New millions-worth risk
We are required to deliberate recent news regarding liquidating state assets and withdrawing money from funds abroad with the excuse of meeting development needs, with a great deal of seriousness, responsibility, transparency and credibility. If those news turn out to be true, it would be the start of drying out our financial resources. Recent news indicated that the government made a decision to liquidate $32 million from our financial assets abroad, to spend them on development projects. This story coincided with the International Monetary Fund’s report that Kuwait does not currently suffer from any real deficit.
Nobody could deny that Kuwaitis of various age categories are eager to witness development projects become a reality. Each Kuwaiti does feel frustrated over the current situations in various fields compared with our neighbors, despite of our huge potentials and historic lead in many fields starting from the independence until the 1990 Iraqi Invasion. However, as soon as we liquidate our assets, they will be used as a never-ending excuse for the falling oil prices.
We also need to have major inquiries and get clear answers, starting with a detailed statement about the KD36 billion budget allocated for the 2009 development plan. What are the results of the plan? How was such a gigantic budget spent so far?
Prior to allocating new sums for any future projects, the government has to present a full plan, defining the sought development and its requirements, the projects involved, the presence of Kuwaiti citizens in them and their schedules. Otherwise, we will be facing another risk to be added to our previous record of bad risks. Therefore, lawmakers have a historic, ethical and constitutional responsibility to demand detailed data about this topic from the government; namely from His Highness the Prime Minister.
On the other hand, and according to our previous bitter experiences in tenders, project execution, contracting or changing programs, all such loopholes should be dealt with, through either legislation or reshuffling various administrative regulations and decisions, including that of auditing and follow-up, because all those who were responsible for Kuwait’s projects that went horribly wrong have escaped accountability.
Finally, the Public Anti-Corruption Authority’s legal and administrative status has to be reformed because this organization was already born premature with very limited liabilities and monitoring authorities. So, if this is our auditing bodies’ performance and everyone’s general impression about the government’s performance, what development are we talking about and what is the fate of all those millions about to be spent?