mr. marwan salameh says that the principle of cooperatives does not stem from communist or socialist societies, but is an ancient human principle that came when the first humans stopped being nomads and settled in a specific land area.
cooperatives exist in the field of retail and wholesale, agriculture, industry, labor gatherings, and others in various countries of the world, eastern and western.
the principle of cooperative societies reflects the concept of democracy more than any other principle, and one of the best definitions of cooperatives is that it is independent cooperation that includes members who are voluntarily united to achieve their common goals and aspirations, whether economic, social, or cultural through an institution or organization affiliated to them, owned and managed in a democratic way between them.
as for what we complain about the misapplication of the work and management of many cooperative societies, this is a completely different matter and it is not wise because of the mistakes of some to cancel the idea of societies completely. our desire to get rid of the defects of the experience does not justify its execution that is to say not to try to get rid of something good when trying to get rid of something bad.
we don’t live in jungles where it is the survival of the fittest at the expense of the weaker. as for all human societies, there are laws, customs, and traditions, and the way they are adhered to or applied is the difference between a successful society and a failed one that relies on the principle of “take what can be taken”, due to the spread of corruption, the lack of belief by many in the permanence of the state, nor the fear of punishment.
if we look at the experiences of successful institutions in the trade of consumer goods and markets, we will find that they attract shoppers by their successful marketing methods, and they are constantly expanding often at the expense of cooperative societies, despite the fact that the latter enjoys free land and buildings from the state, and on top of that, millions are achieved by leasing dozens of cooperative stores, however, most of them are unable to compete with the private sector, other than the large annual losses.
the reason is corruption and mismanagement that afflicts the bodies of many of them, which prompted sane parties to demand that cooperatives’ boards of directors do not have the right to operate the association’s facilities, rather, it is sufficient to entrust its management to professional bodies.
most of the members of the boards do not have any knowledge of management, and all have become the heads of associations by-election, and they interfere in every matter, and the weak-hearted among them find it difficult to refrain from stealing others’ money, especially since their contributions to the capital of the association usually do not exceed a few hundred dinars.
therefore, assigning specialized marketing agencies to manage the work of the association will reduce expenses, the number of employees, eliminate the interference of representatives in the work of the association, and other things.
from this point of view, we demand the honorable brother abdulaziz al-shuaib, undersecretary of the ministry of social affairs to study the situation of cooperative societies by mandating the boards of directors to develop the work of societies while tightening the ministry’s control over prices and preventing manipulation.
there is no doubt that any proposal, development, or improvement of the current situation will encounter strong opposition from the boards of these associations, as they are the beneficiaries of the current situation, and this is a sufficient reason to proceed with the development of the idea of associations radically.