Reviving our economy ... is there rationality and prudence?
“THE real deficit in the first 9 months of the current state budget was more than 5 billion dinars, in addition to two billion financial commitments. For more than five years, I have been searching for logical reasons for the failure of successive governments in dealing with the economic file, and the only and ridiculous excuse was the strength of the state’s general reserve, which was more than forty billion at the time,” columnist Dr Anwar Al-Shrai’an wrote for Al-Shahed daily.
“The governments that do not have the courage to confront and determination for reform, and will to market their decisions, will not be able to introduce any reforms for several reasons, some of which seem related to the lack of seriousness in reforming its structure and drying up the sources of waste and corruption, and the most important is their unwillingness to confront public opinion or the National Assembly due to their inability to propose or defend a real reform program, but resorting to the easiest solution, which is withdrawing money from the reserves, which unfortunately is the worst economic solution.
“Kuwait is suffering from the economic malady known as the Dutch disease where large financial surpluses have led successive governments to move away from economic rationality. Unfortunately, the governments in the last decade were not economically rational, and this is confirmed by the figures as successive governments have pursued expansionary policies in their administrative structure.
“The government enlarged in size and shrank in performance and flexibility, and those governments and
National Assemblies made it easy to increase government spending in all directions and today the current year’s budget is twice the government’s budget 10 years ago, and the salaries of most employees also doubled, and the value of state contracts also doubled, and unfortunately, government services have fallen to low levels during that same period and problems in all areas have doubled and continue to double.
“The current state of the Kuwaiti economy is no longer the same as it was between 2010 and 2019, as the general reserve has been exhausted and there is no money left, and the government is facing a real liquidity crisis. Unfortunately some voices within the government apparatus can be heard loud and clear calling to liquidate the assets owned by some government institutions, and here we ask a simple question to the Kuwaiti economic decision-makers: ‘What happens after liquidating the assets, which you know with certainty that in the best case will not be sufficient to cover the deficits during 2021’.
“Is there a clear plan, or are we dealing with our difficult economic situation and the scarcity of government funds on monthly basis or on day to day basis? As for the future, we leave it for the time or someone who comes after us. But simply this approach is far from being prudent and rational.”
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“The 2020 National Assembly is more than one month old, and to this moment remains closed until further notice and it may be the end of two months before the new government is formed, and all this happens in the life of the parliament, which most people of Kuwait were optimistic about in terms of its performance, and that it has come to combat corruption and stop financial and administrative abuses,” columnist Yousuf Hajji wrote for Annahar daily.
“The National Assembly of 2020 came with priorities during its electoral campaign that the people wish to amend the electoral system, cancel or amend the audiovisual law, amend the electoral structure and other popular laws, such as finding solutions to the issue of loans, resolving the bedoun issue which has stood still for decades, and modifying and improving the living conditions of the citizens.
“However the issue of the Speaker of Parliament came at the forefront of these priorities and made it the most important and the MPs could not get out of it until they questioned His Highness the Prime Minister after which the government submitted its resignation and the MPs put on hold the popular issues and priorities.
“The question that needs an answer is: ‘What did the citizen benefit from that? All this has opened the door wide for different scenarios which have multiplied amid many expectations. One side sees that the government is awaiting the constitutional court’s verdict because it has to rule on more than one appeal, and others see that the dissolution of the parliament may be an option especially if some MPs insist on grilling HH the Prime Minister who is expected to be given the charge to form the government again.
“In my humble opinion if the MPs are honest with their orientations and priorities, they will be able to pass any law because they have the majority without considering the issue of the Speaker of the National Assembly, and it must be overridden.
“Though I denounce what happened in the opening session, and the wrongdoer should be held accountable, but it should not be at the expense of citizens’ issues and popular priorities and wasting the Assembly’s life and time. Citizens are waiting for their aspirations to be fulfilled.
“For all of this, I call on the MPs to cooperate with the next government after its formation regardless of the names and people, because the formation of the government is an inherent right of its president and the legislative authority has nothing to do with this matter.
“The constitution forbids interference in powers, and the legislative authority must monitor the performance of the government after giving it sufficient time, and if it sees that there is defect or transgression, let them use their constitutional tools, legislate and implement citizens’ priorities and achieve their ambitions. The citizens will be victims of arrogance and stubbornness not forgetting the consequences of the Speakership election session.
“In conclusion, I pray to God to protect Kuwait, its Amir and its people from all harm, and to remove this (Corona) epidemic from us and the entire world.”
“Democracy is nothing but the product of a moral revolution at the level of social values, and a political revolution in the view of societies (Burhan Ghalyoun),” columnist Dr Nada Sulaiman Al-Mutawa wrote for Al-Jarida daily.
“Is democracy relative? Or is it a comprehensive umbrella for many practices that found their way to our countries through the polls? Do we have to spread the culture of democracy before practicing it?
“Many questions were raised when the halls of our educational institutions hosted conferences and initiatives over the past years, which took their place under the umbrella of democracy.
“Many colleagues took the initiative to write in this regard, but their works remained in the drawers, along with many other marginalized scientific studies at the scientific and research centers. I mention, for example but not limited to them, the scientific papers that dealt with the spread of violence among young people, which were initiated by professors from the College of Education and others in the Department of Psychology.
“This violence, which spread to family members, work corridors and Parliament, has become verbal and physical violence in light of the dwindling efforts on promoting mental health.
“Physical violence among young people worsened and it has raised the alarm. Unfortunately, no one listened, so today, the scenario is repeated in the field of education. Despite the scientific papers published by researchers of higher education institutions on e-learning, we floundered in the decision-making process. We stood in confusion among ourselves and in front of the executive stage, yet we ignored the evaluation and measurement institutions that should have tested the educational experience in the time of corona, so studies remained in the drawers and they have yet to see the light.”
“Humans, by nature, do not like restrictions … Nevertheless, measures imposed on citizens and expatriates due to the corona pandemic are restrictions that should not be tolerated, especially since the epidemic is not retreating to safe levels along with the detection of two cases of the new strain of coronavirus as two Kuwaiti women who came from the UK tested positive for the new strain,” columnist Abdulrahman Awwad wrote for Al-Sabah daily.
“Today, the Ministry of Health is required to explain to the public the extent of the risk of the new strain arriving in the country from Britain and if it was transmitted to the two citizens in the plane that carried them. Results of tests they underwent before boarding the plane showed they were healthy, so how did the results of the tests they took later showed they are infected with the new strain?
“Today, everyone must adhere to all the health regulations as they are necessary in the current stage such as covering the nose and mouth, constantly disinfecting hands, maintaining physical distancing, and protecting groups of people at risk like those with chronic diseases, elderly and those with weak immune system.
“We need to take into account the regulations for which the ministry called on everyone to follow as prevention is better than cure, in addition to the fact that negligence at this particular time may cause severe setback and disaster.
“Returning to the last period, the use of sanitizer spray in complexes and markets has declined significantly. Today, we rarely see a store that requires customers to wear face mask. This is a dangerous indicator that must be immediately remedied by enforcing the law and obligating everyone for the safety of all citizens and residents.”