‘Food security govt top priority’
‘Need to learn lessons from corona crisis’
“IN THE midst of the new ‘Corona’ crisis, the importance of food security was evident in Kuwait,” columnist and consultant Wael Yousuf Al-Mutawa wrote for Annahar daily.
“What if the countries from which we import announce a ban on exports from where we will get food and what will we eat? On July 6, 2017, I wrote an article under the title (Self-Sufficiency, Your Highness, the Prime Minister), in which I touched on the mistakes that the government made in agriculture and livestock, and how I would have liked to have my cry getting the attention, and now we are in the mid-2020s, have we learned the lesson?
“Today, I will speak with absolute frankness and say the food security has become an urgent necessity and a government priority in the post Corona period because it is no longer a secret.
“In this context, we elucidate that the efforts exerted by the Kuwaiti farmers remains a crucial factor, as such these efforts covered the absence of the government plan in terms of providing the country with all requirements, in the area of vegetables.
“But the question that should be addressed to the government is, were the farms in the country distributed fairly and wisely and given to those who deserve it? And did the government support the farmers during the previous phase in a way that shall guarantee persistence and expansion to achieve selfsufficiency?
“Of course, no because it does not make sense to purchase a box of cucumber for 20 fils and the same is applicable to other products.
“Meanwhile, we wonder, why the cooperative societies were not buying their goods directly from the farmers. And why there is no direct market for the farmers to display their products to enable the citizens to go directly to them to purchase their requirements. And who is currently controlling the vegetable and the fruit market and to which nationality he belongs?
“As for Kabad and camel farms, their purpose was to provide the country with the need for cattle, cows, and camels, but unfortunately they became rest houses and parks, so will the government continue not to apply the law and withdraw all plots of land that do not contribute to achieving the goal.
“My message to HH the Prime Minister is that the performance of the government during this crisis makes every Kuwaiti proud and perhaps the popular satisfaction with the government is completely clear through social media.
“God willing, we are confident that we will overcome this pandemic and life will return to normal and after that I hope the Prime Minister will develop an integrated strategic plan for food security, because we have all the statistics, the information is ready, and there is nothing short of benefiting from this harsh experience and developing a strategic plan up to 2035.
“However, what we have heard about the withdrawal of some farms to give new licenses to fish farming is a useless reaction.
“In this connection, we like to suggest to HH the Prime Minister that we should learn the lesson of ‘coronavirus’ and take necessary preventive measures to deal with the requirements of the forthcoming years to correct the mistakes of the past.
“In other words, I hope that Your Highness will sit with the farmers, the livestock breeders, owners of the poultry farms and importers of fish to familiarize yourself with their problems and solve the same to create the necessary opportunities for the Kuwaitis and encourage them to work in these fields.
“In the meantime, we hope you will direct the Ministry of Higher Education and the Higher Education institutions to establish the necessary specializations that may be commensurate with the strategic plan to be set up by the government to enable the country harvest its fruits after a few years – God willing.
“In conclusion, I cannot help but extend to the father of all, His Highness, the Amir of the country, may God protect him, for his sublime order to bring home the sons of Kuwait from abroad.
“Full thanks to His Highness in this connection and thanks also to the Council of Ministers – ministries of Foreign Affairs, Interior and Health in addition to the Civil Defense Department, Kuwait Airways Corporation and Al-Jazeera Airline as well as everybody who has spared no effort to bring back the Kuwaitis to their homeland.
“Ramadan Kareem for all.”
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“The coronavirus revealed several crimes that occur in secret. Some of them are considered a breach of security and others are theft of public money, as if we were in urgent need of this pandemic so that we all know – government and people – the seriousness and magnitude of the problem. These crimes spread their malicious arms to some government institutions in the country, and some officials, merchants, and some employees benefited from them,” columnist and professor Dr Baheeja Behbehani wrote for Al-Qabas daily.
“These crimes against the homeland and citizens are currently causing tremendous problems and breaches in the field of security, health, and diplomatic relations with Arab countries.
“With regard to the visa traders, the investigations of the Ministry of Interior showed that there are 1,800 expatriates of one Asian nationality who do not have data in the Ministry of Interior, while the ministries of Social Affairs and Interior and the Public Authority of Manpower must have all the files and data for the expatriates, and through them we can know the names the residence traffickers and eventually punish them.
“Apart from the above, there are also thousands of Arabs who are residing illegally in the country to such an extent the shelter centers in the country are not sufficient to accommodate them, and hundreds of them were sent to a camp that was initially prepared as health quarantine in Kabad.
“In this connection, the volunteers are currently providing these expatriates meals, but some of these expatriates have actually become emotional and showed their anger and dissatisfaction because of the visa traders – those who operate from Kuwait in their countries – because they say they have been cheated by these traffickers who abandoned them to fend for themselves.
“The governments of these expatriates still refuse to receive their citizens and thus have put a burden on both the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Interior, and this could be deemed as an inevitable outcome the crime of visa traffickers.
“As we start our first day of the holy month of Ramadan, we are still experiencing an unparalleled crisis that requires contemplation and understanding of the requirements of life once this crisis ends,” columnist Dr Turki Al-Azmi wrote for Al-Rai daily.
“I opened the website of the late Grand Mufti of Saudi
Arabia, Abdul-Aziz ibn Abdullah ibn Baz, where I read his interpretation of great teachings of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) which I recommend to be preliminary step towards reform that every noble person in the country will desire to achieve.
“Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) said: ‘Do not envy one another, do not inflate prices for one another, do not hate one another, do not turn away from one another, and do not undercut one another in trade, but [rather] be slaves of Allah and brothers [amongst yourselves]. A Muslim is the brother of a Muslim: he does not oppress him, nor does he fail him, nor does he lie to him, nor does he hold him in contempt. Taqwa (piety) is right here [and he pointed to his chest three times]. It is evil enough for a man to hold his brother Muslim in contempt. The whole life of a Muslim is inviolable for another Muslim: his blood, his property, and his honor.’
“I am concerned about the meaning of envy here (to wish the grace of his brother be removed), which is equivalent to jealousy, and also hatred (backbiting and gossip) ... and everyone knows that these traits are rampant in our society.
“My point here is that before and during this crisis, we noticed many of our loved ones have come forward to volunteer in a sense of patriotism. I mean volunteering, in which the volunteer does not expect any personal benefit or gain, and that his or her volunteering motives are for the sake of Almighty Allah, for his nation and people. The crisis has exposed us to poor planning and weak leadership, as we mentioned in previous articles. For this reason, we need a qualitative volunteering initiative … but how?
“Before we get into details, we must admit that most of the officials and advisors have failed to address the shortcomings which the coronavirus pandemic has exposed. This means the culture of selection must be neutral in order to avoid envy and hatred that have led us to this situation.
“Hence, we bring a neutral work team which is characterized by integrity and has no link with local feuds.
“From here, the Ministry of Information allocates a special program for reform (cultural, developmental and social). The doors for reform initiatives should be opened in all aspects, such as social cultural reforms (values and beliefs), development reforms in various aspects like management of food security, industry, diversification of income, investment opportunities, human relations and even strengthening the social fabric, to say the least.
“Each interested person should submit his or her CV with the name of the initiative attached. After the end of a certain period – let’s say a month – an interview is aired live with every applicant, while the work team’s role is to evaluate the initiatives individually. This is the qualitative volunteer that we hope to achieve in the near future.”
“A logical and worthy suggestion to consider, days before the blessed month of Ramadan, was presented by our colleague and strategic expert Khaled Ibrahim AlSalal about the importance of an imam and the muezzin holding Taraweeh prayers in the mosque amid loudspeakers so that Muslims can enjoy the sound of the Qur’an reading from the surrounding houses near the mosque in a serene atmosphere of faith that gives peace and tranquility to the hearts of Muslims, especially as they have been deprived of praying in mosques due to the coronavirus,” Waleed Ibrahim Al-Ahmad wrote for Al-Rai daily.
“We hope that Minister of Justice, Awqaf and Islamic Affairs Dr Fahd Al-Afasy will seriously considered the idea and prepare for it, away from the frustrating voices that would be presented to the discussion. Those voices will leap to the idea that children, patients, and elderly people are inside those homes who are disturbed by loudspeakers!
“In the narrowest limits, if (liberal) voices emerge, rejecting the idea under the pretext of (inconvenience), God forbid, or the possibility of the Imam and Muezzin contracting coronavirus for their closeness in prayer, then we say it is an excuse for those who do not have any excuse! They forget that many people will observe Isha and Taraweeh inside their homes together with their families, and God is the best protector, and He is the most merciful!
“There is another idea if some people claim that the voices and recitations of many Imams are not beautiful during prayer, then the Ministry of Endowments can rely on unified communication devices, so that Isha and Taraweeh prayers (for the Imam and the Muezzin) are held, for example, in the Grand Mosque of the state or one of the mosques and then linked to the devices of all state mosques to broadcast at the same time via loudspeaker ... or even with loudspeakers via Kuwait Radio!
“The important thing is: we want our country to be cracked by hearing the call to prayer and the Glorious Quran. We ask God through this proposal or even without it, especially as we are approaching this holy month, to descend upon our peaceful country with tranquility and mercy while protecting us with angels.
“In order to correct these conditions, God willing, we will meet you!
“The citizen, who proposed using Failaka Island as quarantine for rioters among expatriates whose countries refused to receive them or postponed receiving them for one reason or another, is right. He has a farfetched view, yet his proposal just needs some modifications to be feasible,” columnist Talal Al-Saeed wrote for Al-Seyassah daily.
“Most of the deportees or violators are agricultural people, so let them revive Failaka Island farms that were previously productive. Failaka Island used to be known for these farms as their soil is fertile and suitable for cultivation. Only a short period and little care are required until the farms return to their previous activity.
“As for the technicians and construction workers, they are assigned the task of rebuilding the former island’s homes to become habitable, then live in them, and become quarantine centers for the infected persons who are being treated there until the time of their transfer to their countries, rather until their countries allow them to return.
“Definitely, all of these businesses are not free of charge, they are paid for their work, but the wages are received for them before departure. As far as I know, there is a cooperative society in Failaka that can be revived and there are commercial stores or commercial markets where life can be revived once the population on the island increases.
“I do not imagine that the detainees there could escape, as the case with the workers in Mahboula or Jleeb Al-Shuyoukh who fled from their areas of residence simply because they heard about the curfew.
“Now, it has become the task of the securitymen to search for them and return them to their areas, which has doubled the burdens of securitymen, as the price of smuggling an individual from Mahboula or Jleeb AlShouyukh to any other area has reached KD 25, and the smuggling trade became active!”