EVERYONE in Kuwait is eager for the wheel of reform to turn faster and stronger, as the signing of 18 contracts worth KD 400 million for road maintenance by the Minister of Public Works Dr. Noura Al-Mashaan is considered a long-awaited milestone.
This is an indication of a departure from the sterile bureaucracy of the past, which allowed corruption to flourish.
Moreover, it confirms that His Highness the Amir Sheikh Meshal Al-Ahmad made the right decision in abolishing the local agent system. This change has eliminated opportunities for profit that were previously confined to a select group of powerful individuals, lawmakers, and others who exploited the state without accountability or oversight.
Today, these contracts are not limited to local companies but they also include Emirati, Qatari, and foreign companies.
The relevant authorities will definitely oversee the contracts, with His Highness the Amir directly monitoring the progress to ensure that the projects do not revert to the previous inefficient system, which involved a lengthy and messy documentation process, a tenders committee, and other channels that inflated costs by two or three times.
Everyone is aware of the direction these projects were on, and the legal loopholes that allowed corrupt actors to exploit the system.
Despite numerous observations from the State Audit Bureau, meaningful action was often sidelined, as the influence of the status quo far outweighed the efforts of all oversight agencies combined.
On this basis, we have repeatedly called for a reassessment of the projects implemented since 1992 up to the recent past, and urged the state to work on recovering looted funds, as the stench of corruption has become unbearable, even reaching beyond our borders.
The announcement of the 18 road repair contracts highlights how such projects were put in place and used as sources of easy profit, with concerned institutions failing to take action against the rampant tampering that was affecting not only the projects but also the lives of citizens.
In recent years, we have witnessed the number of victims resulting from this neglect, all in the name of protecting certain individuals who have consistently sought to plunder public funds.
Our Amir, whom we can rightly call the Amir of Restoration, has undoubtedly encountered these tactics firsthand as he served as an observer who is aware of the routes of the state and all its agencies. Despite his dissatisfaction with some of them, he chose not to publicly express his disapproval, as His Highness adheres to Amiri customs that emphasize obedience to leadership directives.
In his speech after taking the oath, His Highness said, “We must listen and obey, and we have never violated the decisions and instructions, despite our dissatisfaction with some of them, because obeying the ruler is akin to obeying Allah.”
On that day, His Highness affirmed the necessity of working firmly to protect public funds and institutions in order to ensure that they do not revert to a state where one institution encroaches on the powers of another. Such regression has only increased corruption, disrupted public affairs, and created political and economic chaos, which burdened both the country and society.
Undoubtedly, correcting the institutional path requires a lot of work, especially when it comes to the authority assigned to each institution and official. His Highness the Amir’s actions have demonstrated the firmness and wisdom needed to tackle this issue effectively.
This has caused many self-interested individuals to retreat, as they realized that the noise they were making through social media and innuendo will not weaken the resolve of a seasoned leader who is committed to saving his country, which was nearly brought down by the game of the deep state’s interests and into the clutches of those who disregard the supreme interest or the public good.
The Ministry of Public Works represents the first step in the political leadership’s reform journey, and their efforts must be translated into action. For this reason, His Highness the Amir deserves our sincere gratitude once again, as Kuwait is now on the right track.
