Kuwait loses close to KWD1.2 billion (nearly $4 billion) every year to corruption, local reports have quoted Kuwait Economic Society chairman Abdul Wahab Al Rasheed as saying.
He was speaking at a symposium titled The Impact of Corruption on the National Economy, organized by the Economic Society when he made these remarks, said the local reports.
Al Rashhed said the financial crisis gives Kuwait three options: resorting to public debt, direct withdrawal from the reserves of Future Generations Fund, or both.
He added that the imbalances experienced by the economy are met with “political and national indifference” on the part of officials and decision-makers.
He opined that failure to take the right decision at the right time is the worst form of corruption.
Al Rasheed also said unless there is real economic reform, the consequences would be very serious, as the budget deficit in 2035 is expected to reach about KWD200 billion (approximately $665 billion), which is almost the value of the sovereign fund’s assets.
According to global anti-corruption watchdog Transparency International, Kuwait in 2020 ranked 78 out of 180 countries in the overall Corruption Perception Index.
Of the GCC countries, the best in that list was Oman, which had secured a rank of 49, with a score of 54 out of a possible 100.