Turki Al-Dakheel
Okaz
If you ask any Saudi citizen about the main problem he faces, his instant answer would be housing.
Demands for salary hikes or reduction in prices of gas come only after housing. If this problem was solved, it would have helped citizens save a greater portion of their monthly salary, not to mention put them in a situation where they do not have to worry about the state of their homes.
Even a prominent Saudi personality like Rashid Al-Fouzan considers housing the most important problem facing Saudi society. If this problem was solved, most of the problems in the social and economic spheres would have been solved, at least temporarily.
Taking part in a program on MBC channel, Minister of Housing Showaish Al-Duwaihi spoke at length about the housing law that was approved recently. He showed documents that supported figures he cited while participating in the program.
However, public reaction to the law may not be so encouraging due to the complexity it is shrouded in and the conditions that shackle beneficiaries. Everything shall be clear when the law comes into force in seven months and, therefore, passing any judgment about it now would be premature.
The minister did not give a specific answer when asked if a citizen who takes a loan from a bank after fulfilling all the conditions will be able to own a housing unit or not. Also, does the ministry intervene to resolve possible disputes between the banks and citizens? The new law gives no definitive answer to such questions.
Several economists have also raised objections to the law and I hope that the minister will hold another television dialogue to clear the public’s doubts.
Al-Duwaihi pinned great hope on the success of the law while speaking about it and even called it his ambitious vision. But, in the end, we have to take into account the opinion of the beneficiaries.
The application of the law will reveal either the success or failure of an ambitious mechanism that has been designed to help citizens own a house of their own.
