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Local newspapers
reported last week that the government is willing to listen to citizens'
proposals to support the country's development plans. But this simple news
created a fuss. It occupied headlines and social media between those who tried
to analyze the issue of citizen proposals and others who found this move
interesting, as the government does not need suggestions or ideas because it
knows all of our problems.
The local press
published reports that the Cabinet has formed a joint team comprising of a
number of government agencies and entrepreneurs to receive initiatives and
ideas supporting development plans in the country. The government will also
welcome proposals from citizens. The team should present its report every six months
to the Council of Ministers, including the total initiatives that were
submitted and the number of proposals accepted and denied.
I think the idea
is beautiful, but as usual, the fear of a lack of implementation is justified.
Moreover, which proposals will be accepted and which will be rejected? Can the
proposer object to the team's opinion? Who will review initiatives and what are
their commercial and scientific backgrounds to consider the initiatives and
make decisions?
For example, the
reports said that there is a proposal calling for readying a comprehensive
employee who is able to complete all transactions in a single review session,
and that such a comprehensive employee could be an official or an ordinary
employee.
I think this is known
as the modern management system. So a manager, for example, should not have a
large staff of secretaries to answer the phone, print a letter, make an
appointment or respond to inquiries because he can do this all by himself or at
least with one assistant and not an army of staff.
But this means
that the employee should have strong administrative efficiency and not be
appointed by wasta or be ignorant about the basic principles of the use of
computers. It is expected that such an employee will be able to complete the
transactions of people with record speed!
I believe many
people and not only Kuwaitis want an initiative aimed at ending paper
transactions and going electronic to overcome bureaucratic obstacles and red
tape. We are also heading towards the rainy season in few months' time, and
people have the right to be worried about what is in store for them. Also, are
schools really ready to receive students in this heat? There are many questions
and concerns that we should not have in the first place in a country like
Kuwait. This is a good initiative, but we need action. The question remains -
how much time do we need to become a productive and satisfied society?
By Muna Al-Fuzai
