WE have been screaming for years from the pain of the scenes that everyone is witnessing in Kuwait in terms of the deterioration of all services.

We are talking not only about the roads, but also the large piles of garbage on the sidewalks of the streets. Some areas seem to be from another world due to the manifestations of lawlessness and poor services.

Unfortunately, it seems as if we are screaming in a desert where no one could hear us. This is because the ministers are either busy making deals with the parliamentarians, or they assume positions as compensation for services in order to get out of it with certain privileges, or for an excellent retirement salary plan. It also seems as though they put up glass barriers between them and the citizens, and made their office director the final authority, which led to sluggishness in the sectors of their ministries.

There is an old Italian proverb - “Where there’s a will, there’s a way”. Because the will did not exist among ministers in some previous governments, everyone noticed the deterioration in all ministries.

This made reform an arduous process that required many efforts from each minister and the need for them to perform their work honestly.

In the past few days, we have noticed initiatives from some ministers; rather, from their boss who visited the northern region on a Saturday.

By the way, this is the first time in years that a senior official has visited that area, which was at the core of the concerns of the late Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad, the spearhead of the Northern Economic Zone project, the Silk Road and its city, which today has become a paper tiger.

For this purpose, the late Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad visited Iraq in order to revitalize economic relations between Iraq and Kuwait, starting from this region.

We also noticed the Minister of Public Works Noura Al-Mashaan, and her activity in remote areas.

There is a lot of equipment that we have never seen in restoration and repair operations, especially in the city of Wafra, and other areas,

Here we beg to ask - Where was all this equipment? Why was it not used in recent years?

Perhaps the answer to this question is not difficult, since the justifications were ready.

In the past, as soon as a minister assumes his ministry, he works on either shifting blame on those who preceded him, or saying that the budget is not enough, or that the National Assembly is obstructing projects, or that they did not get orders from above. In reality, all of them are weak justifications that indicate inability and hide many personal interests.

This kind of sluggishness sends any official in another country to go to prison, after being dismissed from his position. However, in Kuwait, it is the other way round.

Today, there is an apparent enthusiasm that must continue, such that it is not just a matter of recording a position among all ministers.

Treatments should be carried out according to the wishes of the people who have lost their voices after screaming about what they are suffering in all sectors of the state.

We will not repeat the talk about the huge potential that exists in Kuwait, through which it is able to get out of its development impasse. However, this is not possible with false slogans that hide behind them many personal ambitions and the agendas of powers and sects.

We recently saw what the peaceful Kuwait was about to endure, but Allah protected us as always.

What is required of all ministers, each in his or her own field of specialization, and of their boss as well, is to work on continuing the flame of enthusiasm among everyone.

They should not be content with this temporary flurry of activity, because its mere cessation will have a negative impact on them and on Kuwait.

This is why we say over and over again - Where there’s a will, there’s a way.

Does the current Council of Ministers have the will to find a way?

By Ahmed Al-Jarallah

Editor-in-Chief, the Arab Times