According to Minister of Housing Amna Al Romaihi, innovative, fair, fast and low-cost housing services are being continuously introduced to facilitate thousands of housing applications.
She told MPs during an eight-hour marathon session yesterday that new initiatives were also being developed in line with parliamentary requests and feedback from families.
“Traditional housing services are available to those who want them, but currently there are long waiting periods and people’s expectations are not being met,” she acknowledged.
“Parliamentary proposals and public suggestions have been taken up and implemented.
“I want to assure everyone that your contribution to the way we deliver and improve our services will be highly valued.”
He added that government payment support for housing services has increased from BD19,000 to BD40,000, and available loans have also increased from BD60,000 to BD70,000.
New projects are also helping to reduce the number of families on long waiting lists, MPs heard.
“For example, we introduced a new social housing project in Ramli district this month, and 93% of the units recruited were occupied within 10 days,” the minister said.
She added that the sale price of 131 new homes planned for Salman Town has been reduced to 98,000 BD following contract negotiations with a new developer.
She spoke as a majority of the 32 MPs present had approved Parliament’s proposed amendments to the Housing Act 1976 with just three negative votes, adding new services and new standards to the Minister of Housing and Urban Planning. It was intended to give more rights to introduce such things. Facilities specifically for low-income households.
Al Romaihi supported the move, saying it would provide much-needed flexibility.
The minister told parliamentarians that efforts are also underway to implement the Cabinet decision to amend the mechanism for calculating allowances on monthly income standards for all categories covered by housing services.
In addition to the basic salary, the system provides a fixed allowance exceeding BD100.
The Prime Minister said that in accordance with a resolution approved by the Cabinet, women beneficiaries will be eligible for divorced and widowed Bahraini women with non-Bahraini or Bahraini minor children, in addition to divorced, widowed and abandoned women. He suggested that a new category would be added for The kids.
The minister said the new category would also expand eligibility to start at 21 years old, with no age limit.
Some MPs, including Services Committee Chairman Mohamed Al Hussaini, Ahmed Al Saloum and Khalid Buonk, expressed concerns about the existing housing system and banks’ profits.
“The mortgage is a trap. Someone borrows BD70,000 and ends up paying BD160,000 in installments over 30 years,” Bu Onk exclaimed.
Speaking after Parliament Speaker Ahmed Al Musallam had to leave for the UAE midway through the session to offer his condolences, Abdulnabi said there were 121 houses in Ramli that had remained uninhabited for five years. he claimed.
Meanwhile, MPs spent five hours debating the government’s response to proposals submitted by parliament to the government over the past six months.
Ghanim Al Buainain, Minister of Parliamentary and Shura Council Affairs, announced plans to build a bridge connecting Mamer and Eker. Built thanks to donations from Alba and Bapco, it will provide safety for pedestrians in what is known as an accident-prone area.
The minister issued a list of pensioners following Mr Bu Onk’s claim that a Thai widow was receiving a monthly pension for her deceased Bahraini husband despite living in her home country. It added that it is updated regularly.
MP Hassan Boukanmas called for action against gangs allegedly recruiting runaway domestic workers for prostitution.
All other scheduled topics were postponed due to time constraints.
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