Confirming that majority of the parliamentary blocs as well as the citizens had expressed their willingness to support his proposal to write off the loans, Al-Fahma warned “the government will ignite another conflict with the Parliament and the citizens once it rejects this proposal.” Refuting allegations that he is pushing for the cancellation of the loans to serve his personal interests and gain votes in the next election, Al-Fahma stressed the need to find effective solutions to the problem to end the sufferings of citizens. He added MPs were elected to protect the welfare of the citizens and help them cope with the problems that they are facing.
“If we take a closer look at the social problems in Kuwait, we will realize that these problems are consequences of the financial problems of the citizens. Household heads earning low salaries are often tempted to take loans from banks and financial companies to make both ends meet. These institutions, however, charge high interest rates on these loans and the citizens with their low salaries cannot pay the loans on time leading to more problems,” Al-Fahma lamented. Appealing to the government to cooperate with the Parliament in this regard, Al-Fahma said the government should realize that he has the support of the majority. He is optimistic the government will approve the proposal to protect the interests of the citizens. Explaining that the cancellation of the loans will ease the financial burdens of citizens, Al-Fahma said this will give citizens a chance to improve their living conditions.
On the proposed increase in the salaries of citizens, Al-Fahma clarified this issue is separate from the loans cancellation proposal indicating “if the government will approve the cancellation of citizens loans, it does not mean that it will also approve the salary increment.” However, he believes there is also a need to increase the salaries of citizens to help them cope with the high costs of living specially after the recent increase in the prices of commodities in the market. He added most of the citizens receive a monthly salary less than KD 700, which is very low considering the cost of living in Kuwait.
Al-Fahma disclosed the MPs are currently moving towards two directions — one is towards the approval of the citizens loans write off and the other is the salary increment of citizens. With the present financial status of the State, Al-Fahma thinks Kuwait is financially capable of granting both demands to the citizens.
