mp abdul karim al-kandari submitted a proposal to amend the tenders law and do away with the condition of having a local agent. he justified his suggestion saying the local agent previously was keen to protect the interest of his country, and later became the cause of the failure of a majority of the projects, and was one of the reason why it became a tool in the hands of visa traders, and sacrificed the quality of material supplied when greed crept into and to a large extent monopoly became the norm.

al-kandari suggested that the government open the door for direct contracting, as the need for local agent is no longer feasible after the local agent became a hindrance and a reason for delaying or shelving many projects, either because of his fi nancial or technical inability to complete them, or his quest for quick profi t at the expense of the quality of projects by re-dividing them, sub-selling or acquisition without taking into account his fi nancial solvency, or because of the monopoly and limitation of these projects and their implementation to a number of local agents, and it is necessary to open the economy and space for the foreign investor.

the mp’s talk is emotional and inaccurate, and the implementation will place enormous administrative burdens on the state, and will also cause great confusion for hundreds of activities, if implemented.

i say this from the point of view of an observing citizen, and not as a supplier and owner of agencies, it is dangerous to adopt the representative’s generalization and it is funny, for example, to stop importing knives because one of them was used as a tool in a murder.

what is required is not the abolition of the local agent but rather the honesty and keenness to monitor his work, and punish him if he makes a mistake or trades in labor. the generalization here is unjust and is not based on any evidence.

al-kandari himself will not defi nitely buy an electric kettle, and we will not say a vehicle or a tractor, if he is not confi-dent that there is someone who will guarantee its repair if it is damaged or needs spare parts, just as it is not conceivable to cancel a car dealership, and whoever trades in it must provide maintenance and spare parts.

as for the issue of direct contracting with the outside, it is easy to talk about it but its application is not practical in the fi rst place. we have seen how several agencies have received commissions in the hundreds of millions as a result of those who represent government agencies contracting or purchasing directly from the global factory.

direct purchase from the factory was not prohibited, and did not prevent corruption in most cases. in addition to that, government agencies do not have the experience in negotiating with tens of thousands of sources to supply hundreds of thousands of materials and services especially since there is a difference between the owner’s negotiation and the employee’s negotiation.

the government will also face a big dilemma if the foreign company fails in its work, or encounters implementation problems or fi nancial diffi culties, then it will exit the market, and you have to solve the problems with subcontractors and service suppliers.

the government apparatus, in its current state, is fl abby, tired, and incapable of carrying out the simple tasks assigned to it, so how can we assign it to carry out the task of the local agent, with all the corruption that is eroding government agencies, the delay in paying contractors’ dues, and the negative results of hiring hundreds of incompetents in leadership positions and their inability to supervise oversight or implement state projects.

therefore, the problem is not with the local contractor, and we will not exempt many of them from corruption and ruin, but rather in the slackness of the government apparatus and the lack of transparency and oversight in it.