Kuwait City: Kuwaiti authorities are working on devising an automatic system aimed at closely monitoring performance of the country’s charity associations and their finances.
Earlier this month, Kuwait arrested eight members of a group linked to the Muslim Brotherhood and handed them over to Egypt where they are convicted in terrorism cases.
Some of them were reportedly under sponsorship of some charity associations in Kuwait.
The disclosures have prompted Kuwaiti authorities to tighten overseeing charities and donations they collect.
“The Ministry of Social Affairs monitors the process of raising donations and domains of their spending inside Kuwait,” Hoda Al Rashed, the head of the Charity Societies at the ministry, told Kuwaiti newspaper Al Rai.
“The Foreign Ministry, meanwhile, monitors transfers of money abroad and in several cases monitors the charitable projects set up outside Kuwait,” she added.
The official explained that the ministry is currently devising an automatic system linking it directly to charities.
“The automatic linkage to financial and administrative accounts of charity societies and endowments with the ministry will contribute to direct communication and swift access to data,” she said.
“It will also allow checking all financial and administrative data directly between the ministry and associations. Moreover, it allows the ministry to follow societies’ annual budgets and strategic plans.”
Kuwaiti security agencies have recently intensified efforts to examine the financial transfers conducted by members of the Brotherhood group before their arrest.
