al-Sabah and his team is undeniable in this aspect.
“The Ministry of Health with its medical teams, committees and officials managed to take the country to the shores of safety, outperforming many advanced countries in an achievement the medical history will record it, but we must stop at the slow provision of the vaccine and we must admit that this is unreasonable slowness and try to fix it.
“The minister says the pandemic will end 2022 if everyone is vaccinated, and the truth is that according to the rate announced by the Ministry of Health, the vaccination of everyone will not be completed until 2027 or 2028, and the Ministry of Health must address this situation between reality and what is said and find solutions.
“It seems you do not understand the true meaning of transparency.”
“To those who want to know more about the next parliamentary scenario for the 2020 Assembly after the government submitted its resignation within less than a month of its formation due to the grilling motion that some lawmakers submitted against HH the Prime Minister Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah who obtained the support of 36 lawmakers in the first instance – prior to the government’s resignation for lack of cooperation, we say that the government will be formed again and the same ministers will emerge,” columnist Waleed Al-Ahmad wrote for Al-Rai daily.
“Therefore, the result will be useless and there is no point in returning to the beginning as the Prime Minister will be questioned once again. The government-parliamentary clash will then occur, so the government declares that it is not possible to cooperate with this Assembly and the latter is dissolved!
“In other words, the end of the next parliamentary scenario is dissolution!
“A number of citizens have begun the actual preparation to contest the upcoming elections, since the dissolution of the government was announced through social media, as well as visiting friends and loved ones, followed by the announcement of their strong entry into the parliamentary battle!
“Only wisdom is required in putting Kuwait in mind and remembering that the country has not taken a step since the names of the MPs were announced and the formation of the government!”