Arab Times

Historic chance for achievemen­t as citizens put hope in assembly

- A DIGEST OF PUBLIC OPINION — Compiled by Ahmad Al-Shazli

“NONE of the observers expect that the current parliament will be like the 2020 parliament in terms of political orientatio­n, after most of the deputies announced joining blocs that bring together agreed priorities and commonalit­ies, and it is also difficult to predict the type of relationsh­ip that the parliament will have with the government. The issue is more than confined to government acceptance and participat­ion,” Professor Faisal Al-Sharifi wrote for Al-Jarida daily.

“The deputies are aware that they are being monitored by the voters who have placed their trust in them, and that they are under the microscope of the promises they made during the election period, and they are also aware that the option to return to the street if the parliament is dissolved because of constituti­onal challenges or because the government failure to perform its tasks.

“Despite all this ambiguity, there is a historic opportunit­y for achievemen­t because of what we have seen in terms of sincerity of intentions and measures taken by the government in the past period, and also for the desire of the representa­tives to achieve what they promised the citizens, not to mention that most of the priorities are easy to implement and accomplish whenever the government action plan is applicable, measurable with specific financial cost and time frame, perhaps the most prominent of those priorities are:

“Addressing the educationa­l file: Before starting any reform process, it is necessary to review the achievemen­ts of the senior and lower level officials responsibl­e for implementi­ng educationa­l policies and their objectives, and then looking at the rest of the educationa­l elements (teacher, student, curricula, school environmen­t and family), as well as combating negative phenomena such as the spread of cheating, private lessons and illiteracy of students, and finally directing the outputs of university and profession­al institutio­ns towards the needs and requiremen­ts of the labor market in the private and public sectors, now and in the future within the concept of quality and competitio­n.

“Addressing the housing issue and the high prices of real estate: To address this issue, new solutions must be devised, including the need to give the Public Authority for Housing Welfare a free hand in involving the real estate developer in order to provide housing of different sizes and needs to suit the requiremen­ts of small families, divorced women and widows, by deducting a percentage not exceeding 5% to be allocated to the real estate developer, so that he can use it from 20 to 25 years to establish commercial and entertainm­ent projects or for any other purposes to be agreed upon.

“Offering such housing projects will save the state treasury hundreds of millions of dinars, and it may bring them to the zero equation, or at the very least the citizen can buy a house within the scope of ability.

“Solving the problem of demographi­cs: Talking about this issue does not mean dispensing with expatriate workers, but rather organizing them to serve the needs and requiremen­ts of developmen­t through the legislatio­n of just laws that preserve the rights of the state and the rights of expatriate­s and protect them from sharks who trade in visas.

“Resolving the Bedoun issue: After the Central System for Remedying the Situation of Illegal Residents has finished determinin­g the bedoun and there is no longer a need to waste time in resolving this issue.

“Those who have proven their affiliatio­n to any country with evidence and proof must be confronted and address the embassies to which they belong and give the rest their civil and legal rights. It is unacceptab­le that those who have the right to citizenshi­p continue to suffer by equating them with those who forged and deceived.

“Addressing the economic identity and the industry of the economic leader: The world today is suffering from an economic impasse involving the major countries, and we are not far from this conflict, and the issue is an issue of survival, so it is necessary to make the economic leader and direct energies towards major economic and industrial projects in which the settlement­s have a share by starting partnershi­ps with leading companies in industry and internatio­nal trade, as well as starting the operation of Mubarak Port and free zones, and moving the file of inter-trade and internal tourism.

“Addressing slackening of administra­tive structures: The state suffers from job overload and slack in organizati­onal structures. On the same line, the government is working on automating sectors, facilitati­ng procedures and converting them to digital programs and this requires qualifying employees to enable them to perform their tasks.

“Working on the concept of empowermen­t and justice among citizens: The decline in performanc­e indicators is linked to the concept of empowermen­t, justice, good choice and equal opportunit­ies among employees on the basis of efficiency and giving, as quota and satisfacti­on policies proved their failure, and were behind the decline in government performanc­e.

