The Ministry of Social Affairs has allocated more than one million dinars for the implementation of the Early Childhood Development initiative, in cooperation with UNICEF, to prepare children to enter the primary stage.
The Ministry organized the first coordination meeting of the preparation and follow-up team of the development plan, headed by the Undersecretary of the Ministry, Abdulaziz Al-Mutairi, and in the presence of representatives of the Supreme Council for Planning and Development. Government work from 2023-2024 to 2026-2027.
The meeting reviewed the two projects for the construction and completion of the mobile unit building for the elderly in the Ishbiliya region, and the completion of the ministry’s mechanization works that are included in the development plan for next year.
The ministry’s views on the government’s work program were also reviewed, as the ministry aims to implement 3 initiatives as follows:
First: Ensuring the fairness of the social safety net. This initiative aims to ensure that the subsidies provided by the state reach the most needy people among the Kuwaiti people, according to a performance mechanism that guarantees fairness and transparency in the distribution of wealth.
The implementation of this initiative will be in cooperation with the World Bank, at a total cost of 860,000 dinars within 5 years.
Second: The Early Childhood Development Initiative aims to provide the necessary opportunity for children to obtain a good quality of growth and care in the early childhood stage according to modern educational curricula so that they are ready to enter the primary stage.
This initiative will be implemented in cooperation with UNICEF at an estimated cost of 1,075,777 dinars.
Third: Improving and developing cooperative work initiative aims to improve and develop the cooperative work environment by amending some of the decisions issued and regulating cooperative work, as well as developing national competencies working in this field. It will be implemented through specialists in the field of cooperative work in the Ministry, provided that the implementation period is over two years without any financial cost to the state budget.
Regarding the application of the corporate governance system in the Ministry, Undersecretary Al-Mutairi stated that the Ministry has trained more than 130 employees and supervisors from the Ministry since the implementation of the approved plan and schedule for the governance team.
He indicated that the Social Affairs Ministry is considered one of the first government agencies to form a team specialized in corporate governance through trainers accredited by the General Secretariat of the Supreme Council for Planning and Development, in implementation of the directives of the Council of Ministers regarding combating administrative corruption and promoting the principles of transparency and integrity in the work and activity of government agencies, and in implementation of the government’s action program.
Al-Mutairi explained that the research and study of governance legislation in the following five sectors has been completed:
— Cooperation sector
— Social Development Sector
— Legal affairs sector
— Planning and administrative development sector
— The minister’s office sector
Governance procedures for the undersecretary sector are currently being researched and studied.
Al-Mutairi confirmed that the governance team in the ministry is currently reviewing all the legislation, regulations and systems in force in the ministry to make observations and recommendations in line with the application of the principles of governance in the government apparatus, and then it meets with all officials in all sectors and departments of the ministry to discuss with them and take their observations in the matter of governance in preparation for measuring the extent and percentage of applying governance in the ministry, as well as measuring the extent to which leaders and officials understand the concepts and rules of governance.
After completing the implementation of all the procedures drawn up in the approved plan of the governance team, according to the stages specified in the timetable, it will prepare the guide for the Ministry of Social Affairs regarding the application of governance and submitting it to the Minister for approval and implementation in coordination with the Council of Ministers and the National Assembly in the matter of all draft laws that need amendments, as well as coordination with the leaders of the Ministry in the matter of amending the regulations, systems, and ministerial and administrative decisions in accordance with and implementation governance.
