Introduction
Kuwait is a country found in the Western Asia region, at the North edge of Eastern Arabia and alongside the Persian Gulf. Kuwait borders Iraq from the North point, and from the South, it borders Saudi Arabia. Kuwait is a nation that is affected by corruption cases, and it is one of the states in the world that are highly corrupt. Bribery in Kuwait is almost becoming a way of life in various sectors. Thus, one can analyze different aspects of Kuwait’s corruption to determine how it has affected the country and its causes.
Objectives
Broad objective
Discussing corruption in Kuwait.
Specific objectives
- Ways in which corruption is practiced in Kuwait
- Who is involved in corruption?
- The government involvement in corruption.
Background Problem and Structure
The people in government who should be working hard to curb corruption cases in the country are the ones that are engaging in bribery. Kuwait Anti-Corruption Authority has introduced measures to curb fraud in the nation. However, the involvement of the administration individuals in the bribery acts is still being experienced. Thus, corruption in the country has become a menace that is hard to eradicate. There is tension due to misunderstandings and conflicts between the country’s high officials and the public because of corruption. Many citizens are not comfortable with how the civil servants are stealing their money in different sectors. There is a suspected political dispute between the two groups. The country has been ranked number eighty-five in fraud cases by Transparency International in their latest ranking (Aldaihani, 2017). Thus, Kuwait should ensure that conflicts in politics are curbed.
Since corruption in Kuwait is from the country’s government officials, managing it is difficult, and it requires external efforts and transparency agencies to intervene. The bureaucracy is very inefficient and not authentic. Additionally, the government is bias and makes decisions mostly in favor of domestic organizations and institutions (Aldaihani, 2017). These administration officials own these local companies; therefore, their choices favor them.
Statement of the problem
- The public procurement process is bureaucratic and cumbersome; thus, it is susceptible to corruption.
- The unending corruption in Kuwait has led to the poor performance of different industries.
Discussion About the Factors Associated With Corruption in Kuwait
Corruption in Kuwait is an aspect affecting the country, causing tension between the public and civil servants due to economic crises. Although the government’s high officials should protect the public amenities and resources, they are stealing and misusing the funds (Alrashidi, 2020). In Kuwait, the biggest group of people under investigation due to suspected corruption cases are none other but the government officials (Alrashidi, 2020). Thus, curbing bribery in the country should start by focusing on administration officials.
Transparency International Flagship on the corruption perceptions index ranked Kuwait at seventy-eight out of the total one hundred and eighty corrupt countries (Alrashidi, 2020). The information has revealed that venality in the country has primarily affected its growth and development. Moreover, the Transparency International Flagship has been ranked one of the best for transparency and indicators of public corruption globally (Alrashidi, 2020). The agency provides a snapshot of public sector corruption annually and the degree of how the country has been corrupt during that year.
Although some people may not know how the misuse of resources has impacted Kuwait, various issues can reveal that bribery in the country has increased. For instance, the nation’s corruption has amounted to a possible internal invasion that threatens the country’s state of peace (Alrashidi, 2020). Furthermore, without peace and consistence peace in the country, the government’s functioning is greatly affected, and economic crisis can be experienced. Fraud has become a complex matter to deal with in the country. For example, Kuwait’s corruption revolves beyond money laundering and resources’ embezzlement (Oxford, 2019). Bribery can be a tied system that intersects all its components and, therefore, not easy to manage. However, these corruption cases can be dealt with using various approaches, such as developing new policies.
Unworthy and biased favors have led to the poor performance of many industries in Kuwait. These favoritisms come in different forms, such as unwarranted services, inflated evaluations, bribes, waived fees, and circumvented laws. The activities contribute to gross inefficiency, negligence, and suboptimal job performance. Due to these actions, underprivileged people suffer in the community. Thus, to stop these issues, deeds such as distributing goods and other materials to such individuals should be exercised.
Exploiting the system so that a group of officials can engage in deliberate fraud is the most common form of corruption in Kuwait. Such cases lead to losses of huge amounts of money. An example of this kind of exploitation is a scandal that involved the presentation of forged advanced degrees by government officials. Correspondingly, some companies practice this form of dishonesty by presenting balance sheets that are already distorted. Kuwait citizens also practice this form of deception by faking their employment status, mainly in the private sectors, to receive tokens of public funds (Al-Haidar, 2018). This encourages others that are not involved even to leave the public sector that is already distorted and bloated.
Faking sickness is another way in which corruption occurs in Kuwait. The state spent roughly 3.5 million USD in 2018 on its citizens’ treatment abroad (Al-Haidar, 2018). Later on, these cases were found that most of these patients were not from Kuwait but foreigners. Most of these cases were in the United States of America, and after the Kuwait government realized what was happening, it never cleared all the bills, so the U.S. went on to reprimand Kuwait to settle its accounts (Al-Haidar, 2018). Cases involving fake disabilities are also common in Kuwait, where people forge disabilities to get financial incentives from the state (Al-Haidar, 2018). Therefore, these issues show that Kuwait should focus on ways to limit corruption and misuse of funds in the country.
