Sometimes I wonder if our elected representatives live in Bahrain or are residents of the proverbial Cuckoo Islands.
When I read that five deputies have submitted a proposal to drop personal loans from citizens, I was appalled.
Their argument to do this is bizarre as well.
They say this would alleviate peoples’ suffering and activate the local market and purchasing power!
What were they thinking?
Do they know anything about this topic or have they done any study, research and serious work?
Do they know what kind of debt the people owe and how the government is suffering?
Do they not know how much the government has worked since the coronavirus pandemic emerged to alleviate the lot of citizens and residents by launching numerous economic packages?
If they had given all this a thought, there would have been no need to make such statements.
Stop this behaviour, dear representatives, for silence is much more merciful than your naive and completely unrealistic suggestions.
Do not think that by presenting such ideas you will receive support from the people and gain additional votes in the upcoming elections.
I am not against easing citizens’ burden but I cannot imagine any sane person would agree to this proposal.
The loans are of various types – including construction loans, housing purchases, or consumer loans.
Do these representatives know anything about the budget required by the government to drop these loans?
Do they know also how much the government would lose and how much the commercial banks would suffer?
They know nothing!
Not everyone needs to borrow, of course.
Quite frankly, we have no idea about financial management and I know a lot of people who don’t know how to manage their money and their salaries and how to spend.
Some of them do not need the luxuries they have and do not know the difference between luxuries and necessities, but still they insist on buying things they do not need and then say they are under financial pressures.
These people do not have enough money and do not need to borrow, but what they do know is how to splurge on luxuries.
On the one hand, we wish to own luxury cars and love to travel, and always eat out at restaurants; wear the best brands of clothes and sport the best watches, while on the other we say we are burdened with debts.
Even if the debts are dropped, the process will not get over and they will soon apply for a new loan.
It’s a crazy rigmarole.
Waiving these loans is not fair because of a very simple reason – the people should know how to live a modest life according to their condition and avoid borrowing to show that they have all the luxuries.
I hope my words will not be taken otherwise because my only intention is to be realistic and make people happy and content.
ztawfeeqi@gmail.com