As usual, several recommendations emerged from the forum, but unfortunately, no one took them seriously. The body overseeing the endowment, with all due respect to its members, has not, for well-known reasons, made any major efforts to develop its work beyond what it has been accustomed to over the past 20 years. Moreover, the individuals responsible for managing it have remained largely the same since the establishment of the Ja’afari Endowment Advisory Committee. This situation persisted even after the committee’s role evolved from advisory to executive. In the absence of the committee’s chairman, the deputy secretary-general of the endowment banks, by his position in the General Secretariat of Endowments, his powers were, oddly, transferred to a virtuous figure – the deputy chairman of the advisory committee. This individual then became the CEO while also remaining a member of the advisory committee! It is said that the advisory/executive committee insists on following the same approach without any change or development.

I believe this opinion is accurate based on my previous experience with a senior endowment official in the private sector. I once asked him to collaborate with me, using the “Shiite” endowment funds he managed, to establish a school for “slow learners,” as there was a dire need for such an institution. My request was rejected because the endowment’s expenditures were predetermined and did not include establishing schools. I certainly do not doubt the integrity of the members of the advisory committee that I know, but I am unfamiliar with the rest of the members of the various semi-executive committees that have emerged from the parent advisory committee. These individuals work semi-voluntarily, and their names have not changed radically in the past 20 years. One can observe that the formation of committees often follows a quota or “sectarian-political” balance, aimed at pleasing everyone. The reason behind this may be a reluctance to “modernize” the committee’s work, as doing so would require navigating the complexities and discussions involved in selecting new members. This is despite the fact that, as far as I know, there is no committee or institution in Kuwait that has been supervised by the same individuals for twenty years without any significant change.

There is a need to enhance transparency in the work of the Advisory Committee and reduce its members, despite the challenges in achieving this goal, which may make it difficult to satisfy all religious and political parties. It is also necessary to involve financial experts, even if they are not from the same party, in the formation of the committee. Moreover, there should be strict internal oversight of the endowment’s work by an independent institution. The integrity of the new members who will succeed the current ones cannot be guaranteed indefinitely. In addition, new activities must be introduced to diversify the spending and investment of endowment funds, moving beyond the specific activities that have been adopted over the past 1,000 years.

By Ahmad alsarraf
 e-mail: [email protected]