New law on Cooperative Societies sparks tension
KUWAIT CITY, Feb 8: Recent discussions surrounding Kuwait's Cooperative Societies Law have introduced proposals to restructure the composition of cooperative society boards. One notable suggestion is to set the total number of board members at seven, comprising three elected members and four appointed representatives from government entities. The proposed government representatives would hail from the Ministries of Finance, Social Affairs, Commerce and Industry, and Kuwait Municipality. However, the exact number of government-appointed members may be adjusted based on ongoing studies before the finalization of the new law.
In a recent television interview, Ghraib Al-Adhan, Chairman of the Union of Consumer Cooperative Societies, highlighted that the draft law presented by Minister Amthal Al- Huwailah emphasizes a list-based system. This system proposes a board comprising five members and two observers from the Ministry of Social Affairs. Al-Adhan noted that this proposal was previously rejected by the Fatwa and Legislation Department. He also mentioned hearing about potential amendments suggesting four appointed and three elected members, expressing concerns about the management structure under such an arrangement.
Al-Adhan stated his intention to resign from his position if the law is enacted in its current form. In other news, several cooperative societies have ceased distributing profits to female members whose Kuwaiti citizenships have been revoked. The prevailing laws prevent these individuals from receiving such disbursements, as they no longer meet the membership criteria. The Ministry of Social Affairs has instructed these cooperatives to automatically terminate memberships of individuals who have lost their citizenship, citing the loss of a fundamental membership requirement. It's noteworthy that the profits in question pertain to purchases made in the year preceding the revocation of citizenship. The cooperative societies are awaiting directives from the ministry before proceeding with any profit distributions to these former members.
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