by ahmad alsarraf

‘we waited for them to come from the east, but they came from the west!’ – this famous quote by a late arab politician came to mind when i was reading the news about the criminal security department at the ministry of interior arresting members of a corruption network involving five members of the union of consumer cooperative societies, a cooperative society’s board of directors, workers in commercial companies, and 14 brokers and employees.

the crackdown came from the west, the “ministry of interior” while, as usual, we expected it to come from the east, the “ministry of social affairs”.

for more than half a century, the ministry of social affairs has been the main body investigating most corruption cases involving cooperative societies. yet, many of these cases ended with charges being dropped, warnings issued, or dismissals from the board.

those expelled would often return, or their representatives would be re-elected to the boards of cooperative societies, only to repeat corrupt practices time and again.

perhaps this is what prompted first deputy prime minister and minister of interior sheikh fahad yousef al-sabah and his team to intervene and begin cleansing the deeply tainted cooperative sector.

i have personally suffered from this corruption for over 35 years. during that time, i wrote dozens of articles exposing their schemes, blackmail, and the misconduct of some board members. i paid a heavy price for refusing to accept bribes, something many former employees of the company i once managed can attest to. for that reason, i am deeply grateful for the efforts led by sheikh fahad al-yousef.

on her part, minister of social affairs amthal al-huwailah announced the dissolution and dismissal of the boards of directors of 15 cooperative societies. this reaffirms the accuracy of what we have been writing for years about the deteriorating state of these cooperatives, which have caused companies to lose loyal suppliers without justification.

separately, the court of cassation issued a final ruling sentencing the financial manager of a cooperative society to prison and fining him one million dinars for embezzling salaries and contract funds exceeding 500,000 dinars, which he had diverted into other ventures.

what is both surprising and noteworthy about this ruling is how it caught many, both inside and outside the cooperative society, off guard. despite the severity of the case and its direct relevance to tens of thousands of shareholders, almost no one had heard about its proceedings during the past few years. who was responsible for covering up this case for so long?

the link between the corruption in cooperative societies and the cover-up of the embezzlement case lies in the fact that individuals involved in both cases belonged to a religious political party whose members frequently preached about moral decline in society. it seems that, through their influence, they may have succeeded in delaying proceedings and keeping the case hidden from public view.

i call on the relevant authorities to provide a clear explanation about how an individual can be sentenced to ten years in prison and fined one million dinars for embezzlement, and yet the public remained unaware of the case until the court of cassation issued its final ruling?

on behalf of the tens of thousands of individuals whose citizenship has been revoked, and following the announcement about the formation of a grievance committee to review their cases and deliver justice to those wronged, i respectfully call on the first deputy prime minister and minister of interior to decide on the work of the grievance committee.

many of those affected are hesitant to pursue the restoration of their citizenships due to the huge effort, cost, and time involved. understandably, they are reluctant to embark on this difficult path only to face rejection. what they need now is a definitive response from the government that clearly outlines their standing.

with clarity, they can either hold out hope for the return of their citizenship or begin the necessary steps to formalize and adjust their legal status, as the committee’s work could take years.



email: a.alsarraf@alqabas.com.kw