On Monday, the Shura Council renewed its criticism of the Ministry of Housing, explaining that the unsatisfactory housing situation calls for the Minister of Housing to appear before the Council to discuss and clarify numerous issues, in addition to the fact that the Ministry has not outlined a strategy or approach to address the program for developing and increasing homeownership rates and improving rental procedures, Furthermore, the completion rate for a large number of housing projects in various regions of the Kingdom is low; some are behind schedule, while others have been withdrawn from contractors, which has negatively impacted the Ministry’s performance and delayed the benefits of these projects, Furthermore, the Ministry of Housing did not mention in its report the reasons for the low completion rate or the measures it has taken to remedy the current situation and prevent its recurrence.

The Council considered that the Ministry had strayed from its course and priorities by financing developers to construct housing units, stating that financing for citizens should have been the top priority, and that financing for companies should not crowd out individuals or limit their access to loans.

Regarding housing, the National Anti-Corruption Commission informed the Shura Council that it had monitored the implementation of the royal decree issued in Rabi’ al-Thani 1432 to build 500,000 housing units and allocate 250 billion for this purpose, and noted that this royal decree had been only partially implemented.