Useful thoughts for Useless People.

If you were one of those registered voters who didn't vote in 2008, or realized that you'dvoted for the wrong people, then you're as useless as MP Mohammed Hayef's Questions to the Prime Minister! It's very easy for the potential voters to get lost among all the statements and actions of the current and future Candidates, so I decided to shed some light on some of the issues that we, as voters, should be hearing from the Candidates in the upcoming elections:

1. Housing: Calls to allocate adequate residential areas for Kuwaiti families, reducing the waiting time from 15 years to 5 max. Advantage: Productive society
2. Employment: Calls to employ more skilled and educated people in both the private and government sector, and to 'enhance' the currently employed workforce with more skill sets, reducing bureaucracy and increasing efficiency. Advantage: Professional workforce.
3. Updating Government salaries: More and more people are asking for special allowances in accordance with the nature of their jobs; Judges, Engineers, Firemen, etc...by increasing the minimum salaries to compensate for cost of living, the government would have a more streamlined balance sheet, and reduce the cost of 'Social Allowance' benefits. Advantage: Lower operating costs for the Government
4. Education: Calls to update the Kuwaiti Educational system in line with the existing plan laid out by Ms. Nouriya Al Sabeeh and give it time to mature. Advantage: A brighter student community.
5. Higher Education: Calls to revoke previously-awarded accreditation to shady and questionable universities & colleges overseas, thereby reducing the corrupted rubbish they throw back at us! Advantage: A more enlightened and educated workforce.
6. Health: Calls to renovate all the existing Hospitals, and proceed with building 4 new ones within 3-4 years. Advantage: A Healthier society & more job opportunities.
7. Economy: Calls for extreme measures with long-lasting solutions to combat the current financial crisis, not a band-aid! Also, calls for an oversight & legislative body with executive authority to regulate the KSE. Advantage: Better resource allocation, gradual economic sustainability.
8. Stateless: Calls to deny the Kuwaiti Nationality to those that do not meet the minimum requirements, and to offer residency permits to the rest, while restricting their activities based on educational qualifications and worth to society. Advantage: Less cannon fodder to the opportunists.
9. Women in Leadership: Calls to encourage skilled women to take up leadership positions within the government. Advantage: Utilizing untapped skillsets within the workforce.
10. Security: Calls to closely monitor and scrutinize the internal security of the country by establishing a system of checks & balances that would off-set the misuse of 'Wasta' in issuing Kuwaiti Nationalities. Advantage: A more stable government & society (in many ways!)

At the same time, one should be suspicious of those that call for the following:

1. Loan write-offs, buyouts, reductions
2. Segregation of sexes in educational and work areas
3. Implementation of religious jurisprudence in all affairs of state
4. Stopping the removal of Diwaniyas & other unlicensed structures
5. Increasing employment in government and private sectors without a career path
6. Increasing allowances over and above basic salaries
7. Nationalization of all Bedoon on "humanitarian grounds"!
8. Amending the constitution to include such issues as the enforcement of Sharia as the 'only' source of legislation, and the limitation of executive and/or oversight powers of the MP's.
9. Public attacks on members of the government and ruling family
10. Shouting off about everything and basically saying nothing new!

I could go on.....but I think you get the idea.