Yet Another Government Falls…

Democracy brings many advantages, but it also has its share of shortcomings. The downsides of democracy are often largely due to people distorting its precepts; they pick and choose aspects of democracy according to their needs and wants 

Democracy gives us freedom of choice, but it also enjoins us to make enlightened decisions; it allows for disagreements in debate over personal and provincial issues, but also for cooperation and compromises when it comes to greater national interests. Democracy grants us certain inalienable rights, but it also imposes on us specific responsibilities. 

Cherry-picking what facets of democracy to keep and what to ignore, leads to a deformed democracy that neither meets the aspiration of citizens nor realizes the welfare of the country. Rights without responsibilities disfigures democracy and leads to situations such as the recent interpellation motion against the prime minister, and its subsequent consequences for the country.

On 13 January, H H the Prime Minister Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled Al-Sabah tendered the resignation of his government to H H the Amir Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah. A day earlier, the cabinet ministers headed by Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Sheikh Hamad Jaber Al-Ali Al-Sabah placed their resignations at the disposal of the prime minister, saying this was in response to “current developments regarding the relation between the National Assembly and the Government, and was in the best interests of the nation”. 

The government, which was formed on 14 December, lasted exactly a month. During its 58-year-long march along the path of democracy and a semi-parliamentary form of governance, Kuwait has witnessed the formation of 37 governments — only seven of which have lasted the full four-year term in office. But even by these ‘high-churn’ standards, the brevity in office of the 37th government is a record blemish in Kuwait parliamentary life. 

Frequent squabbles and gridlocks have been the hallmark of relations between the executive and opposition legislators throughout Kuwait’s parliamentary history. This has often come at the cost of development and growth of the country, and hampered the government’s ability to enact much-needed economic, financial and administrative reforms. Successive government reshuffles and dissolutions of parliament, have also discouraged international investments and made new businesses wary of launching in the country.

The resignation of the present cabinet was foreseen in light of the submission of a grilling motion against the prime minister by three lawmakers, MPs Bader Al Dahoom, Thamer Al Suwait and Khaled Al Moanes, a week earlier. The present crisis had been brewing since the general election on 5 December, which resulted in a strong presence of the opposition bloc in parliament.

Immediately after results for the general elections to the parliament were announced, many political analysts and commentators predicted that the 16th legislative term of the National Assembly would not see it through its full four-year term. Their prognosis was based on the political makeup of the newly elected legislature. With nearly two-thirds of sitting MPs and pro-government candidates losing their seats and nearly half of the 50-seat National Assembly now filled with opposition candidates, it was obvious that confrontation rather than cooperation would mark the upcoming legislative sessions.

H H the Amir, in his inaugural address to the 16th legislative term, had anticipated as much and warned that comprehensive reform was needed to help Kuwait overcome its worst economic crisis in decades. He had stressed that “There is no room for wasting more efforts, time and capabilities on fabricated conflicts, disputes and settling accounts, which have become a source of frustration and discontent for citizens and an obstacle to any achievement.”

From the interpellation motion filed against the prime minister last week, it abundantly clear that in total disregard to the Amir’s exhortations for the executive and legislative to work together for the good of the country, the majority of lawmakers are bent on pursuing an aggressive approach aimed at furthering their narrow parochial interests, rather than the wider good of Kuwait. 

One frivolous reason given for grilling the prime minister was for “choosing ministers in the cabinet that are ‘aggravating’, and for not taking into account the directions of the new parliament, which is dominated by MPs with opposing views”.  

Maybe the lawmakers behind the motion need to re-read the Constitution which underlines the prerogative of the prime minister to recommend a cabinet to H H the Amir for approval and appointment. 

Article 56 of the Constitution emphatically states: “The Amir appoints Ministers and relieves them of office upon the recommendation of the Prime Minister.” Moreover, Article 115 of the Constitution also specifically states that “A member of the National Assembly may not interfere with the work of either the Judicial or the Executive Power.”

Another reason to question the head of government was for “attempting to dominate the parliament and its committees through its support for the Assembly Speaker, and in the formation of parliamentary supervisory bodies.” Again, Article 92 of the Constitution states: “The National Assembly elects at its first sitting and for the duration of its term a President and a Deputy President from amongst its members. And, that election is by an absolute majority vote of the members present.” 

