KUWAIT CITY, January 27, 2026 — The Government of Kuwaiti has completed the installation of 191 surveillance cameras across cooperative societies as part of a drive to monitor strategic inventory, financial operations and administrative performance, local media outlets say.
The local media say the Ministry of Social Affairs rolled out the technology over the past year to enable continuous security and administrative oversight of the sector.
The cameras will be linked to control rooms at the Ministries of Social Affairs, Commerce and Industry, and Interior.
Ministers say the initiative aims to strengthen governance and oversight of cooperatives, improve leadership standards and ensure the smooth flow of goods. The system will allow direct monitoring of each cooperative’s financial and administrative data, as well as strategic inventory levels.
While cooperatives will retain authority over their own affairs, the government said access to data will be restricted to authorised personnel to ensure confidentiality. Any violations, however, will be automatically flagged.
The next phase of the project will incorporate artificial intelligence, with support from Microsoft, to assist cooperative boards in making financial and managerial decisions.
Separately, cooperatives have been instructed to comply with a new strategy to regulate the marketing of domestic produce, with the Ministry of Social Affairs launching the Kuwaiti Farmers’ Corner initiative.
The programme is intended to support local farmers and increase the availability of domestically produced goods in cooperative outlets.
Social Affairs Minister Sayed Issa has written to the chairs of cooperative boards, instructing them to allocate designated retail space for the Kuwaiti Farmers’ Corner and to appoint a dedicated procurement officer.
The ministry will dispatch inspection teams to ensure compliance with the new regulations. Non-compliance could result in the dismissal of board members and the appointment of alternative leadership, Issa warned.
https://thecooperator.news/kuwait-cooperatives-oppose-govt-over-privatisation-plan/
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