The National - News

Government vows to get tough on corruption amid push for FDI

- SARAH TOWNSEND

Kuwait aims to compile a detailed strategy by the end of 2018 for weeding out corruption, as it works to reposition itself as a hub for global business, the country’s labour minister said.

“Last year, we started a strategy for enhancing Kuwait’s position on internatio­nal corruption indicators, and we aim to finish this by the end of 2018 so that we can implement it as soon as possible,” said Hind Al Sabeeh, Minister for Social Affairs and Labour, who is also the country’s Economic Affairs Minister.

“This should give investors the confidence they need [to do business here],” she told delegates at the Kuwait Investment Forum in Kuwait City this week.

Kuwait has tumbled down the rankings in Transparen­cy Internatio­nal’s annual Corruption Perception­s Index in the past five years, to 85th out of 180 in 2017 from 75th in 2016, according to the latest report published in February.

In 2013, the country ranked 43rd.

Transparen­cy Internatio­nal, the best-known campaigner against global corruption, suspended the Kuwait Transparen­cy Society – the organisati­on that serves as Transparen­cy Internatio­nal’s local chapter – in 2015.

The 2017 ranking is of particular concern to Kuwait, which is seeking to diversify its revenues away from oil dependence.

Kuwait has struggled to regain its position since former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein’s 1990 invasion.

With hydrocarbo­n revenues accounting for 90 per cent of Kuwait’s state revenues and the lowest oil breakeven price in the Arabian Gulf, there was little incentive to diversify the economy until the country slipped into fiscal deficit in 2015 for the first time since 1999.

Now, the government is working to fulfil “Kuwait 2035”, a blueprint for increasing private sector involvemen­t in the economy and attracting higher levels of foreign investment across a range of sectors.

The perception of corruption is a potential barrier to achieving this.

Last week, Kuwait’s Minister of Interior Sheikh Khaled Al Sabah suspended seven senior employees until further investigat­ion.

The government also formed a committee to reinstate a local Transparen­cy Internatio­nal chapter – even though opposition MPs declared the proposal useless in the face of “rampant corruption”.

Ms Al Sabeeh told the Kuwait Investment Forum that a key plank of the Nazahe’d anti-corruption strategy is to digitise government services and business transactio­ns.

Increased use of technology to oversee and keep records of payments made and actions taken would increase transparen­cy and highlight any potential discrepanc­ies.

“We will start the [initiative] this year to increase the number of services and transactio­ns administer­ed electronic­ally by the government,” Ms Al Sabeeh said.

“This is one of the true mechanisms for fighting corruption, as nobody can fight the system.”

The number of e-services provided by the government rose to 900 in 2017 from 789 in 2015, she said.

Kuwait is also getting more efficient at monitoring the establishm­ent of new businesses in the country.

Kuwait Business Centre recorded 9,682 limited liability companies registered in 2017, up from 5,621 in 2016.

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