Young lawmaker talks demography, health sector, fuel prices, others

- We need to set the number of expats who can be replaced with citizens out of the total population

- Lower categories of jobs can be given to bedoons, instead of hiring expats from abroad

- Slogans of some politicians that we should get rid of all expats are not correct

- If we want to become like Dubai, we must spend in the same way

- Segregation at Jaber Hospital is completely wrong

- People noticed the hike in fuel prices while all other services remain bad

- Passing a new law is the first step in resolving the sports problem

- Around 88 percent of Kuwaiti manpower works in the public sector, and this is wrong

 

KUWAIT: MP Ahmad Al-Fadhl speaks to Kuwait Times. — Photos by Yasser Al-Zayyat

"Being an MP is a really hard job, and a little cooperation with other MPs would make it a lot easier. Unfortunately, there are troublemakers who are busy damaging the parliament," Ahmad Al-Fadhl, a young member of parliament, told Kuwait Times in an interview that touched on various issues being discussed in parliament. Some excerpts:

Demographic problem

"Like the human body, some organs are replaceable and some are vital," he said. "There are certain categories of expatriate workers that cannot be replaced. We need to set the number of expats who can be replaced with citizens out of the total population. According to simple analyses and the available numbers, I found that there are two aspects that we can focus on - legal and procedural. The legal part is focused on marginal workers. We should issue new laws or amend existing ones to eliminate marginal workers, who use the infrastructure and all the services provided by the government. The procedural part consists of replacing current employees in the public sector.

"My suggestion is that lower categories of jobs, which Kuwaitis are not interested in, can be given to bedoons (stateless) who are eligible to get citizenship or to children of Kuwaiti mothers, instead of hiring expats from abroad. Especially that these people have been living here since their birth and will spend their salaries inside the country, while most expats have families abroad to whom they transfer their salary."

Other sectors

"The middle sector consists of special professions and supporting professions," he indicated. "The special professions include experts and consultants in various fields, and these can only be replaced with Kuwaiti employees of the same level of qualification. These include teachers, doctors, engineers and others. But we have the worst qualifications according to the Human Development Report, which compared Kuwait to other Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, and we rank among the worst in terms of education.

"The work environment in Kuwait is repulsive. So graduates from abroad prefer to go work in Dubai, Doha or Muscat. Only if the choices are limited do they come to Kuwait. I am not only talking in terms of salaries, but in general. We suffer from a lack of headhunting firms that are in charge of finding qualified staff. This category includes around 70,000 employees working in the public sector. This category can be replaced as these are not rare professions and we can have as many Kuwaitis in these professions on the same if not a better level.

"The slogans of some politicians that we should get rid of all expats are not correct. Also, we cannot force the private sector to replace expat employees with Kuwaitis, as it is the decision of the owner. The government can woo the private sector by giving certain benefits to an employer who employs a certain number of Kuwaitis, for instance. Around 6,000 job applications are filed annually. So if we replace 6,000 of the 70,000, we will reach our target of replacing expats within 12 years. But I do not prefer this solution. In my opinion, we should encourage Kuwaitis to start their own businesses.

"We have problems with the laws as well. Most legislations are old and need to be modified. Also, many people specialize in circumventing the law. As part of our responsibilities, we will evaluate these laws in the finance committee. Also, the criteria used in Kuwait are responsible for bringing such manpower, so we usually receive the worst quality. If we want to become like Dubai, we must spend in the same way."

Health sector

"Kuwait has the highest total hospital bed capacity compared to the population, but we suffer from management problems," Fadhl indicated. "For instance, people use wasta to get a bed in a hospital, which means that a particular bed is not used so that it could be given to a privileged patient. With the Jaber Hospital, the bed capacity has become very high, but the segregation of this hospital is completely wrong. I agree that a citizen should be privileged in his country, but not in this way. I think it is stupid logistics wise.

"We can have separate queues for Kuwaitis and expats instead. And maybe have another line for elderly people. This discrimination based on nationality will cause jams, as Kuwaiti patients will come from different areas of Kuwait. We should always consider the geographic location of the hospital, especially for emergency cases. So if an expat has an accident 2 km from the hospital, it should not be that the hospital would not admit him because he is an expat."

Fuel prices

"There is no update yet on increasing the price of fuel," Fadhl proclaimed. "After Saudi Arabia increased the price of fuel there, Kuwait became the country with the cheapest petrol in the world. People are not angry because of the price - their anger is moral, as they noticed the hike in fuel prices while all other services remain bad. They see that the government is wasting funds in unnecessary expenses such as medical treatment abroad, which runs in the hundreds of millions of dinars. So if the government announces that it will, for instance, change the system of public hospitals to allow citizens to be shareholders in it and receive profits, and then announces that the price of petrol will increase, the reaction won't be the same."

Sports ban

The new minister is very cooperative, according to Fadhl, who agreed on the new sports law as he knows all the details. "We will meet with experts and the results will be included in the privatization law which will be presented in the parliament," he said. "We will open a new page in the sports issue built on a sports economy."

"Passing a new law is the first step in resolving the sports problem, as we will be in harmony with international Olympic rules, and the suspension of Kuwaiti teams will be over," he indicated. "If the International Olympic Committee still refuses and demands the approval for the chairpersons of sports clubs, then this will show that it is not serious. And of course, we will not take its approval for the chairpersons, as it is receiving a huge amount of money from the government and doesn't pay anything.

"In the past, our sports law was suitable and satisfactory to compete internationally. But other countries developed and issued laws pertaining to sports professionalism and privatization, which improved over time, while we stayed the same. The last sports club in Kuwait was established in 1973, and Kuwaitis at that time numbered less than 380,000. So, when this new law will be in force, the players will become professionals and not just amateurs holding another job as well as playing football as a hobby, which will improve their performance. I hope this law will be passed within a few weeks."

Grillings

"I do not understand the point of grilling a new government that has been in power for only two months," Fadhl argued. "What cooperation can we expect from a parliament that promised something and is doing the opposite? Also, there is a group of troublemakers who want to dissolve the parliament as soon as possible, as they do not like being in the minority. They spend all their time in grillings so we do not have time for legislation. The last grilling did not reveal their real number - in fact it is much less, around half of the figure announced. Also, any grilling is too soon for the new government. These lawmakers work on their own special agendas. We are working hard to counter these actions, but we hope the government doesn't listen to them."

Small enterprises fund

"During a committee meeting for improving the business environment, we discussed the small enterprises fund, which is an active instrument to change the labor demography in Kuwait," Fadhl said. "Around 88 percent of Kuwaiti manpower works in the public sector, and this is wrong. It is the biggest risk factor in Kuwait since the establishment of the modern state, and shouldn't continue in any way. At least 40 percent of Kuwaitis should work for themselves in private businesses rather than being employed in any sector.

"We are preparing a group of legislation that will simplify the procedure of launching businesses. I am sure if any employee, whether in the public or private sector, is able to have their own business that is profitable, they will definitely resign from their job to concentrate on the business. Also, a business has much more growth than any job. We want to tell them their dreams won't come true by working for the government - although they will get a job and salary, their ambitions will be killed. Working in the public sector will only prove that what you studied at the university is of no use, and their creativity will be killed. This is the reason behind focusing on the small enterprises fund, and it should be realized very soon."

By Nawara Fattahova