THERE should not be a vacuum of power in the government, even when the ruler is on a personal vacation, as his powers should transfer directly to the second-in-command in the state, irrespective of whether he is the crown prince, a member of the monarchies, or the vice president in the republics.

The same applies if the head of state is exposed to health problems that require him to be admitted to the hospital. Someone appointed by the Constitution should then act directly on his behalf to exercise this role, and he thus may exercise all the powers of government.

Any defect in the governance system means chaos and an intensification of the conflict of interests.

That is why the constitutions of the countries are clear in detailing this matter with extreme precision. Accordingly, what is issued by the person entrusted with the affairs cannot be discussed by anyone, according to what he decrees.

Your Highness the Crown Prince, allow me to address you directly. This is coming from a heart that loves Kuwait, and is aware of your concerns and worries. It is also because some stakeholders are preventing the official from telling the truth, or are working to fabricate charges against anyone who dares to try to raise his voice or the voice of the people to him.

This is especially if there is corruption in the security forces or the entourage surrounding it. Article 45 of the Constitution stipulates that “Every individual shall have the right to address the public authorities in writing over his signature…”

Your Highness the Crown Prince, your people rejoiced in your recent decision in which you suspended settlements and deals made at the expense of the public interest in recent months, especially during the period between the announcement of the Prime Minister’s grilling and his ascension to the podium. This represented a systematic plunder of positions, when justice and equality were overlooked.

There is no doubt that the country, since liberation until today, has experienced many failures as a result of the councils of ministries, which were either based on quotas in their worst form, or because of the failure of its boss - the prime minister.

Therefore, citizens saw nothing but more hesitation in decisions and deals, and a lack of justice in projects, which turned into something similar to “Ali Baba’s cave” for every share. The game of personal interests is being played out due to which the burden is heavy, but the first step, which is the most difficult, came at the right time.

Your Highness the Crown Prince, successive parliaments were supposed to monitor the work of the ministries and correct their course, but unfortunately, the relationship with the executive authority was built on corruption and interests. This is why it lacked prudence and popular trust, especially in the last stage. We all saw during the Prime Minister’s grilling session how the settlements were formulated, even though the grilling parliamentarian’s statement included many points that should be highlighted.

Your Highness the Crown Prince, Kuwaitis do not criticize the National Assembly, but rather the executive authority, which did not provide them with anything, but instead sank in an inch of water by submitting to the parliamentarians, and became an obedient tool in their hand. This undoubtedly represents the height of the departure from the Constitution, which called for cooperation between the two authorities without one giving up to the other.

Your Highness the Crown Prince, allow me to address you without ambiguity unlike some people who address the authorities through pseudonyms.

Even though some of them spoke the truth, Kuwaitis still remember your warm tears at the opening of the last session of the National Assembly, when Your Highness mentioned the noble verse, “Our Lord, let not our hearts deviate after You have guided us” because you realized from the beginning that there was no room for lack of responsibility in the country.

The parliamentarians and ministers turned a blind eye to this major event, because they realized they were able to continue with what they had become accustomed to in previous stages, without being held accountable.

These people are working on the principle of an old anecdote about a ruler, who sent an official to check on the conditions of a neighboring country. This person attended a party held in honor of him in the evening. During that party, they enjoyed playing string musical instruments. The next day when he went to a department to finalize a transaction, he was told, “The strings of the law forbid it because some papers were missing”. When he returned to his boss, he told him, “They contradict themselves by preaching what they don’t practice, which explains their backwardness.”

There are many problems that Kuwait suffers from, starting with the failure of institutions, through the infrastructure that the citizens suffer from, to the lack of seriousness in diversifying sources of income and the failure of education.

Your Highness the Crown Prince, all of this was caused by those who did not put the interest of Kuwait above all other considerations. Therefore, your decision to suspend all decisions related to appointment, promotion, transfer, delegation and secondment in all state agencies represents the first step on the thousand-mile road to reform.

However, Kuwait needs more firm decisions in order to correct the course so that it does not go completely out of date and become a failed state if the profiteers’ tricks continue.

Today, all of Kuwait is breathing a sigh of relief, and is waiting for more to come out of the recovery room.

By Ahmed Al-Jarallah

Editor-in-Chief, the Arab Times