Residents of government housing units in the Northern Governorate have been assured by a Housing and Urban Planning Ministry official that necessary maintenance works will begin soon following months of delays.
The ministry’s housing estate management chief, Saad Alhuwaihi, spoke to residents at the Northern Municipal Council in Budaiya yesterday during a session held as part of the council’s Hayakom initiative.
Hayakom is a recurring social and community outreach programme designed to strengthen co-ordination, engage with local residents, and host open majlises. It serves as a direct communication bridge between municipal officials and the public.
During the session, residents who had been handed government homes raised concerns, including noises, cracks in the walls, foul smells from sewers, unsafe wiring and electric switches, faulty doors, and more.
The most common complaint was noise, especially from motorcycles, as well as some residences having difficult access for bigger cars due to smaller roads.
Some of them pointed out that they had to pay out of their own pockets to have some issues resolved because of delayed responses.
Mr Alhuwaihi affirmed that the ministry will begin work on fixing each complaint soon.
“A majority of complaints are received either online or via the Tawasul app, so it might take time to go through them, but that does not mean we are ignoring them.
“When it comes to government housing units, keys are usually handed over after notification that they are completely ready and have passed an inspection.
“Normally, around 90 per cent of homes are handed over on time. However, we have had some delays in recent months due to the ongoing regional situation that has affected multiple government housing projects across the kingdom.
“Despite that, the ministry is still dedicated to timely distribution, agrees with some of the concerns and will work on them.”
Mr Alhuwaihi assured residents that multiple teams have been put in place across the kingdom to receive and follow up on complaints, especially for those who received their homes around six months ago or less.
“All complaints will be taken seriously, regardless of the nature,” he said after hearing citizens’ concerns.
“However, we have to prioritise some issues over others. For example, someone having an issue with electric connections will be given priority as this is more urgent and involves the safety of the resident.
Mr Alhuwaihi revealed that a new WhatsApp number is in the works and could be released as soon as next week for direct communication with the ministry.
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