The Emergency Fund: Not a Courtesy
It is a mistake to view the contribution of banks, investment companies, and the private sector to the Emergency Response Fund as a transient gesture. What has happened, and continues to happen, must be read carefully. In moments of crisis and emergencies, the private sector answers the nation’s call without asking what it will gain. National security begins with a strong economy, robust companies, and investors who trust that their state will be the first to support and stand by them if they face exceptional circumstances, just as they always stand with the state, as was the case during the coronavirus pandemic and today amid the political and military tensions currently witnessed in the region.
The challenges imposed by current conditions on trade, supply lines, and navigation in the Strait of Hormuz require a study of the private sector’s needs and what can be done to help it overcome this crisis and become more capable of serving its nation within the limits of its available resources and capacities. The strength of a state is not measured solely by the volume of government spending, but by its ability to mobilize all its national resources when needed. The private sector is one of the most important of these resources; everything the state invests in empowering it yields multiplied returns, manifested in economic stability, investments, job creation, and ultimately the capacity to confront crises, as is happening currently.
In the present circumstances, the best reward for this national stance taken by the private sector, represented by banks and investment companies, is not mere words of thanks and appreciation, but a serious review of the entire investment environment, particularly regarding serious youth-led projects. How many Kuwaiti youth projects have been delayed due to lengthy bureaucratic procedures? How many investors have lost opportunities because of laws that no longer keep pace with reality? How many companies have borne burdens that could have been reduced by a simple administrative decision (while acknowledging that many matters in this regard have been resolved and improved, they still require more).
We cannot demand that the private sector be a partner to the state in times of crisis, while treating it in ordinary circumstances as merely an entity subject to oversight, restrictions, and complex procedures. We must acknowledge that private sector companies are the primary contributors to confronting major crises. They assume a large part of providing food supplies, securing warehouses and supply lines, and striving, as much as possible, to keep the wheels of the economy turning. Therefore, supporting them is not a grant, but part of the national security system.
Advanced nations did not build their strong economies because their governments did everything; rather, because they effectively harnessed the energies of the private sector, provided it with a stable business environment, and found it to be the first to respond when needed. It is time for us in Kuwait to move beyond the notion that the success of the private sector is the success of a specific group, or that they have monopolized and consumed everything (as we unfortunately hear from time to time). The truth is that the success of this sector, or a part of it, means more jobs for Kuwaitis, greater opportunities for youth, new investments, higher state revenues, and the ability to confront crises.
Whoever stands with their country in times of hardship deserves to find their country standing with them in times of construction. A smart state knows that true partnership is the shortest path to a stronger nation, more capable of facing the future.
Iqbal Al-Ahmad
