publish time

04/11/2020

author name Arab Times

publish time

04/11/2020

‘No authority to exempt water, power fees’

KUWAIT CITY, Nov 4: Even though the Union of Consumer Cooperative Societies (UCCS) insisted on not exempting shops in cooperative societies from paying rents based on the decisions of the Ministry of Social Affairs in advance of a series of claims, the ministry affirmed the need for the cooperative societies’ commitment to the decision to reduce the rents of the shops by the specified rate, reports Al-Qabas daily.

In response to the union’s demands, the ministry sent a letter rejecting its proposals regarding exemption from water and electricity bills by five percent of support for the governorates and others, on the grounds that it is not competent to issue a decision in this regard. It stressed that it does not have the authority to exempt water and electricity fees, adding that the five percent to support the governorates came in accordance with decree No. 81/2014 as per which the governorate’s financial resources include the amount allocated for social service from the profits of the cooperative societies in the governorate, according to what the minister of social affairs decides based on the proposal of the Supreme Council for Governorates.

Regarding the five percent for supporting national cooperative projects, the ministry said it is organized according to the list of cooperative projects of the ministerial decision concerning the formation of the National Projects Committee, as this committee is represented by two members of the union. Regarding the union’s assignment of the Ministry of Social Affairs to the responsibility of influencing the profits of shareholders, the ministry indicated that the union, represented by its board of directors, is concerned with fortifying the purposes for which the union was established and setting long-term policies that it deems capable of achieving these goals as well as taking whatever means are possible to meet the society’s needs in the future.

It stated that, “The results of the financial year’s business depend on the good management of the union’s funds and the parliament’s followup of effective means of control to ensure satisfactory results for the work of the year. Therefore, the union’s achievement of profits or losses is a result of the policies followed in the union, and the one responsible for it is the board of directors while the ministry’s role is limited to control and supervise it”.