O LEADERSHIP, the Chinese philosopher Confucius said, “There is no poverty under a good government, and there is no wealth under a bad government.” Perhaps there is a lot of idealism in this phrase, but it is a reality that must be worked upon. This is what we miss in Kuwait since the infiltration of alien political customs into our society, and strange political traditions, which have become our reality.
Therefore, over the past three decades, instead of learning from the very harsh lesson of the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait, our officials worked on encouraging an internal invasion, represented by mismanagement, the failure of the economy, and the spread of corruption, until this vice contaminated the harmony of our families.
It is true that Kuwait has gone through many crises over the past four centuries, but it has emerged stronger from them, except in the past three decades. Therefore, what we are experiencing today is the result of that stage, which must be dealt with realistically in order to realize the cause of the mistakes and work on addressing them.
The Chinese philosopher said, “A man who has committed a mistake and does not correct it is committing another mistake.”
Unfortunately, this is what previous governments did, and these mistakes increased due to the bad practices of the parliamentarians, especially in the past few years.
In the last 15 years or so, Kuwait witnessed four prime ministers, more than 350 ministers, four speakers of the National Assembly, and about 500 MPs. Despite all this army, the legislative results and projects are equal to zero.
If we think well about it, the rate of productivity is equivalent to about three percent. On the other hand, due to the systematic effort to sabotage the administration, turn differences in viewpoints into political battles between the two authorities, and plunder the state, corruption rates in various institutions increased by about 56 percent compared to what it was before the invasion.
In fact, what is worse is that an elite group of Kuwaiti minds migrated abroad, and the economy is shackled with restrictions that are not at all consistent with the slogan “Kuwait is a global financial and commercial center”. Rather, today it is more like a farm dominated by chaos.
All of this is due to the absence of justice in equal opportunities.
When a parliamentarian uses his immunity and constitutional tools to impose pressure on a frightened minister who is hesitant to pass his demands, and works on appointments that lack the minimum limits stipulated in the law, this will undermine the work in the institutions, and will make the minister more like an employee of the parliamentarians.
People have become exhausted today financially, politically, and even socially. If the successive governments bear responsibility, the absence of an executive decision in the Council of Ministers, and the consolidation of the encroachment of parliamentarians on the government’s powers have led to an increase in the paralysis of most, if not all, sectors of the state.
We are at the bottom of development in the failed sectors of education, health, sports, and economy. The neighboring countries have surpassed us by light years in development and progress in these sectors.
O leadership, this is the state of our country today, and it is capable of getting out of the impasse if it has the determination and the ability to carry out reform painfully and quickly without haste.
We pray, “Our Lord! Let not our hearts deviate after You have guided us, and grant us mercy from You. Truly, You are the Giver.”
By Ahmed Al-Jarallah
Editor-in-Chief, the Arab Times
