Awarding flats to exploited list impossible: Shujau

The ruling People’s National Congress (PNC) parliamentary group’s senior deputy leader, Ibrahim Shujau, said that social housing units under Gedhoruveriya Scheme cannot be awarded to recipients who made to the final list through deception.

The final list of recipients eligible for the 4,000 social housing units faces multiple allegations of potential collusion.

Gedhoruveriya Scheme was launched during former Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) led government and its parliament MPs at Monday’s parliament sitting questioned incumbent Housing Minister Dr. Ali Haidar about delays in awarding the flats.

MDP, which is now the main opposition, has been regularly expressing concerns over the delays in awarding the flats.

Shujau, who is also the Baarah MP, said at the press conference held after Monday’s sitting, alleged the former MDP-led government awarded flats exclusively to its supporters and said the whole process was unfair.

The MP also alleged that many of the recipients forged documents to purport to have lived in Male’ beyond a specific duration, which is an important criteria of eligibility.

“One of the eligibility criteria is that applicants should have lived in Male’ City or the capital city area for a specific duration... these applicants had acquired doctored documents from MDP-controlled councils that falsified the exact duration of their residency in Male’ City,” Shujau alleged.

The MP alleged that 60 percent of all eligible applicants had acquired such doctored documents.

“We cannot award these flats to those who falsified their information to wrongfully acquire them, we cannot,” the MP added.

Shujau said the general public lived in constant plight in the capital area, which incumbent President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu has experienced first-hand and assessed the living condition of citizens in Greater Male’ area during his tenure as the housing minister and later as Male’ City Mayor.

The MP further alleged MDP’s worries were not related to the delays, but rather to conceal its own failures in awarding the social housing flats and questioned why MDP failed to award social housing to the public during its five-year presidency.

The public has been raising concerns over the delays in awarding the 4,000 housing units and held a demonstration recently.

Meanwhile, the parliament’s petition committee has received a petition requesting not to cancel the flat list, which the committee has been reviewing for some time.

The current government, including the incumbent housing minister, assured the flats will be awarded to its rightful recipients.