The Al-Shall weekly economic report wrote that Kuwait is the only country in the world that relies on financing its public budget by 90 percent on oil revenues for nearly 60 years. As reported by Al-Jarida Newspaper, the publication added that the price of a Kuwaiti oil barrel decreased from USD 107.33 to the average of last April, the beginning of the current fiscal year 2022-2023, to an average of USD 79.21 from the beginning of January until last Wednesday, which was a loss of about 26.2 percent. The report added that Kuwait is the only country in the world whose educational institutions will graduate about 100,000 students during the next four years with the uncertainty of providing them with a job.
The report also indicated that the concern of its general administration is to buy loyalties, while there is a suspicion that the government had spent more than 4 billion dinars on purchasing its continuity, distributed between rewards for the front ranks, purchasing vacations, postponing loan installments, granting retirees, exceptional pensions, and doubling them for their ministers and others. According to the report, it failed to ensure its stability, and instead handed over the task of completing the attrition to some deputies.
Moreover, the Al-Shall explained that the turbulent major economies are the real engine of demand for oil, and with the pressures that their weak growth may cause on the prices of financial assets, and with a European retaliatory attack on oil that began with the Russian-Ukrainian war, Kuwait remains totally dependent on oil. In addition, the youth are not guaranteed a job in a sustainable labor market, with an educational level that is years behind regular education and not distinguished modern education, which prevents them from competing for job opportunities in other locations. The report also cited the unsustainable housing project, as well as the expensive public health services.
The Al-Shall mentioned that the crux of the problem is the insistence on the steadfast formation of governments as an approach, while it is unable to guarantee their continuity and popularity. The publication also mentioned the anticipation for real reform.