Kuwait keen to protect donor’s money; will not allow illegal charity work

KUWAIT CITY, March 30: The Director of Public Relations and Information at the Ministry of Social Affairs, Ahmed Al-Enezi, has requested the Public Communications Authority to block websites that advertise for donations for charity projects illegally from outside the State of Kuwait, reports Al-Rai daily. Al-Enezi explained this step was taken after the ministry recently came across scores of adverts in the social networking sites requesting donations for charity projects from outside Kuwait, whether by entities or individuals not authorized to collect those donations.

Al-Enezi stated the last of these adverts was a call on various social media sites to donate to establish an Islamic center in one of the countries, which is considered in violation of the law regulating the licensing of collecting money for public purposes for the year 1959, which does not allow individuals or groups to collect donations from the public by any means for the purpose of spending them for charity, public benefit, or assistance to the afflicted in Kuwait and abroad, except after obtaining a previous license from the Ministry of Social Affairs, at least one month before the start of collecting donations.

Al-Enezi stressed that the ministry, through the teams affiliated with the Department of Charity Societies and Associations, is closely following all advertisements and invitations for collecting donations, and will take all legal measures against each party that does not comply with the laws and regulations. Al-Enezi stressed that the Ministry of Social Affairs will not compromise in protecting the donors’ funds and preserving Kuwait’s reputation as a pioneer in charity and humanitarian work.