It has been 25 years since Khaled Abdel Hamid served in his government job, and he does not own a plot of land in his name and lives with his family in a rented house in one of the eastern regions of the Iraqi capital, Baghdad.
Abdul Hamid complains about the financial burden, as he pays monthly rent about 600,000 dinars (400 dollars) out of his salary of 850,000 dinars (566 dollars), wondering, “Why did the governments follow through and did not think of a solution to the housing crisis? Do they take pleasure in the suffering of their people?” Read also A remarkable increase in poverty rates in Iraq..and these are the reasons Video – On the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty… 40% of Iraqis are destitute Iraq is one of the richest countries in the world .. Why are more than 10 million people living under the poverty line?
He added, however, that the former President of Iraq, Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr, was the only one who distributed lands to citizens at nominal prices.
Lack of a comprehensive plan
Dr. Rana Khaled, Executive Director of the Policy-Making Forum (IFPMC-London), believes that “investment in the field of building and construction in Iraq lacks a comprehensive plan that studies the relationship between the citizen’s need and the authority, style and trends of these projects.”
She adds to Al Jazeera Net that the Iraqi private sector was able to provide the form and model developed and simulated for luxury housing projects in some leading Arab countries in this field, but the lack of controls and provisions regulating construction operations led to its transformation into projects for outrageous profit, stressing that these projects could not solve housing problems. chronic disease in Iraq.
government failure
Since 2003, there has not been an Iraqi government in all versions of previous governments until the present time that was able to draw up a development plan for housing and reconstruction, whether in the main or remote cities, according to Rana, noting that those governments were also unable to discuss corruption files in the field of investment in construction or any other field.
She noted that the current government headed by Mustafa Al-Kazemi is not an exception to its predecessors, but rather is “a continuation of the fragility of government institutions and their inability for strategic planning, in the words of the chief researcher at the Policy Making Forum.”
Concerning the file of corruption in investment in the housing sector, Khaled considered it one of those mysterious files that are protected by the system of corruption that penetrates into the fabric of the rentier economy and which has always protected and benefited from the blocs and political parties in Iraq.
Al-Kazemi housing campaign
In a new initiative to end the housing crisis in Iraq, Al-Kazemi launched a wide campaign to distribute plots of land to citizens of the eligible categories, in a step on the way to resolving the crisis in the country.
With regard to the groups covered by this campaign, it was revealed – to Al Jazeera Net – Dr. Sabah Mistaat, adviser to the Iraqi Prime Minister for Reconstruction Affairs, as the campaign will include Iraqis who do not own a plot of land, led by widows, victims of wars, terrorism and demonstrations, as well as journalists, media professionals and all those covered by the Social Welfare Law.
Mashtat also revealed that final stages of work on this campaign have been reached, and that a month from now there will be an electronic portal for submission, and each applicant will calculate a plot of land according to the “information points” system, and in light of the points obtained, the plots of land will be distributed to the beneficiaries.
The advisor added that the government will assist, within the campaign, the beneficiary of the plot of land by building it through the Ministry of Construction and Housing, which will in turn prepare plans for the land. Housing after the Central Bank raised the volume of loans to more than two trillion dinars.
3.5 million housing units!
According to studies prepared by the United Nations, Iraq needs 3.5 million housing units, and this number is increasing annually as a result of the continuous rise of Iraq’s population, which is increasing by about one million per year.
The distribution of plots of land is very important, but it will not solve the housing crisis once and for all, according to Mushtaq, and other ministerial projects must continue, adding that the Ministry of Construction has in every governorate a housing project, part of which are low-cost projects and the other part is investment projects targeting middle-income earners and above, while ” Al-Kazemi’s new campaign will target those who are below the poverty line and below the middle category.”
Cautious optimism
For his part, the financial academic at the Ministry of Higher Education, Dr. Muhammad Helu Al-Khursan, expresses his hope that Al-Kazemi’s campaign will help reduce real estate prices that are witnessing insanely high prices, adding that the campaign would help to spare citizens from exploiting banks that deal with citizens in an ugly usurious manner through the interest rate. High on housing loans.
Al-Khursan adds to Al-Jazeera Net that the investment projects for housing units contracted by the National Investment Authority in Baghdad and in the provinces are also with great financial interest rates and rates that put a heavy burden on citizens.
However, Khorassan expressed his fear of the difficulty of the government’s implementation of the new housing campaign, especially since the current government did not achieve a large part of the promises it made, such as revealing the killers of demonstrators and controlling the exchange rates of the dollar, so it amounted to about 1,520 dinars per dollar.
He expressed his fear of the failure of the campaign because of the lack of approval of the land owners or the administration of the governorates.
electoral dream
All the prime ministers who have ruled Iraq since 2003 are similar, as the Iraqi journalist Mustafa Sakr sees them, pointing out that they make promises to distribute plots of land only, and there is no serious government implementation of this crisis that troubles the people.
Speaking to Al-Jazeera Net, Sakr saw that Al-Kazemi’s announcement of the housing campaign was an early electoral campaign for him, as happened with his predecessors from the prime ministers, making sure that there was no seriousness in distributing housing plots, whether for free or for cash.