His Highness Sheikh Sabah Khalid Al-Hamad Al-Sabah, Prime Minister, affirmed that the financial situation of the State of Kuwait is excellent, but that the economic situation requires a major change in its structure. His Highness Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled said in his meeting with local newspaper editors today, Wednesday, “It is not possible to rely on one resource, which is oil, because this is difficult, and we must diversify the sources of income in the country.”
He added, “The consequences of the coronavirus were accompanied by a collapse in oil prices from $65 to $11, and Kuwait was investing all of its money and portfolios in world markets, but we had sources as a result of planning to cope with any crisis.”
Kuwait government is determined to crack down on every individual with relation to corruption cases regarding public funds, money laundering and human trafficking, His Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Sabah Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah affirmed. “We will not stay silent nor keep our hands crossed regarding human trafficking and money laundering and we will not accept these issues be associated with the State of Kuwait, no matter how influential this person is,” His Highness the Prime Minister underscored.
“No one is immune from prosecution and punishment as long as there is an effect on public funds,” he said. His Highness the Prime Minister said His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah instructed him, soon after his took oath as Prime Minister, to protect and preserve the public funds and fight the corrupt. He said he considered these instructions a pathway he was pursuing.
“Kuwait deserves a good reputation and deserve the title of His Highness the Amir as ‘Humanitarian Leader’ and Kuwait as ‘Humanitarian Center.’ We all have to exert efforts to fight whatever harms the reputation of our nation,” said His Highness the Prime Minister.
Asked about the government’s efforts against human traffickers, His Highness the Prime Minister said the government was “fighting human trafficking and all companies that violate the laws, and we have taken legal action against 224 companies and referred them to the prosecution.”
Asked about the Malaysian Sovereign Wealth Fund and alleged corruption-related charges against Kuwaiti individuals, he said “we will not be covering up on anyone, and no one is immune from prosecution be it in relation to the Malaysian fund or any suspected abuse of public funds or money laundry or human trafficking. This is a government priority.” His Highness the Prime Minister said they referred the Malaysian fund issue to the competent authorities for investigation. He said he met with Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohammad three times when he was a Foreign Minister and he did not mention any “role of Kuwait in this issue.
The State of Kuwait is facing a “big challenge” to address discrepancy in the structure of the population, His Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Sabah Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah said. Kuwait has a population of some 4.8 million people, of them 1.45 million Kuwaitis and around 3.34 million non-Kuwaitis, or 30 to 70 percent ratio, he said.
“The ideal population structure is to have Kuwaitis being 70 percent and non-Kuwaitis 30 percent, so we have a big challenge in the future which is to address the discrepancy in population,” His Highness the Prime Minister underscored that there were 750,000 foreign domestic helpers, which equal half of the Kuwaiti population. “The population structure needs time to be solved, and it should be divided into phases until reaching a final adjustment to the population in future,” he said. “We rely on our sons and daughters to work in all professions,” he added and cited the forefathers who contributed to the building of Kuwait by working in all jobs.
The government, he said, was keen on cooperating with the parliament to reach fruitful results. Asked about resumption of air travel, His Highness the Prime Minister competent authorities were paving the ground for the resumption of risk-free travel. “The right time will come to open this domain and everybody will be able to travel freely.”
He expressed his pride in the people’s cooperation, understanding and appreciation of the government’s efforts in dealing with the coronavirus crisis by saying, “I am proud to be a citizen and for our citizens to be at this level of patriotism by risking their lives to serve their country and this is what we are counting on to make things better than they are now.”
His Highness added, “What I have seen on the ground and in the field with this great challenge indicates the presence of great determination among citizens to confront this danger.”
His Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled also affirmed that health matters in Kuwait are stable and reassuring, stressing at the same time the need to adhere to health guidelines because until now there is no medicine for the emerging coronavirus.
His Highness expressed thanks and appreciation to the Kuwaiti people and expats in Kuwait for their understanding, acceptance and implementation of the precautionary measures that help in facing the health crisis. His Highness the Prime Minister said that the country’s economy is important, but the health of the citizen and the resident are more important, and we are facing a difficult equation, so we work according to our available capabilities to narrow the gap and reduce the damage as much as possible by passing the economic package.
His Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah said the government adopted a rescue package to address economic ramifications of the novel coronavirus (Covid-19). The package includes bills about public debt and bankruptcy, which aim at preserving many companies and save jobs of 73,000 Kuwaitis in the private sector.
“We should act to mitigate the expected negative effects on the economic situation, and the (pandemic) crisis that has shaken the world and impacted the economy heavily,” he said. His Highness the Prime Minister called for addressing the economic conditions through a bundle of laws. “We might not need the public debt law today but later. However, we need laws that precede it in order to lessen the damage caused by the health crisis,” he added. He said the priority now was for the health situation, but the government was also focusing on security and economic conditions, specially of people living in areas under lockdown: Hawally, Maidan Hawally, Khaitan, Farwaniya, Mahboula and Jleeb Al-Shuyoukh.
The government, he added, was now working on approving the rescue package “which will decrease the impact and pave way for the next government to focus on structure of population, corruption and unstable economic condition.” His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah’s instructions to honor people working during the time of pandemic included Kuwaitis and non-Kuwaitis.