Minister of Housing, Construction and Infrastructure, Dr Abdulla Muththalib has reiterated that housing schemes are not meant to be a resource for an individual’s personal enrichment.
The minister made the statement on a social media post, addressing concerns from citizens regarding the government’s housing schemes. The minister said that the government’s housing initiatives are geared towards families that lack essential housing and are designed to ensure stability and dignity for them. Public housing must stabilise households, not accumulate assets, the minister said.
Highlighting the government’s ‘Housing for All’ Initiaitve, the minister said that those with nothing must be prioritised before those with something. He stressed that is not a moral judgement, but rather a imperative taken to prevent the “deepest for of housing insecurity” first.
The minister further explained that public housing must prioritise households where instability has the widest social impact and not individuals, and as such housing needs will be measured as such. If one familiy member holds a housing unit, then priority must be given to those families where no individual holds a housing unit, he emphasised stating that is vital to reduce social inequality.
Looking ahead, the minister revealed that as the government delivers social housing units, land plots, affordable ownership schemes, and private-sector housing, pressure on public housing will be reduced. At this point the existing guidelines can be relaxed with the expansion of the eligibility criteria and more opportunities can be created.
The government has officially rolled out its landmark "Housing for All" scheme, opening applications for 15,000 land plots and 7,900 flats in the Greater Male' region.
Of the 7,900 flats, 4,000 are reserved for Male’ residents, 1,500 for islanders, and 2,400 for priority groups—now expanded to 15 subcategories, including taxi drivers, tourism and fisheries workers, and individuals previously denied housing despite eligibility. Similarly, land distribution prioritises 10,000 plots for Male’ residents, 3,000 for other islanders living in Male’, and 500 for persons with disabilities.
The application window runs until 3 March for land plots and 14 April for flats under this initiative.