Gasim defends flat rent waiver; says free land justifies pledge
It is not fair to charge rent from the people who are most in need of housing, he said.
By
Fathmath Ahmed Shareef
Jumhoory Party (JP) leader and presidential candidate Gasim Ibrahim on Thursday defended his promise of rent waiver for social housing flats in the Male region, saying it is not fair to charge high rents from social housing flats while giving off land for free to Male natives.
Gasim has promised to waive the rent of all social housing flats in a JP government. It has also been included in the JP manifesto.
Gasim defended the policy in a post on X on Thursday, despite criticism from some quarters that it was impossible.
The government has recently started allocating land in the Male region to natives of the capital city under the Binnveriya scheme.
Gasim's posts on X said that If any government can give free land to the people from any island in the country, he would never go against it. Gasim, however, said that he was against giving free plots from land that had been reclaimed with tax payer funds, and that too to a particular group of people.
Land plots are given free of charge to one group, while recipients of small social housing flats built on the same land has to pay MVR 2.5 million over a period of 20-25 years, he said. It is not fair to charge rent from the people who are most in need of housing, he said.
“Therefore, I will forgive the rent of social housing flats allocated to the people by all previous governments,” his X-post read.
The JP manifesto promises on housing include:
-
In addition to Hiyaa flats, rent waiver for police and army flats
-
In addition to the CIFCO/POLCO flats already built for police and army, an additional 1,000 housing units will be constructed and handed over within three years
-
Provide free housing for judges to live with their families
-
30,000 housing units across the country to provide housing for all
-
Completion of 15,000 housing units in the Male area within five years of the government
-
Construction of 18,000 housing units to provide housing for young people starting their lives after marriage
-
Sale of 6000 price controlled housing units
-
Sale of 6000 housing units on commercial basis
