THE issue of loans is not complicated. It is made to look complicated by vested interests for political reasons but unfortunately it is one of the reasons why the sufferings of 25 percent of the Kuwaitis have increased and multiplied.
This problem can be solved easily if we apply the United Arab Emirates (UAE) method and lessen the burden from the shoulders of citizens, free the economy from the shackles of uncertainty and shut the mouths of those who use this issue to trade in politics particularly during election time.
Long ago the United Arab Emirates set the ball rolling to prevent such a phenomenon when the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahayan (we pray to God to have mercy on him) devised a policy and six months ago the initiative was adopted by Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al-Nahayan.
About 20 years ago the late wise ruler of the UAE Sheikh Zayed met a farmer who was taking care of palm trees in the garden of his palace. Sheikh Zayed was informed that the man had been imprisoned for failing to pay back his bank loan.

After getting details from the bank about the loan, Sheikh Zayed found the bank had given the man in excess of hundred thousand dirham while the man’s salary was less than 3,000 dirham per month.
This set the ball rolling and Sheikh Zayed ordered the bank to bear the responsibility for payment of the loan because the employees who had processed the loan had been careless. They had failed to forecast the inability of the man to repay the loan money.
Sheikh Zayed also issued instructions to the UAE banks to review its lending policy.
Sheikh Zayed also issued directives to the Central Bank to put its house in order and to issue instructions to all banks within the UAE to set up new credit rules to prevent banks from lending money to persons who do not have the sufficient means to repay, thus ensuring a good relationship between banks and their customers.

The UAE also contained the global financial meltdown which had rocked almost the entire world between 2007 and 2008 by adopting a policy which was more effective than most countries.
We saw how the UAE economy recovered quickly except for the small debtors who failed to pay but this was taken care of by UAE President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed to ensure the rights of banks and preserve the dignity of the citizens by issuing an Amiri decree ordering the State to pay the loans of citizens to the extent of five million dirhams. The State paid one billion dirhams but at the same time issued investment incentives to help the state recover the money.
For that matter any state can find suitable solutions to relieve the burdens of their citizens and the same can be applied in our country. Kuwait can learn from the UAE. This small amount — equivalent to the production of oil for two hours — has helped the UAE citizens and its economy.

It has ensured security for many families which were pursued by law for failing to pay their debts — debts exacerbated by accumulated compound interest. In Kuwait 50,000 families (out of 300,000) face the same fate because they can be thrown behind bars any moment.
In two experiments, the first by the late Sheikh Zayed and the other by Sheikh Khalifa, the UAE has successfully addressed the issue of debtors and prevented the disintegration of many families.
If Kuwait follows the UAE policy, politicians who have invested in the issue for electoral gains will go empty handed.
The State can buy the debt of citizens at reduced rates, in particular the debts of small debtors who being pursued by the law a short while after borrowing money.
If the State does that, it will kill two birds with one stone first by alleviating the burden from the shoulders of the citizens and ensuring a minimum level of social security, and two by punishing the banks for lending without abiding by credit control rules.

Those who follow the Kuwaiti economy will be surprised to see obstacles put in the path of investors which would make any country bankrupt.
In spite of all the crises experienced by our economy, there is still a group of politicians which is working to sabotage everything while our successive governments have behaved like ostriches and buried their heads in the sand and bowed to pressures from MPs and as a result delayed tenders, disrupted projects, cancelled contracts and ended up paying huge fines.
We have been witnessing crisis after crisis for almost 30 years now.
For over 30 years our economy has seen no specific strategy. If the state tries to revive it, we see the so-called big mouth MPs questioning the intentions in the name of defending public money although it is common knowledge they are more corrupt than anybody else under the sun.

We are talking of three decades and the State has done nothing to alleviate the sufferings of citizens who are slaughtered on the altar of sacrificial loans and compound interests while the MPs continue to exploit them and play with their sentiments.
The State has failed to protect the citizens from the banks and corrupt MPs. We see no reason why a State cannot buy small loans or benefits.
The masks of the MPs who play with the sentiments of the citizens have fallen. The current government should take this into account and reschedule the loan repayments at low interest rates. The installments can be paid in 20 or 30 years. This way the government can ensure and protect the safety and security of thousands of families.

Yes, the State can come to the rescue of the citizens just like what the UAE has done and foil the attempts of some MPs who toy with the feelings of defaulters and 25 percent of the Kuwaitis.
God bless Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan. He was wise and paid keen interest to the affairs of his subjects. He devised a strategy to be adopted by the banks, and prevented the phenomenon of loans from snowballing which could have demolished homes and displaced many families.