Kuwait's cooperative societies just received their most significant regulatory update in five years, and surveillance cameras are now written directly into the rulebook.
On 14 July 2026, the Minister of Social Affairs and Family and Childhood Affairs, Dr. Amthal Al-Huwaila, signed Ministerial Decision No. 196 of 2026, issuing a new Cooperative Work Regulation (لائحة تنظيم العمل التعاوني). The decision was published in the Official Gazette Al-Kuwait Alyoum (Issue 1800, dated 19 July 2026), which means it is now in force. It replaces the previous framework, Ministerial Decision 46/T of 2021, and applies to every cooperative society in Kuwait, and to cooperative unions to the extent compatible with their work.
Two provisions in particular deserve the attention of every co-op board, general manager, and purchasing committee, because they change how cooperative societies buy, install, and operate CCTV.
The Headline Requirement: Cameras at All Locations, Recordings Kept for 6 Months
Article 113 of the new regulation is short, but its scope is wide. In plain terms, it requires every cooperative society to:
1. Install and operate surveillance cameras across all of its locations. In practice this covers the main supermarket, branch groceries (baqalat), investment shops, storage and receiving areas, administrative offices, and external areas under the society's control. The stated purpose is safeguarding the society's funds and meeting its security requirements.
2. Retain camera recordings for no less than six months. This is the detail most likely to catch societies off guard. Many older co-op systems were built around a 30 or 60 day recording cycle, after which footage is overwritten. Under the new regulation, a system set up that way is non-compliant from the day it was installed.
3. Comply with the laws and ministerial decisions that regulate security surveillance systems. Article 113 does not spell out camera resolutions or control room layouts itself. Instead, it points to Kuwait's existing surveillance framework, most importantly Law No. 61 of 2015 on security surveillance systems and its executive regulations, which govern technical specifications, footage confidentiality, who may access recordings, and the penalties for tampering with or leaking them.
That last point matters. The Ministry of Social Affairs has effectively connected the co-op sector to the Ministry of Interior's national CCTV framework. Cameras in a cooperative society are no longer an optional loss prevention tool; they are a compliance obligation sitting under two ministries at once.
The Quieter Change: You Can't Just Go Out and Buy a System Anymore
The second provision is easy to miss but arguably affects boards more in their daily work. Article 28 prohibits a cooperative society from starting any procurement process, whether price quotations, practices (ممارسات), or tenders, for "automated systems and security surveillance system projects" without first obtaining written approval from the Ministry of Social Affairs' Cooperative Facilities Department (إدارة المنشآت التعاونية).
The same prior approval rule covers supply, installation, and maintenance contracts, as well as engineering consultancy for these projects, and contracts must follow the model contracts and guidance manual issued by the department.
For co-op boards, the practical sequence now looks like this:
- Define the scope of the CCTV or automated system project.
- Submit it to the Cooperative Facilities Department and obtain written approval before requesting a single quotation.
- Run the tender or practice under the department's approved model contracts.
- Ensure the delivered system meets Law 61/2015 technical requirements and the six month retention rule.
Skipping step 2 does more than risk a rejected contract. The regulation carries a general enforcement toolkit, including formal warnings with correction windows and, ultimately, suspension of board signature authority, for societies that operate outside its provisions.
Why This Is Happening Now
Cooperative societies are not ordinary retailers. They hold members' capital, handle large daily cash volumes, distribute subsidised goods, and are audited as quasi public institutions. Over the years, shrinkage, cash handling disputes, and governance investigations at co-ops have repeatedly made national news, and in almost every case the first question asked is: what does the footage show?
A mandatory, standardised, six month video record answers that question. It protects members' money, and it equally protects honest employees and board members, because a complete recording trail resolves disputes quickly instead of letting them grow into accusations.
The move also fits a clear national pattern. Since Law 61/2015 established Kuwait's baseline CCTV obligations for commercial premises, successive decisions have tightened coverage sector by sector, and the street level camera network has expanded dramatically under the Ministry of Interior. Extending explicit obligations to the co-op sector, which operates hundreds of high footfall sites across every governorate, closes one of the last visible gaps.
What Cooperative Societies Should Do This Quarter
The regulation took effect upon publication. Article 113 does not attach a retrofit deadline, but waiting is the riskiest strategy, since every audit, incident, or member complaint from today onward happens under the new rules. A sensible action plan:
Audit what you have. Map every camera across every site against three questions. Is every location covered? Does the recorder actually retain six months of footage at usable quality? Does the installation meet Law 61/2015 requirements? Most legacy systems fail on the second question.
Right size your storage before anything else. Six months of retention is primarily a storage and compression question. Modern H.265 cameras and properly specified NVRs can meet the requirement affordably; pushing old analogue DVRs to do it usually cannot.
Document your access controls. Under Law 61/2015, recordings are confidential. Societies should formalise who may view or export footage, log every access, and train staff accordingly. This is exactly what auditors and investigators will ask for.
Engage the Cooperative Facilities Department early. Any upgrade, expansion, or maintenance contract now needs written approval before quotations are even requested. Build that lead time into your project plan rather than discovering it at tender stage.
Choose compliant, serviceable equipment. A camera network that must run continuously and retain footage for six months lives or dies on maintenance. Prioritise manufacturers with genuine local support, cybersecurity hardening, and warranty depth, not the cheapest box on the shelf.
How Aspire Security Can Help
Aspire Security has designed, installed, and maintained surveillance systems for commercial, governmental, and retail environments across Kuwait for over a decade, including compliance driven projects under Law 61/2015 and its technical regulations. For cooperative societies, we provide site wide CCTV surveys and gap assessments against the new regulation, storage design for the six month retention requirement, tender ready specifications and documentation that align with the Cooperative Facilities Department's approval process, and long term maintenance agreements that keep systems continuously compliant.
If your society's board is planning its response to Decision 196/2026, contact our team for a compliance assessment of your current system.
Frequently Asked Questions
When did the new cooperative society CCTV rules take effect? Ministerial Decision 196/2026 was signed on 14 July 2026 and entered into force with its publication in Al-Kuwait Alyoum Issue 1800 on 19 July 2026.
How long must a cooperative society keep CCTV recordings? A minimum of six months, under Article 113 of the new Cooperative Work Regulation.
Which areas of a co-op need camera coverage? The regulation requires cameras at all of the society's locations, in a manner that safeguards the society's funds and security requirements, read together with the technical coverage rules of Law 61/2015.
Can a co-op tender for a CCTV system directly? No. Article 28 requires prior written approval from the Ministry of Social Affairs (Cooperative Facilities Department) before requesting quotations or launching any tender or practice for security surveillance system projects.
Does Law 61/2015 still apply? Yes. Article 113 explicitly defers technical, operational, and confidentiality requirements to the existing laws and ministerial decisions governing security surveillance systems, of which Law 61/2015 is the cornerstone.
Aspire Security is a Kuwait based security systems integrator specialising in CCTV, access control, and integrated security solutions, and a long standing partner of Axis Communications. This article is a general summary of Ministerial Decision 196/2026 as published in the Official Gazette and is not legal advice.
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