‘Govt must ward off pressures, go for major tourism, trade projects’
“OVER the past decades, successive governments have been saying they have a vision to diversify the sources of income and not rely on oil as the only source of all their work programs. However we did not see realistic plans that can be implemented on the ground other than adopting the views of the World Bank which recommend the lifting of subsidies and increasing service charges and imposition of taxes,” columnist Oweid Al-Salili wrote for Al-Shahed daily.
“Although over the years the state was unable to achieve that goal due to the reassurance and reliance on the rise in oil prices and the achievement of surpluses for extended years in the state budget.
“In most Third World countries, governments are leading the development and renaissance in their countries because of the modernity of the private sector.
“In Kuwait, post-independence phase, the state led the development movement to achieve diversification of the sources of income. The state was the sponsor of most of the successful projects in the country at the level of the Gulf region.
“Among the most prominent of these projects was the government’s establishment of the Kuwait Investment
Authority, which supervised the Future Generations Fund, the fifth largest sovereign fund in the world, and sponsoring the idea of establishing the first bank in the country in the 1950s and early 1960s, which is a very early start to establish a sound economic system.
“The successful state projects are many and varied, but the recurring and striking thing in most of these projects is the deliberate destruction and sabotage and the attempt to convince the people of the idea of privatizing and selling them under the pretext of doing away with the losses that burden the state budget.
“There are many examples of this destructive approach, most notably the government’s support in the 1960s to establish the Kuwait Airways and transform it into a government company, until in the 1970s and 1980s it became the leading airline in the Middle East and the influential people thirsted for it and unfortunately stood as an impenetrable dam for its development to the point that MPs refused to modernize its fleet in 2008 in favor of competing companies.
“We also cannot forget the pioneering role played by the government to revitalize tourism in the country when it established the Touristic Enterprises Company in 1976 which accomplished huge projects such as the Kuwait Towers, the Entertainment City, the Seafront, the Green Island, the Khairan resort and many other projects that were generating a lot of money for the state.
“A fierce war was launched against the company, as usual for the successful state projects from within the corridors of the government and coordination from outside, so it was emptied of its content, neglected the maintenance of its projects and stopped its work until the government was fed up with it, and looked for someone to buy it at the lowest price.
“If the government is serious about achieving diversification of sources of income, it is supposed to face off pressures from the influential people, develop and support leading state projects and adopt huge projects in accordance with the state’s vision to transform the country into a financial and commercial center based on the weight of the Silk City and Bubiyan Port, and the development of islands and other projects that are collecting dust on the shelves of the Planning Council and start implementing them without delay and procrastination.”
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“The financing of the upcoming housing projects can be looked as a ‘crisis project’ in every sense of the word if the state budget continues in this state. The government has expressed its opinion on the difficulty of financing the projects of South Sabah Al-Ahmad and South Saad Al-Abdullah due to the budget deficit. It shall be a problem if this issue is not taken into account now and you will not be able in any way to finance future projects,” columnist Ebrahim AlAwadhi wrote for Al-Rai daily.
“This is an important issue that touches every Kuwaiti family, thus it needs concerted efforts and visions to overcome it in order to provide housing care for the citizens of this country. It is an issue that needs realistic and logical solutions because if no solutions are found it will have a bearing on the future generations.
“We talked and everyone talked about the need to address the state’s dysfunctional budget and to search for other alternative sources of income away from oil in order to maintain the state’s financial sustainability, but it looks like we are in one valley and the MPs in another valley.
“The Future Generations Fund -- which for many years was the first line of defense for the state financially, and an important basis in maintaining Kuwait’s economic stability -- has become an easy and simple solution to any problem and financial deficit facing us which is a solid dam to ensure a decent life for the future generations.
“I know that touching the money of the Fund is not taboo but that should not happen until after all available options and solutions have been exhausted. As for resorting to the easiest solution, it is something that only the weak resort to because they are unable to think properly about solving problems. I wonder here, did the government and the members of the housing committee think about the rest of the solutions so that this proposal would come out to us?
“We lost hope in the government for a long time, and we hoped the MPs would play their role in overcoming these crises but the reality of the situation says that the mentality of the government and the mentalities of some esteemed MPs are the same in solving problems as they adopt the easiest and simplest way but at the expense of the citizen, the homeland and its future. “And because we are talking about the state’s general budget, we give everyone good news that Kuwaiti oil has reached a price of $72 a barrel to continue its successive rises and how much we hoped that the previous decline would be a wakeup call for the government and the National Assembly to think soundly about the danger of low oil prices on the citizen before the state, but what happened confirms that those concerned with the decision only work for their day, not for the future.”
“Most countries of the world have started opening their doors to travel activities without even the need for a PCR test certificate. They include Turkey, which announced the reception of citizens without tests as long as they received the vaccine, Morocco and others. However, our wise government has set conditions to not allow citizens to travel without obtaining a vaccine passport, as well as another major handicap called Kuwait-Mosafer,” columnist Mohammad Al-Jalahma wrote for Al-Anba daily.
“I do not know who is behind the so-called Kuwait-Mosafer app, which was most likely set up to prevent citizens from traveling, especially due to the problems with the app and obstructing citizens from returning to their country.
“Logic says that the so-called Kuwait-Mosafer app, if imposed, should be a facilitator for travelers’ affairs, not a headache for them because of the failure of attempts to download the app to their smartphones.
“According to media reports, the most prominent problem that travelers face with the app is the requirement that the traveler must have a Kuwait number in order to download the app. This poses a difficulty for those who do not carry a Kuwait sim card outside the country. Other problems faced by the travelers are related to entering the vaccination certificate and PCR test details before boarding the plane.
“Regardless of the development of the app after the wave of popular anger that reached the nation’s representatives without those in charge of the app or our rational government, there are some questions worth asking - By what right is a citizen prevented from returning to his homeland, even if he is sick? Does the state require the travel of those who receive the vaccine? Does the vaccine reduce symptoms? Isn’t there an expansion in vaccination? Will there be community immunity within weeks? Is there not a test that the citizen can conduct before coming to the country and another after his arrival and then stay under home quarantine?
“Many questions I did not find answers to ... And the conclusion I reached is that the app is utilitarian or aimed to prevent citizens from traveling to activate the movement of markets and restaurants and continue to close the door to expatriates who have valid residency.
“In my opinion, all of what will be mentioned is behind the so-called ‘Kuwait-Mosafer’ app. I personally advise changing the name of the app to - If you travel, you will not return even if you are a Kuwaiti!”