Kuwait runs short of cash

Beyond oil: The pier at Kuwait’s largest refinery Al-Ahmadi, 30 kms from Kuwait City. Some warn that without diversifying the economy and creating jobs, the country’s savings would run out in 15-20 years. — AFP

KUWAIT: When Kuwait’s then-Finance Minister Anas Al-Saleh warned in 2016 that it was time to cut spending and prepare for life after oil, he was ridiculed by a population raised on a seemingly endless flow of petrodollars. Four years on, one of the world’s richest countries is struggling to make ends meet as a sharp decline in energy prices raises profound questions over how Gulf Arab states are run.

Al-Saleh’s long gone, shifting to other cabinet positions. A successor, Mariam Al-Aqeel, moved on in January, two weeks after suggesting Kuwait restructure a public-sector wage bill that’s the single biggest drag on state finances. Her replacement, Barak Al-Sheetan, warned last month there wasn’t enough to cash to pay state salaries beyond October.Slow to adjust big-spending habits as oil revenues fall, the Gulf states are hurtling toward a moment of economic reckoning, prompting renewed debate over the future of nations that for decades bought popular loyalty with state largesse.