Corruption - now you see it, now you don’t
Talking about corruption has become a daily topic discussed amongst Kuwaitis. Talking about corruption’s types and forms is going on round the clock in private and public forums, in the press, in diwaniyas, at public seminars and on various social media networks. This endless coverage continues into the parliament to the extent of forming special investigation and political accountability committees. And, eventually, comes the role of the government and some of its ministers, who expose only the corruption in previous cabinets without taking the trouble to investigate corruption and malfunctioning during their own tenures.
Corruption has endless forms and shapes in various governmental or semi-governmental institutions. It starts with administrative violations and suspicious employment and ends with financial manipulations worth millions of dinars.
Corruption storms, as described on social media, have started to involve ordinary citizens serving as senior officials, their relatives, journalists, writers, bloggers and political activists. The last of such examples include agricultural or animal husbandry land acquisitions, chalets and industrial land plots without a single official response confirming or denying such accusations or clearing the names of the accused.
This, in itself, is a real problem if it is proven true and found it was used to buy political loyalty and turn the entire country into a private estate through giving grants and gifts without any moral or legal deterrents. Meanwhile, average citizens are deprived of such privileges even if they match the conditions required to invest in them.
However, such information might be inaccurate and untrue and would thus defame some names. Either way, such news will only lead to further public tension and hatred in view of our already shaky national coherence! A media storm recently spread about serious accusations against some officials without any official response confirming or denying explanations and interpretations about political abuse of power.
The remarkable thing is that whenever such information spreads, reaches a climax and turns into a public opinion concern, you would read a tweet or two or a news story instigating tumult or promoting certain rumors, and soon such leaks, which are most often made up, turn into a public concern that start keeping the people busy and they soon forget all about corruption stories.
This is was what happened over the past few days when a tweet attributed to a ruling family member slandered a sect of citizens without any official response from the government’s side. Talk about corruption, that had spread with the same media machines and channels, is silenced now and a new sectarian debate has developed. — Translated by Kuwait Times