O Ministers of Finance and Trade... 'Hoon is most blessed'

In his recent remarks, made a few days ago, Finance Minister Dr. Yaqoob Al-Rifai emphasized the “collection of fees from citizens,” asserting that this is a state right. He noted that while previous governments may have neglected to collect outstanding arrears—a failure not attributable to the citizens—the extraordinary circumstances the country has endured, from the “Corona” pandemic to the present, must be taken into account.

Since 2020, many owners of industrial plots and agricultural holdings, as well as citizens, have faced difficult conditions. It is widely known that these conditions have caused financial hardships, particularly given their obligations to banks, their employees, and operational expenses. Consequently, this pressure has led to delays in paying dues, especially plot and holding rents, resulting in violations that further burden them.

Rights are a sword hanging over the necks of citizens, investors, service providers, industrialists, and others; no one denies this or seeks to evade it. However, when the state exerts pressure by suspending licenses, shutting down factories or holdings, or even halting services, it exacerbates their burdens and drives further delays in payments. This is especially true given the absence of any directive from the Central Bank to commercial banks to handle borrowers with leniency.

In neighboring countries, particularly in the Gulf, numerous facilitations were provided to investors and usufruct holders, with the goal of ensuring continuity and encouraging spending by easing business operations.

Unfortunately, what occurred in Kuwait since that ill-fated pandemic was the opposite. The current war has further increased hardships and curtailed commercial, industrial, and agricultural activities. This has led many business owners to reconsider and reduce their operations rather than expand them, even though current regional conditions call for encouragement.

Moreover, certain decisions have been taken that impose significant burdens on investors, such as the prohibition on selling plots or usufruct rights. This restriction applies despite the fact that owners have invested substantial sums in these assets over 30, 40, or 50 years, which undoubtedly limits investment.

Your Excellency, Finance Minister Dr. Yaqoob Al-Rifai, as you are well aware, the correct fiscal approach, particularly under exceptional circumstances, involves encouraging people to increase production to achieve strategic benefits. As a seasoned expert with extensive experience in finance and academia, you fully understand that countries under duress work to alleviate burdens on citizens to ensure social stability, which is the cornerstone of societal and national resilience.

The most important principle in exceptional circumstances is to ensure liquidity is in the hands of the people and to halt decisions that increase commercial and industrial anxiety. Instead, facilitations should be provided to help people navigate this difficult phase with minimal damage.

For example, this necessitates instructing commercial banks to suspend installment deductions and facilitate borrowing. Anything else would only create further hardships. What do banks and the state gain from seizing machinery or shutting down factories? In reality, nothing; such actions result in losses. Conversely, if facilitations were provided, borrowers would, once conditions stabilize, increase their loan repayments and work to develop their industries, businesses, or agricultural holdings.

No one in Kuwait is calling for the cancellation of state fees and dues, or loans. However, under the current circumstances, which have persisted since 2020—when the country was locked down for approximately 163 days during the “corona” pandemic—and given today’s climate of war, all of this necessitates that the Council of Ministers reconsider its decisions. This will transform difficult conditions into an opportunity for development, making Kuwait more capable of facing challenges, regardless of the circumstances. The role of governments is to pave the way toward the future, not to retreat into introspection.

We also appeal to His Excellency the Minister of Commerce and Industry, Osama Khaled Boudi, in relation to his portfolio: the slogan of the people of Kuwait is, “Ease is more blessed.”