KUWAIT CITY, July 7: Kuwait can achieve its development goals only through the implementation of genuine reforms and stability, reports Al-Watan Arabic daily quoting Attorney Osama Al-Shaheen — one of the members of the annulled National Assembly.

Al-Shaheen said national progress is not possible amidst corruption, chaos and endless formation of new governments and parliaments. “We live in a country controlled by certain individuals and their ideologies. Even if the constitutional system was launched half a century ago, we are still far from the dream of every Kuwaiti to have a country of institutions with long-term strategic plans. Kuwait badly needs laws to improve infrastructure needed for national growth,” he added.

Asserting that Kuwait continues to face internal and external challenges, Al-Shaheen enumerated various problems which require immediate solutions, such as the nation’s total dependence on oil as the main source of income and unstable situation in the region which increases the possibility of the fourth Gulf War; made worse by the growing influence of Iran in the region. He said that while the Gulf nations are occupied with the chronic internal problems which require strong coordination between the executive and legislative authorities, the current situation is getting worse because some people work only for personal interests and corrupt groups. He pointed out these people have been impeding efforts to combat corruption and stop chaos. He added the 2012 National Assembly had successfully implemented general reforms that led to the exposure of corruption files.

Meanwhile, the recent report released by the Public Authority for Strategic Planning showed that 51 percent of obstacles to the general development of the country are related to old infrastructure and conflicts between the authorities. The report warned this problem cannot be resolved without the supervision of the National Assembly.