A TOTAL of 488 families have been provided with urgent housing solutions on humanitarian grounds since the beginning of the year.
The Housing Ministry’s special humanitarian and urgent cases committee reviewed 744 urgent cases until last month through 56 meetings held online.
Out of the cases, only 30 required further study and research.
“Out of our commitment and obligation to provide urgent housing solutions to families, we pushed ahead with humanitarian cases that can’t be delayed under any circumstance, following quick extensive assessment,” said the ministry yesterday.
“Due to Covid-19, we had intensified video meetings with applicants twice weekly with them being unable to come to the ministry.
“We conducted field inspections for cases that required further assessment from video observation.
“We worked to ensure that there were no disruptions to services provided, especially the 744 urgent cases with more than 50 per cent being approved.”
A ministry statement revealed that all cases that have been received through the suggestions box Taht Amrak (Under Your Command), located in the ministry’s complex at the Diplomatic Area, the ministry’s grievances unit and customer service centre alongside the housing services directorate have been all looked into.
“No case has been left unattended and all outcomes or decisions have been informed to applicants with transparency and objectivity,” the statement added.
“All applications should have relevant documentation attached for consideration as genuine humanitarian cases.”
The GDN reported in March this year that a heartfelt plea to clear the mounting backlog of families on social housing waiting lists was made in Parliament.
A total of 57,198 Bahraini families are on the Housing Ministry’s waiting lists.
Housing Minister Bassem Al Hamer said at the time that 50,794 families were waiting for homes while 3,647 were seeking apartments and 2,757 housing plots.
Mr Al Hamer
A total of 44,960 families were receiving monthly aid, he added.
Every family on the waiting list receives a monthly allowance of BD100.
Mr Al Hamer added that any drop in revenue would mean further setbacks to projects and contribute to adding more names to the waiting lists.
Housing loans were deferred multiple times to offset the financial impact of Covid-19 on families.
The GDN reported yesterday that MPs have submitted a proposal to allow pensioners to pay 10 per cent of their net monthly income towards repaying their housing loans – instead of the current 25pc.
The lowest pension is BD150 per month and the highest is 80pc of a person’s net income, depending on years of service and deals.
Housing loans are granted for a 30-year period either through direct financing from the Eskan (Housing) Bank, housing units from the Housing Ministry or through indirect financing from local banks.
mohammed@gdn.com.bh
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