robert owen (1771-1858), a prominent british textile manufacturer, was a social reformer. his attitude toward his workers led him to open the first cooperative store to sell high-quality products at discounted prices to them. it was considered the first experience in history to manage a worker-owned cooperative.
in kuwait, the first attempts at cooperation began in 1941 at al-mubarakiya school, through a cooperative association to manage the school canteen, and that the experience spread to other schools, and in the fifties, i was a contributor to the al-sabah and al-siddiq school associations.
the first official cooperative society owned by the people of the region was the kaifan society, which was founded in 1962, to serve the region and provide consumer goods and foodstuffs to the region’s residents and patrons.
the experience of the societies was successful in its beginnings, and today its annual sales have reached more than 4 billion dollars, but with ‘the unblessed awakening’.
the religiously ideological parties succeeded in controlling the boards of directors of many of them, and perhaps that was the beginning of corruption eating into the body of their majority, their transformation into a political tool and illicit enrichment, and the subsequent referral of some of their members, or their entire boards of directors, elected or appointed by the ministry of social affairs to the prosecution to investigate them for serious financial violations.
corruption included almost most of the cooperatives, and over time it became one of their characteristics, the source of everyone’s complaints, the cause of headaches for the ministry of social affairs, and a blackmail tool for those dealing with it, including tenants and suppliers, with its social services being modest, other than financing ‘umrah’ trips for some of them.
over time, sharp criticism of cooperative societies increased and demands to cancel the entire idea increased, and others suggested reforming it. a third group demanded that the right to manage the central markets be stripped from its board of directors and handed over to professional marketing companies.
a fourth group demanded that the societies be transformed into public joint-stock companies, the people of the region owning all of their shares for a few years, and at a later stage they may sell it on the stock exchange, and in this way, its accounts and business become under the supervision of several parties, instead of one party. representatives and stakeholders also opposed amending its status, and the need for it to remain as it is, because that would be of benefit to them.
the mishref cooperative society was, in the eyes of some, an icon and far from corruption, and had been making lucrative profits over the years, which prompted some to suggest that it be handed over the management to the district instead of the government.
then it was recently revealed, through a report by the successful journalist ali khaja, that it was no better than others, as it was subjected to violations, and the best evidence of its failure is that a well-known supermarket company stormed its home, and now has a large branch inside the mishref co-op society. this means that the latter is reassured that it can provide a service to the people of the region that exceeds the level of what their “cooperative” provides to them!
the idea of cooperative societies in kuwait is outdated, and their failure is clear to anyone with insight, and the strongest evidence of their failure is the success of their competition, even though their lands and buildings are not free, and therefore everyone who calls for cooperative societies to remain in their current state is either ignorant of their conditions, or is benefiting from them!