‘Prior approval from ministry mandatory’

KUWAIT CITY, March 6: The Ministry of Social Affairs (MoSA) intends to issue a new regulation as part of the scenarios that are still being studied to prohibit direct communication between the boards of directors of cooperative societies and the investors of commercial stores, without notifying the ministry, for renewal or non-renewal of investment contracts, or increasing rent or any other contractual matters with the investor, reports Al- Rai daily quoting informed sources.

According to the proposal, the boards of directors of cooperative societies will have to obtain prior approval from the ministry on the contractual procedure, after submitting convincing statements to ministry officials explaining the reasons on which they based the decision to renew or not renew any of their investment contracts or increase the rent on investors.

The sources explained that the option of renewing investment contracts is expected to be specified by the ministry with three support segments for the cooperative sector, including a period of one year with KD 1,000, a period of three years with KD 15,000, and a period of five years with KD 50,000. These amounts are paid as support for the cooperative societies upon renewal in addition to the rental value agreed upon.

However, it is currently pushing through a mechanism other than the one that the ministry intends to approve. In the event that a step is adopted to prohibit direct communication between the boards of directors of cooperative societies and the investors of the shops without the knowledge and permission of the ministry, the ministry will introduce a new procedural officer that regulates lease contracts in cooperative societies. The sources said the ministry is expected to issue a decision in this regard in the near future.

Meanwhile, The Ministry of Finance on Thursday sent an official warning to National Real Estate Company (NREC) on the need to hand over the Waterfront Project-Phase Three (Souq Sharq), including the facilities and everything built on the project site on or before March 6, reports Al-Rai daily. In its warning, the ministry said it will carry out the force eviction if the company does not implement the decision. In a separate statement, the company confirmed that it had earlier been informed about the ministry’s intention to hand over El-Joun Resort project to a management company; adding this move will not affect its financial status.