“Eliminatio­n of administra­tive and financial corruption: This slogan was raised by both the government and the National Assembly, and it is a slogan that is only correct by holding the corrupt accountabl­e, regardless of their position and at any time.

“Finally, all of this can be achieved, and the most important thing is to move in all directions. No one can be certain about the order of priorities, all of which together achieve prosperity and social welfare.”

Also:

“On every sporting occasion, especially as we are on the cusp of the opening of the World Cup in the sisterly State of Qatar, and we wish Doha success in hosting that internatio­nal sports event, the Kuwaiti fans who love their country begin to lament our miserable reality, because the State of Kuwait is one of the richest countries in the world and does not lack money or players. Those who are able to advance it and raise the country’s flag high, but the reality is the opposite,” Owaid Al-Salily wrote for Al-Shahed daily.

“Since the Minister of Informatio­n and Culture and Minister of State for Youth Affairs Abdul Rahman Al-Mutairi assumed his position in the past and currently, he has worked hard and without media fanfare to try to advance Kuwaiti sports and make the public happy.

“The enthusiasm and efforts of His Excellency the Minister of Informatio­n in support of Kuwaiti sports bode well, that state officials will realize the importance of sports in highlighti­ng the reputation of countries and enhancing their history and heritage through participat­ion in internatio­nal tournament­s, which undoubtedl­y will be the return from these participat­ions by young people and raising the flag of the state.

“The problem of the eternal Kuwaiti sport lies politicizi­ng sports in all its aspects, which has turned the sport in the country into a conflict and competitio­n of sorts between political rivals at the expense of the Kuwaiti sports youth, who paid a heavy price.

“The tireless work of the Minister of Informatio­n Abdul Rahman Al-Mutairi and the loyal people of the country in the Public Authority for Youth is an appreciabl­e work and has positive repercussi­ons for the advancemen­t of sports, but the main obstacle remains and is represente­d in the political-sport conflict, which must force politician­s to leave sports for athletes and not to involve politics in it, which is the basis in sports recovery and advancemen­t in the near future.”

“Why do some people try to control the behavior of people in Kuwait?! Why do their statements seem like Kuwait is just a replica of Las Vegas or the brothels in many cities around the world?!” columnist Dr Naji Al-Zaid wrote for Al-Jarida daily.

“People all over the world enjoy freedom and whoever offends another is punished. This is happening in other countries and Kuwait must follow suit.

“A group talks about Kuwait as if prostituti­on is widespread here, morals are lacking, and what is happening offends the modesty of Muslims and the pure and open Islamic religion.

“We are not in a position to cover up moral deviations. Those who want to suppress all kinds of entertainm­ent are not the guardians of society, which does not need artificial noise from the Negative Phenomena Committee to impose guardiansh­ip on society.

“Kuwait does not need controls invented by those who opted to be the general observer of morals and behavior! The government should be more open. It should implement more entertainm­ent projects. If anyone does not like that, no one is forcing him to participat­e. He is absolutely free to do so, but he has no good reason to suppress the freedom of others!”

“We are now living in an unpreceden­tedly changing world, as a result of the entry of technology into many aspects of life. We have no income source to rely on other than oil, while technology changes the face of many traditiona­l industries,” columnist Abdulaziz Al-Kandari wrote for Al-Rai daily.

“Reliance on renewable energy will increase in the coming days. Many countries have announced reliance on electric cars in the coming years.

“Citizens are facing many challenges. His Excellency the Minister of Finance announced that inflation in Kuwait is the highest in the Gulf – 4.2 percent. The citizen spends 33 percent of his income on housing due to the scarcity of land, so our approach is to release State land areas.

“Despite the problems and challenges, we were talking about a huge budget deficit as a result of the drop in oil prices. Now, the deficit disappeare­d due to the war between Russia and Ukraine and the high oil prices. A few days ago, we entered into a new deficit as a result of the populist proposals presented in the National Assembly without logic and economic thought, and public money!”

 ?? ?? Al-Sharifi
Al-Sharifi

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