Muna Al-Fuzai

Muna Al-Fuzai



There are
undoubtedly several important issues before the National Assembly such as the
bedoons' law, new cities and others, but I as a Kuwaiti citizen hope the
parliament looks at the issue of government spending among its agenda. This
topic is very important for Kuwait's interests and international reputation, so
a joint national project between the government and the Assembly should be
launched to control public expenditure within a specified period of time.

The basis of this
project is to ensure new projects are not launched unless they have a
guaranteed return, and reduce spending on other non-priority areas with
administrative and parliamentary supervision over spending. I think, for
example, that building new cities without services for the population is not as
important as new roads and repairing damaged streets.

Reports have been
spreading for days about the possibility of rain, and although rain is liked by
people, what people remember is that last year, rains inundated parts of Kuwait
and roads were lined with submerged cars, raising concern. These matters may
seem small, but are a major issue for the public. I think it is better to
criticize the government for the delay in the completion of projects than to
lose those projects in full because of mismanagement or lack of completion.

The new
government spending project does not aim at reducing public expenditure. How
much society needs various projects and differentiating among them on the basis
of their collective benefit should be considered, and only then spending on
these projects should be determined.

For example, the
5 percent VAT approved by the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) for
nearly four years has not been implemented in Kuwait, but spending efficiency
is better than resorting to tax increases to reduce public deficit. I believe
that the efficiency of government spending is a guarantee for economic growth
of the state and makes it immune from potential pressures due to global
economic conditions. It is perhaps the only remaining means of financial
sustainability.

We tend to hear
that the reason for general waste is salaries, which makes up nearly
three-quarters of spending in Kuwait, but this should not be the reason for
more spending. I know that the issue of government spending in many countries
around the world is difficult and burdened by complexities, because there are
multiple ways of spending and decentralized decision-making, but remains
essential to avoid possible risk from global trade tensions and uncertainty in
oil prices.

Because of large
budget deficits and reliance on volatile commodity prices, government spending
needs to be addressed with a more strategic approach. The decline in oil prices
will not only affect the Gulf region, but the entire Arab region, especially as
the Gulf countries are the most important trading and investment partners of
all non-oil exporting countries. So, focusing on spending efficiency is
important.

These factors
require the importance of continuing and accelerating the pace of financial and
structural reforms to increase economic resilience and stimulate the growth of
the private sector to be a partner in development and not only a beneficiary.
The optimal use of financial resources is not just a wish but an irreplaceable
choice. I believe that achieving efficiency is one of the issues that requires
consensus between the legislative and executive branches of the country.

By Muna Al-Fuzai

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