Discussion with Kuwaiti Member of Parliament

An insiders view of the workings of the only democracy of the Arab world.

A few nights ago I met up with recently elected member of Kuwait parliament the Right Honourable Nawaf Al Fuzaia.  We discussed many things, one of which was about the prospect of doubling of the budget for the Government of Kuwait over the next 10 years.

That reminded me about C. Northcote Parkinson and his famous discussions around the same topic from the 1960’s – about what is now known as Parkinson’s Law.

To understand why Kuwait’s government budget will roughly double in the next 10 years, in summary, is because:

People, events, work, plants even, will expand to fill the space allocated to them. If there is no restraints on growth, then they will simply grow, and grow and grow.

Put more simply, Parkinson explains succinctly that in a world free of restraints, in government:

1. An official wants to multiply subordinates, not rivals,
2. Officials make work for each other.

To counter this one must place restraints.  Free Market economics works very well because businesses are profit based, so there is a natural restraint upon spending, on expenses. Therefore a business will only grow if it is needed, if it is good.  This is a vital restraint that is missing in most governments of the world: therefore a government will grow whether that growth is needed or not.

Restraints on budget (as for example, as a percentage of GDP), the number of people, limiting the value of government managed assets: these are ideas for restraints for government.  The State can still own assets, however they are privately managed and therefore profit based – this is a PPP – Public Private Partnership: a concept gaining popularity in many parts of the world.

Parkinson’s book is available online here: Parkinson’s Law

This was the general thread of some of our discussion that evening. It was a good night.

About the Author

Jeremiah Josey is Chairman of MECi Group and a systems architect specialising in energy infrastructure, advanced technology, and large-scale industrial projects. He bridges visionary thinking—from artificial intelligence and sociocratic governance to ancient symbolism and climate science—with hands-on execution across China, the Middle East, including Türkiye, the Arab states and Iran, as well as Australia. Some of his initiatives include IPRI.Tech and The Thorium Network. He helps principals and decision-makers make complex, politically sensitive projects bankable and executable. His approach combines data-driven clarity, consent-based systems design, and deep structural insight to drive rapid growth, operational excellence, and transformative impact. Learn more at MECi-Group.com