President-Elect Dr. Mohamed Muizzu wants the outgoing government to leave the awarding of flats under the 'Gedhoruveriya' scheme to the new administration, Transition Spokesman Mohamed Firuzul said on Tuesday, warning that flats awarded unlawfully could be taken back.
The publication of the final list of applicants who qualified for the first 4,000 flats to be awarded under the Gedhoruveriya scheme prompted a barrage of complaints and concern from the public.
While formal complaints could be submitted before a deadline of November 9, Firuzul said the President-Elect's Office has also received a large number of complaints.
With less than 10 days left for Dr. Muizzu's administration to take office, Firuzul said the President-Elect urges the government to defer the awarding of flats instead of rushing to do it during the transition period.
The President-Elect's office gave an indication for the first time that flats found to have been awarded unfairly would be taken back.
"If anything has been achieved unfairly, illegally, outside of the rules, if flats have been awarded to ineligible persons, or if there was any other such issue, there will be the opportunity to take action against that," Firuzul said at a press briefing.
The President-Elect's Office previously said that Dr. Muizzu would not take back anything provided by the current government.
Muizzu himself also assured that any forms submitted to the housing schemes would not be canceled.
However, based on the information revealed by Firuzul on Tuesday, Muizzu would probe the awarding of flats after assuming office and take action if necessary.
If the recipients include ineligible applicants, their flats are expected to be taken back.
Dr. Muizzu's administration will prioritize housing and seek to complete ongoing projects for the benefit of the public, Firuzul said.
The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) is investigating complaints alleging that the list of recipients was published after points were awarded in violation of the evaluation criteria and without offering the opportunity to lodge complaints in order to provide undue gain for certain people.
After launching the investigation, the ACC instructed the Planning Ministry not to hand over flats without providing an adequate period to submit complaints related to the evaluation of applications and without looking into those complaints.
The 4,000 flats in the first round are to be awarded to applicants eligible for three-bedroom apartments who scored above 76 marks and to applicants eligible for two-bedroom apartments who scored above 73 marks.
Aside from the recipients of the first 4,000 flats, other applicants deemed eligible in the final list would be handed a document confirming that they will be awarded flats under future government housing projects, the Planning Ministry said.
Briefing the press at the Planning and Housing Ministry later on Tuesday, State Minister Akram Kamaluddin, chair of the Gedhoruveriya committee, said the government has not set a date to finish awarding the flats.
"If it's done, it's done. We won't give a particular date for it. We're working to try and finish awarding the flats," he said in response to questions about the calls from the President-Elect's spokesman.
Akram denied any negligence or wrongdoing in compiling the list of recipients for the first 4,000 flats, expressing confidence that the new government would not find any grounds to take action.
"I have that guarantee. Yesterday [Monday] ACC officials came and looked at the [documents]. In my view, they were very satisfied. There won't be anything that we didn't show. They looked at everything," he said.
Addressing allegations about flats awarded to people who reside out of Male', Senior Executive Director Mohamed Arif said applicants found to be ineligible due to not residing in the capital for at least 15 years would be removed from the list of recipients.
Eligible applicants would be able take ownership of the flats depending on the rate of completion and the ministry expects that all the recipients would have moved in by the end of 2024, Akram said.
The government has been building 32 towers with 18 floors each in Hulhumale' phase two for the housing scheme.
The towers include 1,200 two-bedroom units and 2,800 three-bedroom units. Work is now nearing completion on the apartments.
