Grilling in the making

Billions down the drain

IBy Ahmad Al-Sarraf

n April 2013, Law No. 98/2013 was issued regarding the establishment of an institution under the name ‘The National Fund for the Care and Development of Small and Medium Enterprises’, to support the young people by financing to a large extent their commercial, industrial and vocational projects to fight unemployment and to enable the private sector to achieve economic growth in Kuwait.

The then government, with the consent of the National Assembly, allocated KD 2 billion for the project, which is a fantastic amount by any standards but portrays the floundering state of the government and the lack of seriousness because no more than 20 percent of that amount was enough in the beginning and more amount could be made available in future, if and when required.

It stated the Fund targets creating job opportunities for the citizens in the private sector and to increase the participation of small and medium enterprises in the gross domestic product and to help create a favorable environment for the work but this of course did not materialize at the expected level.

After more than three years of setting up the fund none of the goals were achieved. Moreover news leaked here and there about irregularities in the management of the Fund.

One of the guests who was at a loss for words said on a local TV channel the fund had financed only 50 micro projects since its establishment which is a very modest number compared to the size of the ambitions, and the huge capital fund.

He stated that the five members of the Board of Directors of the Fund received KD 240,000 in bonus as meetings allowances and that KD 318,000 thousand were given to the same group as other rewards.

Members of the Advisory Board of the Fund also received KD 54,000 dinars in the form of annual bonuses.

In the words of the same source the cost of phone calls of the Chairman and Vice-Chairman of the Fund was KD 750,000 for the first year and nearly three times that in the second year(!!!).

The Fund also disbursed KD 140,000 for foreign studies of the Chairman and his Deputy and the disbursement of KD 220,000 to cover the business trips of the members of the Board of Directors.

There may be great exaggerations but what is said may also be true. The issue cannot be determined unless the committee comes out clean with exact figures otherwise they will be subjected to parliamentary questioning in future.

Al-Sarraf

email: habibi.enta1@gmail.com