‘Situation is calm at co-ops, food commodities enough for 6 months, inspection tours underway’

KUWAIT CITY, March 16: The Cooperative Sector at the Ministry of Social Affairs has intensified campaigns in cooperative societies to check foodstuffs and ensure their availability, while reviewing the strategic stock to make sure the required quantities are obtainable for at least six months during crisis, reports Al- Qabas daily.

Since Wednesday, senior ministry officials have been meeting daily in the joint operations room in Al-Siddiq District; alongside the Ministry of Commerce and Industry and Union of Cooperative Societies.

Some comments received from the markets are studied and measures are put in place to quickly present and implement solutions in order to avoid any problems while enforcing Cabinet decisions regarding the current crisis. On the sidelines of his visit to cooperative societies, Undersecretary of the ministry Abdulaziz Shuaib reassured that the strategic stock of food and sterilizers is fine.

He confirmed the availability of goods and cooperation among cooperative societies in this regard. He added the visit was aimed at inspecting food, strategic stocks, and the required safety and security measures during this period in terms of sterilization and maintaining hygiene.

On the action plan to organize and coordinate shopping in cooperatives to prevent crowding, Shuaib revealed the ministry is in constant coordination with the cooperatives to lay down a plan for each of them in terms of the size and number of cashiers. He confirmed the situation in cooperative societies is normal and calm, indicating there is no stampede.

Assistant Undersecretary for Planning and Administrative Development, and acting Assistant Undersecretary for Cooperative Societies Sector Salem Al-Rashidi confirmed the ministry has been taking steps since the issuance of Cabinet decisions on confronting coronavirus.

He said these steps include activating plans for cooperative societies and monitoring performance, while instructing the concerned officials to correct observations in a bid to guarantee positive performance; away from panic or fear.

He added the inspectors from the Cooperative Sector have been conducting inspection tours to ensure availability of essential commodities and they are continuing their work until today. He stressed that the situation is reassuring in all cooperative societies. He revealed the inspection teams also visited the stores of cooperatives to ascertain the availability of basic and necessary commodities – the most in demand among consumers, affirming these