IN Kuwait, we are used to political situations that are saturated with conflicts and polarizations. Some politicians, either current or former MPs and ministers who have turned into media stars, end up being fascinated by the cameras. They hence keep appearing in the media repeatedly, and whatever they say becomes a daily fuel for the mainstream media and social media platforms.
Eventually, issues turn into a successive “chatter” with each person talking about it knowingly or unknowingly without investigating the accuracy and credibility, and without making sure of what the social media is full of in the open space. News spreads like wildfire, irrespective of whether they are true or not. Not a day goes by without information leakage here or there, and rumors that may most likely be tendentious, or test balloons launched by some with interests in themselves, as it may be their wish to keep the country preoccupied with talks about extra salaries, potholed roads and flying gravel, and whether or not the parliament will be dissolved. You end up hearing comments like “Marzouq Al-Ghanim will return stronger than he was”, or questions like “Will His Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Ahmad Al-Nawaf resign?”, or rumors about a disagreement in the ruling house, something that is frequent and bears truth to some extent, but can also be baseless.
Society is endlessly preoccupied with this state of “chatter”. On the other hand, the “New Kuwait 2035” vision, which aims to transform the State of Kuwait into a regional and global fi- nancial and commercial center that attracts investments, is still stagnating. Meanwhile, the countries around us are racing to implement their visions and plans and turn them into a new and beautiful reality. Examples of development and growth are plenty around us. Various parts of Saudi Arabia are witnessing festivals throughout the year, attracting its residents as well as people from abroad through great facilities for entry. Hence, these festivals have become a new source of income.
There are also workshops spread in all parts of the country in a comprehensive renaissance of industries, agriculture, and tourism, and to keep pace with the knowledge and technological revolution. Regarding the UAE, it launched the “UAE Centennial 2071” in 2017 as a roadmap for the UAE to become the best country in the world in this era. If we look at these two examples, we would find that the future is what preoccupies these two countries, as well as the other friendly countries about which there is not enough room here to review them all.
We talk on a daily basis about partisan issues that only look at the expired past, forgetting that America is built up of more than 300 million immigrants. In fact, they are America’s fuel, and through them, it became the greatest country in the world. The country has paid the price of conflicts for decades. We have had enough of arguing with each other, forgetting the words of Almighty Allah, the Most High, “Obey Allah and His Messenger, and do not quarrel with each other lest you fail or lose honor.
Exercise patience; Allah is with those who have patience.” The time has come for us to move towards the future through a clear and specific vision based on the diversification of the economy and its sustainability, and an effective government administration that restructures the flabby agencies and involves the private sector in economic activity, without neglecting the basis of development, which is the Kuwaiti citizens.
By Ahmed Al-Jarallah
Editor-in-Chief, the Arab Times
[email protected]/[email protected]