Speaker Al-Ghanim was elected by a majority of 34 votes against the 28 votes garnered by the opposition’s candidate, former minister Bader Al Humaidi. The vote tally shows that everyone present in the assembly cast their votes during the voting process, including ministers who are eligible to vote. Even more telling was the election of Deputy Speaker MP Ahmad Al-Shohoumi, who won with 41 votes against the opposition’s candidate veteran parliamentarian MP Dr. Hassan Johar who received only 19 votes,

In the third interpellation motion, the prime minister is alleged to have failed to adhere to Article 98 of the Kuwaiti Constitution which states, “Immediately upon its formation, every Cabinet presents its program to the National Assembly. The Assembly may make comments with regard to such a program.” In all fairness, given the exigencies of an ongoing pandemic and the change in leadership at the helm following the demise of the late Amir, the prime minister did outline the Cabinet’s program in the limited time he had during the first session. The minutes of parliamentary proceedings will attest to this. 

In his address to the preliminary session the prime minister underlined that the government will act in accordance with the Constitution — especially Article 98 — to achieve the aspiration of citizens through the direct consultation with parliament to battle against corruption, boost development, and achieve goals such as the e-government. “ 

The prime minister added that respect for law, constitution, and national unity, are the vital tenets that will help steer Kuwait as a nation toward progress and away from strife. He indicated that the cabinet was eager to cooperate with constitutional institutes to achieve the goals of democracy, hoping that the current legislative term will usher a new era of cabinet and parliament cooperation. He stressed that the cabinet would focus on fighting corruption via uprooting it from its sources and would question entities and individuals behind it. 

Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled emphasized that the cabinet programs will be based on realistic and implementable goals and that development of government institutions would also be a priority for the government. In his address, the prime minister said that tackling unemployment of national youth, housing welfare of citizens, development of human resources, economic diversification and combating the trade in residency permits were also priorities for his cabinet. He concluded by adding that progress in all of its meaning was a collective responsibility of all members of society.

The rationale cited for the grillings make it obvious that the opposition strategy during the current legislative term is to leverage their majority and thwart parliamentary proceedings at every stage, until the government complies to their irrational, dictative demands. Even if the prime minister forms a new cabinet in a month or two, this is not going to change the opposition’s political strategy.

Of course, the grilling motion filed by the lawmakers comes within their constitutional right to file an interpellation against any minister, including the prime minister. But the flippant nature of the grilling raises the question of whether the grilling was a responsible action intended to further the interests of the country, or just the narrow-minded, one-sided policies and interests of the opposition.

If the interpellation had gone ahead, it could have led to a vote of no confidence, in which ministers are constitutionally barred from participating. Unofficial counts had estimated that around 38 MPs would vote in favor of the motion, which could have led to the downfall of the government. The cabinet’s resignation last Wednesday preempted this.

The prime minister now has two options before him. Either form a new cabinet before mid-March, and face the same contentious parliament with probably the same results down the road, or inform H H the Amir of his inability to form a new government. In this case, the Amir could appoint a new prime minister or dissolve parliament and call for new elections. 

Even as the country faces political impasse, the economy is struggling to stay afloat with a ballooning budget deficit and a depleting General Reserve Fund, amid rising expenditures, low oil revenues, and increasing cost of combating the COVID-19 crisis. Kuwait’s KD 43 billion economy is expected to face a deficit of nearly KD 14 billion this year and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) warned that gross domestic product would contract by more than 8 percent this year.

According to the latest economic report from the National Bank of Kuwait (NBK), oil  export  revenues, which constitute around  90 percent of  total exports, dropped by nearly half to KD1.8 billion in the second-quarter of 2020 (2Q20), relative to the earlier quarter, from the precipitous fall in crude oil prices following the impact of COVID-19 on oil markets. The price of Kuwait Export Crude fell to $25.8 per barrel in 2Q20, from $52.1 in the first-quarter. Moreover, oil production also plummeted to a nine-year, quarterly average, low of 2.48 million barrels per day in 2Q20 due to the need to comply with OPEC mandated supply cuts.   

The latest gloomy economic forecast had meant that, now more than ever, the new government and parliament needed to work together on long pending economic reforms, including the passage of a public debt bill. Seen as a financial lifeline for the country in its current predicament, the debt law would have allowed the government to borrow up to KD20 billion over 30 years from international debt markets. But the previous parliament, and parliaments before that since 2017, have repeatedly overturned the bill. 

It needs to be emphasized that the debt bill is not a permanent solution to Kuwait’s economic woes, it cannot come in place of the need for serious economic reforms in other fields. The country in particular needs to  diversify its economy away from its over dependence on hydrocarbon revenues and tap other sources of income, including through the implementation of Value Added Tax (VAT) and excise taxes. Kuwait also needs to rationalize current spending, especially on subsidies and grants to citizens, and ensure that available funds are directed towards financing new development and infrastructure projects that boost growth and create jobs.

But sadly, amidst the bravado of grillings and hubris of enforcing resignations, no one is listening to what the country needs.

 

SOURCE TIMESKUWAIT 

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