Acting Undersecretary of the Ministry of Social Affairs and Community Development Abdulaziz Al-Mutairi affirmed that the ministry is keen to implement the decisions of the Council of Ministers and the NGOs Law, activate the role of civil society, and ensure the existence of effective projects and plans that are compatible with the goals and contribute to the renaissance of society and achieve the public benefit.
Al-Mutairi said, in a special statement to Al-Rai daily, that what the ministry is doing is supportive and auxiliary to achieve the goals of civil associations and promote and advance their mission, indicating that the ministry, through the management of civil associations, supervises the work of 179 public benefit associations that have obtained licenses to carry out their activities in various specializations. These include cultural, educational, professional and medical associations.
He stated that all public benefit associations are covered by Law No. 24 of 1962 and the relevant organizing decisions, as the relationship between the Ministry of Social Affairs and associations is based on cooperation between the government sector and civil society organizations whose role is considered supportive of government action.
He added, “The Ministry recently circulated to public benefit associations a reminder of the provisions of ministerial decisions and the work law of public benefit associations, with the aim of encouraging its employees to achieve the desired goals, especially since the ministry teams have recently monitored a set of observations and legal abuses.”
Al-Mutairi pointed out that among some of these observations and abuses are “public benefit associations addressing official bodies directly, which is contrary to Cabinet Resolution No. 666 of 2008, as they are obligated to address the ministry but instead they engage in activities and publish advertising materials without obtaining the approvals of the Ministry and the competent authorities, and this is considered contrary to what was stated in Cabinet Resolution No. 836 of 2004.
Al-Mutairi indicated that the ministry’s goal is to request a plan for annual association projects so that it can be audited and approved, in implementation of the text of Article No. 6 of Law No. 24 of 1962 in the matter of clubs and associations of public benefit, which prohibits associations from carrying out actions that do not fall within their objectives, which was monitored on several occasions.
He continued saying, the Ministry has recently noticed the ineffectiveness of some associations and their failure to provide services to the community, which is in violation of their publicity license.
Al-Mutairi pointed out that the ministry also noticed the presence of many associations that do not engage in any activity and do not have a headquarters to carry out their role, and accordingly their officials will be notified to take the necessary measures towards their dissolution and liquidation in compliance with the law.
4 abuses committed by the associations
— Addressing the official authorities directly without referring to Ministry of Social Affairs
— Practicing activities and publishing advertising materials without obtaining the approvals of the Ministry and the competent authorities
— Carrying out actions that do not fall within its objectives
— The existence of associations that do not engage in any activity and do not have a headquarters to carry out their role
Read Today's News TODAY... on our Telegram Channel click here to join and receive all the latest updates t.me/thetimeskuwait
