Minister of Social Affairs, Family Affairs and Childhood, and Minister of State for Youth Affairs Dr. Amthal Al-Huwailah said on Monday that the political leadership dedicates concern for the cooperative movement and is keen on developing this sector.
In a statement to KUNA marking the International Cooperative Day, Minister Al-Huwailah affirmed the keenness to ensure effective participation of the cooperative societies in the national economy through overhauling the labor legislative and supervisory work environment, the financial and administrative systems as well as the marketing policies.
The Kuwaiti cooperative movement is pioneering, a product of the Kuwaiti community and a natural outcome of the cooperative spirit enjoyed by the ancestors — that have been developing until the present time, the minister said.
Currently, there are 77 cooperative societies, proclaimed according to the cooperative societies law — including 70 consumer societies, two agricultural (Al-Wafra and Al-Abdali), the livestock
one, the society for the Kuwaiti civil servants society for saving, Al-Sadu handicraft association, in addition to the consumer cooperative societies union and the federation of the societies for production and livestock — with the total number of shareholders amounting to 498,109.
Shedding light on some historic phases of the movement, minister Al-Huwailah said the year 1974 witnessed the first steps for establishing the consumer cooperative movement at some quarters, thus the cooperative society for personnel of the department of social affairs department and the association for “Al-Maaref” department were set up.
She alluded to the watershed step when Law 20/1962 Law was enacted. Also in the same year, the first consumer society was established in Kaifan district.
The societies federation, she continued, was established in 1971, creating the framework for coordination among the cooperative bodies. In 1979, Law 24 was issued and later, in 2013, it was amended.
The minister has affirmed that her departm
ent’s care for these societies has proven instrumental for their prosperity.
Source: Kuwait News Agency
