Kuwait without a contractor

I was interrupted by a published statement in the newspaper by the virtuous Member of Parliament, Mr. Abdullah Jassim Al-Mudhaf, related to the sponsorship system in Kuwait. Before I start with the topic of the article, I will repeat part of his statement, as stated in the newspapers: "Rep. Abdullah Jassim Al-Mudhaf saw that monopolies, lack of competition, low quality, and slow completion have a high cost on public money and high prices for the consumer, stressing that these are a number of the drawbacks of the local contractor system," Al-Mudhaf announced in a press statement that the time has come to open the Kuwaiti market directly to the investor and to cancel the condition of the local contractor.  Because the member of parliament, Al-Mudhaf, comes from an ancient family with a great deal of trade and has greater relations with Kuwaiti merchants and those who have many agencies, this matter will undoubtedly enrage some merchants. From this standpoint, when the sons of the merchants stand "against monopoly and the contracting system," this indicates the credibility of the proposal based on patriotism and detachment from interests.

The majority of Kuwaiti families represent this sense of patriotism, as no one can say that this proposition is based on the envy of merchants or that this opinion is incorrect, but I would like to add to this opinion that not only does the sponsor system cost the state additional expenses by increasing the merchant's commission, but it is more than that, as our dear merchants in Kuwait do not pay taxes to the state, while any foreign supplier or contractor who contracts directly with the government or carries out work inside Kuwait must pay 15% as a tax to the state. And if anyone says that this tax will be raised from the value of the service or contracting, then the answer is: No, as all foreign and Arab companies pay a tax to their countries, which amounts to 50% of their profits. Since Kuwait has agreements with the majority of countries dealing with double taxation, what the company will pay as tax to the government of Kuwait will be deducted from the tax it pays to its government, so the end result for companies is the same. What is happening now is that these companies operate and distribute their products through a Kuwaiti contractor, and the Kuwaiti contractor is not required to pay taxes, which is a huge unjustified loss to the state treasury. I believe that the time has come to abolish this outdated system, which serves only a certain category of traders.

If we put aside the issue of money and talk about the issue of quality of service, we can take the matter of roads as an example. For more than two decades, we have still been paving these roads, and the state has spent billions on them. The result is clear to anyone: their deplorable status. As it is said, money leaked into the pockets of some merchants under the eyes of some weak employees, and our roads are still in a deplorable state. We, as citizens, are bored and tired. It is easy: Tenders should be presented globally, and contracts are concluded directly, without the need for an undersecretary or an employee. We should notice that most of the beautiful projects, which were completed in record time and with high quality, such as the Sheikh Jaber Cultural Center, Kuwait Airport, Al-Shaheed Park, and the new court building, were all carried out far from government management or supervision. And everyone knows that this body took upon itself that work, although it was not within its competence, because, as it is said, "they have to do the others' work." The inability of the government apparatus, the complexity of the accounting system, the overlapping of specializations, and the greed of some influential merchants led to the paralysis of development in Kuwait and the difficulty of implementing its projects. The bidding system needs simplification, as do the monitoring and accounting systems, and the state must impose a tax system on all companies that supply or implement projects for the state. For your information, many of these companies, especially contracting companies, actually belong to non-Kuwaitis, and only the Kuwaiti is the owner of the license. We have talked about this matter, and we will come up with it again. Although I disagree with some of what the virtuous representative and his group put forward on this subject, I say to him, "Well done, and may Allah reward you well." Even though this thing will cause you a lot of anxiety from some merchants, Kuwait still comes first.

Stay Safe.