The recent developments regarding the Dow Chemical case which involve a court order requiring Kuwait to pay $ 2.1 billion in compensation, proves again that Kuwait is subjected to individualistic desires. It would be a catastrophe of epic proportions if the state’s budget eventually lost this amount of money.

First of all, this case shows that the cabinet’s lack of firm stance against MPs’ threats and demands that can be extremely costly to Kuwait. The decision by the cabinet of former prime minister HH Sheikh Nasser Al-Mohammad Al-Sabah to cancel the deal was politically motivated and made with a narrow vision that failed to take into account the repercussions of the decision at the international scene. The negative effects not only impacted the reliability of investing in Kuwait, but also the country’s integrity when it comes to respecting terms of contracts that its government signs.

The previous government has been aware of the deal since early negotiation days, including all details about the project’s economic and investment feasibility. However, a decision was eventually made to cancel the deal on the pretext of “lack of feasibility”. If that claim was true, it proves mismanagement so as to sign a deal with that magnitude before making sure of its feasibility in all aspects. If that’s indeed what happened, someone must be held accountable for responsibility over signing the deal before feasibility studies were complete. If not, then someone should be held accountable for canceling the deal!

In the meantime, officials in the oil sector need to be held accountable for a number of mysterious issues about the deal, mainly the large penalty clause that was suspiciously approved in the contract. The penalty clause in similar deals mostly ranges between 1% and 15% maximum. It is important to investigate the reason why 30% of the deal was put in the penalty clause in the Dow contract.

Moreover, accountability should also reach economic and legal consultants in Kuwait who failed to guide the government away from falling into trouble with regards to the deal, in addition to lawyers who defended Kuwait in international tribunes.
Meanwhile, MPs share what can be described as ‘historical responsibility’ over the problem after they spoke as international experts in oil and petrochemical industries while waging a vicious and unprecedented war against the deal. While they are busy today blaming the government for what happened, lawmakers overlook the fact that people haven’t still forgotten how fierce they were in pressuring the government to cancel the deal.

How long will it take before we realize how much political infightings are costing us, and how much of public funds are lost as a result? How is the former government going to be held accountable for this error, no, unforgivable sin committed? Disclaimer of liability is worthless when Kuwait might be forced to pay more than KD600 million of the future generations’ funds due to errors committed by people who lack long term planning. It’s worthless because this case proves that political yielding while helps maintain position in power, comes with a heavy price that include international humiliation and mammoth burdens carried by civilians.

Some might argue that the time is not suitable now to point fingers of blame as collective efforts are needed to prevent this financial crisis. The reality on the ground however indicates that the international community now sees that Kuwait has become indebted with the amount mentioned above, the payment of which cannot be avoided according to legal experts, while a compromise regarding which cannot be settled according to economic experts. Soon enough, we’ll find ourselves hit hard with the reality of how costly messing up with enormous funds can be.

If no one comes out to bear the responsibility both personally and politically, the door will be opened for more multibillion losses to happen again in the future, more international humiliation to come Kuwait’s way, and further solidification for the concept of making quick political gain on the expense of public funds.

Maybe the recent news can be a wakeup call for politicians to learn from their mistakes and improve their work. Or maybe this is just wishful thinking. — Al-Qabas