KUWAIT CITY, July 30: The Ministry of Social Affairs has referred several former board members of the Abdullah Al-Mubarak and Al-Jahra Cooperative Societies to the Public Prosecution, alongside several expatriate employees. This action follows the recommendations of recently formed investigation committees and the Public Authority for Combating Corruption (Nazaha), as revealed by Al-Jarida.

According to ministry sources, the committees' final reports, submitted to ministry leaders, confirmed multiple violations. These included improper purchasing policies and mismanagement that led to increased expenses and purchases but decreased sales and revenues. This mismanagement negatively impacted the financial liquidity and overall financial health of the cooperatives. Additional serious financial and administrative violations were also documented.

With direct instructions from the Minister of Social Affairs, Family and Childhood Affairs, and Minister of State for Youth Affairs, Dr. Amthal Al-Huwailah, the ministry is committed to taking necessary legal measures to safeguard the cooperative sector. This sector has annual sales totaling approximately one billion dinars, and the ministry aims to protect shareholders' rights and the associations' standing.

In a related development, the ministry is considering opening the internal transfer window earlier than usual due to a surge in retirement applications. This surge is attributed to the financial benefits approved by a recent law that increases the minimum retirement pension. Around 900 employees, representing 13% of the ministry's 7,000-strong workforce, have submitted retirement applications since the law's approval last November. Most applications came from employees in the Community Development and Family Care Departments within the Social Development Sector.

The ministry's Administrative Affairs Department is processing these retirement applications and forwarding them to the Civil Service Commission for completion. With a significant number of supervisory employees retiring, there is an urgent need for new employees to fill these vacancies.