Restructuring of the Kuwaiti "Supreme Council for Family Affairs" and Tightening Control over Aid and Associations

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The Kuwaiti Minister of Social Affairs and Family and Childhood, Dr. Amthal Al-Huwaila, stated that the ministry is working on modifying and reducing the organizational structure of the Supreme Council for Family Affairs, transferring some of its employees to the Ministry of Social Affairs, in addition to training staff on the mechanisms for receiving reports of domestic violence and dealing with them professionally.

In this context, she clarified that the protection centers dealt with 159 reports and cases of domestic violence, and 157 for child protection. Concurrently, she noted the issuance of 6 protection orders and the provision of shelter for 14 cases. The consultation center received 700 calls, providing 512 consultations and 70 advisory sessions.

Regarding financial discipline, the minister confirmed the continuation of auditing public aid and cases under Article 8, explaining that the audit covered 31,648 cases, while the total expenditure in June was approximately 17.45 million dinars. The ministry recovered more than 630,000 dinars in the past three months from aid that was disbursed without justification.

She continued that the ministry completed the closure of the financial year ahead of schedule, and 32 rulings were issued in its favor out of 33, with a success rate of 97%.

In the same context, she pointed out that the ministry and the entities under its supervision continued in the past three months to work on legislative, regulatory, and service files, developing performance and digital transformation, following up on the needs of deserving groups, and enhancing communication with citizens.

Al-Huwaila stated in remarks to the Kuwaiti newspaper "Al-Qabas" that these files include the completion of the draft law on persons with disabilities, the regulation of kiosks in cooperative societies, and the submission of a new draft law for cooperative societies.

Additionally, she added that the Supreme Council for Family Affairs completed a draft regulation on domestic violence and submitted a draft amendment to its establishment law, while the legislative work included the completion of the draft law for the International Islamic Charitable Organization.

Concurrently, she clarified that the ministry issued decisions to dissolve 12 inactive and violating public benefit associations, organized the procedures for general assemblies and elections, and enhanced the follow-up on compliance with anti-money laundering and terrorism financing requirements.

Regarding oversight of cooperative societies, Al-Huwaila confirmed the continuation of reviewing contracts for invested shops and publishers to prevent subleasing, establishing new mechanisms for cleaning and security contracts, and organizing expenditures from the social services budget, in addition to reducing subsidized prices.

She noted the issuance of 22 judicial seizures, the dismissal of 8 members from the board of directors of the Al-Firdous Association, and 2 members from the board of directors of the Abdullah Mubarak Association, with referral to the Public Prosecution, and the dissolution of the board of directors of the Al-Zahra Association, while inspection teams continued their work.

She stated that the ministry offered 45 job opportunities for Kuwaitis in 15 associations through the "Fakhruna" platform, while the nationalization of supply branches in 40 associations occurred in the past three months. Additionally, 77 financial monitors passed the hiring tests out of 140 applicants, and 173 administrative monitors out of 295 applicants.

Regarding service development, Al-Huwaila said that the ministry completed the operation of the electronic archiving system and worked on developing assistance systems, family custody, and cooperative sector platforms.

She also added that the work included exploring a proposal to create a platform for suppliers and manufacturers, and an electronic request system that allows associations to serve consumers and deliver goods within their geographical scope, in addition to coordinating on the possibility of electronic linkage with the central assistance system to verify the data of applicants.

She pointed out the expansion of automated linkage and data exchange, and the introduction of linkage with 24 government entities, aiming to expedite transaction completion and shorten the documentation cycle. The Authority for Persons with Disabilities launched 10 new services via "Sahl", including appointments for medical committees, certificate renewals, retirement, hearing aids, wheelchairs, and exemption from fingerprinting and traffic plates.

Regarding social services, Al-Huwaila stated that the ministry launched the "Taa'afi" initiative to support recovering addicts and rehabilitate them and integrate them into society, implemented the national campaign "A Nation Protects You" for drug prevention, and organized 39 workshops and 20 lectures in community development centers.

Regarding the Public Authority for Persons with Disabilities, she confirmed the continuation of reviewing disability certificates, medical files, and files of caregivers to verify entitlement, and auditing disbursement lists to prevent duplication or payments to suspended or deceased cases, noting that the legal investigation committee continues to examine violations and contracts within the authority.

She mentioned that the authority completed 663 transactions for the monthly allowance in the past three months, 750 for the domestic worker and driver allowance, 863 for caregivers, 860 for the retirement of caregivers, and 238 for the retirement of persons with disabilities. The work included installing surveillance cameras in care homes and starting the establishment of a sensory room in the new Kuwait International Airport building.