The presentation of false citizenship status is another way in which corruption takes place in Kuwait. The personification and use of fabricated nationality are mainly used to conduct human trafficking. Other individuals have used some homeless inhabitants residing in Kuwait to satisfy their needs. For instance, these residents are being mistreated and used in drug trading and smuggling weapons. The country’s illegal immigrants also pay corrupt officials and obtain long-term documents, making it hard to limit crime in the country.
Kuwait has also become a central hub for money laundering internationally. The information was revealed by the international media, exposing the corruption in the country (Al-Haidar, 2018). People claimed that members of the ruling family are the ones who facilitate money laundering in Kuwait. Some of the state’s social media influencers are also being investigated for being suspected of having received money involved in money laundering either intentionally or unintentionally. Embezzlement always attracts much attention that is given to the associated companies and persons. Thus, cases of fraud in the country have been examined by many people, showing high corruption in the government. The financial integrity of Kuwait runs across a myriad of domains and institutions. Some of these institutions include defense procurement, social security, the army fund, and Port Authority. Kuwait’s ranking in corruption is said to be impacted by the measures exercised by these agencies (Gallardo-Vázquez, Barroso-Méndez, Pajuelo-Moreno, & Sánchez-Meca, 2019). Thus, Kuwait should revisit its combating corruption methods, and the available tools for limiting curbing fraud should be utilized.
The Analysis of Corruption in Kuwait
Corruption in Kuwait is greatly monopolized, and ways of preventing it can be analyzed. Government is the body that possesses authority and power in any country. Therefore, if the group with the forces is corrupt, it becomes hard to eradicate the issue. The administration officials have the monopoly of bias and bribery. This domination should be broken by electing a new government. Therefore, failure to focus on this approach will make it difficult for the country to fight corruption when monopolized. However, Nazaha has ensured that the board shall develop the anti-corruption general policy to curb corruption and other issues such as monopoly without bias to the law’s requirements (Law No. 2 of 2016). Therefore, changes in bribery cases can decrease if these policies are adhered to by all citizens.
Fraud has affected the state’s oil companies, whereby many corporations have recorded losses. The oil sector is one of Kuwait’s most important areas as it largely contributes to the country’s economic growth (Alrashidi, 2020). However, poor management and fraud in the businesses have led to low production of the firms. Many countries import petroleum products from Kuwait. Thus, the government is encouraged to implement ways to improve the sector’s performance and limit bribery. The emerging tension between the public and the government officials has also forced investors to avoid capitalizing in the country. If the government officials are not biased and people are not after their gains, resources would not be lost in the organization. Thus, Kuwait should focus on how such issues can be addressed to ensure that economic growth is experienced and all sectors are working effectively without cases of corruption
Conclusion
To conclude, this report has revealed that fraud is one of the issues that has led to losses in companies and slow growth in Kuwait’s leading industries. Thus the government of Kuwait should do anything possible to combat corruption in the state. One of the methods that the administration can use in its efforts is by using the education system to teach the youth proper ethics in an integrated view and context of corruption. When the young generation grows with the right morals, there is a possibility of curbing bribery. Furthermore, non-governmental organizations and media platforms should expose corruption cases to the public to create awareness of fraud in the country.
The country must also modernize its old ways of dealing with dishonesty issues. The current methods and tools of fighting corruption are not effective, and new strategies should be implemented. The government must invest more in areas where money is being lost and misused. Politicians also need to focus on their fight against corruption and ensure that they are at the forefront leading others to end fraud in the country. Additionally, politicians fare part of the government, so their contribution to this fight can significantly help. If all these efforts do not spolicies and approaches to end corruption. The issue of monopoly should also be addressed to guarantee that individuals do not practice dishonesty.
References
Aldaihani, S. G. (2017). Impact of control dimensions and administrative transparency in the anti-administrative corruption in the educational districts Kuwait from the viewpoint of employees. International Journal for Research in Education, 41(2), 162-201. Retrieved from Web.
Al-Haidar, F. (2018). Whistleblowing in Kuwait and U.K. against corruption and misconduct. International Journal of Law and Management, 60(4), 1. Web.
Alrashidi, K. S. (2020). Combating corruption in Kuwait: A socio-legal study (Doctoral dissertation). White Rose eTheses Online. (PTN 146905)
Gallardo-Vázquez, D., Barroso-Méndez, M. J., Pajuelo-Moreno, M. L., & Sánchez-Meca, J. (2019). Corporate social responsibility disclosure and performance: A meta-analytic approach. Sustainability, 11(4), 1115. Web.
Oxford, A. (2019). Kuwait corruption probe may be destabilizing.Emerald Expert Briefings, 1(2633-304X). Web.