Latest news with #BD42
Gulf Insider
30-04-2025
- Business
- Gulf Insider
47,000 Bahrainis Left Waiting For A Roof Over Their Heads
More than 47,000 Bahrainis are still waiting for government housing, with some requests stretching back over two decades, a parliamentary investigation has found. The inquiry, launched to examine the Ministry of Housing and Urban Planning's methods, uncovered a system that has steadily drifted away from its founding principle. Those who have waited longest were meant to be first in line. Findings Instead, according to the findings, housing is handed out through a patchwork of local preference schemes and vague ministerial discretion, leaving the queues as long and restlessas ever. Among the requests still stuck in the system, more than 44,000 related to housing units. The northern governorate bears the heaviest load with more than 20,000 outstanding requests. The capital follows with over 12,000. Muharraq and the southern governorate account for the rest. Distribution rules The ministry insists it uses a blend of national seniority and local distribution rules, but the committee found the real-world outcome to be less even. Families with old requests have been passed over as projects sprang up closer to home for others. The longer the queues grew, the sharper the grievances became. Concerns Central to the concerns raised is the ministry's wide discretion to set aside seniority for socalled 'special circumstances'. No public list of such circumstances exists. The committee said this allowed for choices to be made behind closed doors, giving citizens little sense of how or why others moved ahead. The numbers tell their own story. Requests for units from 2002 alone number 1,067. Meanwhile, older cases of requests for plots and apartments date back to 2013 and 2015, respectively. Many of the applicants have lived through years of rising property prices, climbing rents, and squeezed household budgets, with no clear path to a home of their own. The ministry pointed to financing schemes like Mazaya and Tas'heel as ways to move the lists along. The schemes, it said, gave people quicker ways to buy homes from the private market. Applicants Yet the committee found their reach to be limited. Only 17.7 per cent of applicants had been helped through such routes over the past three years. Questions were also raised about who could actually make use of the finance on offer. Many lower-income families were left out. Loans, set by banks, came with strict terms that often pushed affordable housing out of reach. Rising market prices added another barrier. The inquiry highlighted inconsistencies in the ministry's own data. Financial schemes In one part of its response, it said 8,000 people had benefited from financing schemes since 2022. Elsewhere, it claimed 13,000. No clear answer was given to explain the gap. Costs of direct government housing projects came under scrutiny too. A standard unit now carries a sticker price of about BD128,871. State support Applicants are asked to pay BD42,000, backed by state support. However, the land beneath the houses, said to be a royal grant, has been included in that total cost, something the committee said skews the figures. The findings pointed to a deeper strain. Housing, once seen as a building block of social order, has become a source of division. Also read: Two Lawyers Guilty Of Using False Employment Document
Daily Tribune
29-04-2025
- Business
- Daily Tribune
47,000 Bahrainis left waiting for a roof over their heads
More than 47,000 Bahrainis are still waiting for government housing, with some requests stretching back over two decades, a parliamentary investigation has found. The inquiry, launched to examine the Ministry of Housing and Urban Planning's methods, uncovered a system that has steadily drifted away from its founding principle. Those who have waited longest were meant to be first in line. Findings Instead, according to the findings, housing is handed out through a patchwork of local preference schemes and vague ministerial discretion, leaving the queues as long and restless as ever. Among the requests still stuck in the system, more than 44,000 related to housing units. The northern governorate bears the heaviest load with more than 20,000 outstanding requests. The capital follows with over 12,000. Muharraq and the southern governorate account for the rest. Distribution rules The ministry insists it uses a blend of national seniority and local distribution rules, but the committee found the real-world outcome to be less even. Families with old requests have been passed over as projects sprang up closer to home for others. The longer the queues grew, the sharper the grievances became. Concerns Central to the concerns raised is the ministry's wide discretion to set aside seniority for socalled 'special circumstances'. No public list of such circumstances exists. The committee said this allowed for choices to be made behind closed doors, giving citizens little sense of how or why others moved ahead. The numbers tell their own story. Requests for units from 2002 alone number 1,067. Meanwhile, older cases of requests for plots and apartments date back to 2013 and 2015, respectively. Many of the applicants have lived through years of rising property prices, climbing rents, and squeezed household budgets, with no clear path to a home of their own. The ministry pointed to financing schemes like Mazaya and Tas'heel as ways to move the lists along. The schemes, it said, gave people quicker ways to buy homes from the private market. Applicants Yet the committee found their reach to be limited. Only 17.7 per cent of applicants had been helped through such routes over the past three years. Questions were also raised about who could actually make use of the finance on offer. Many lower-income families were left out. Loans, set by banks, came with strict terms that often pushed affordable housing out of reach. Rising market prices added another barrier. The inquiry highlighted inconsistencies in the ministry's own data. Financial schemes In one part of its response, it said 8,000 people had benefited from financing schemes since 2022. Elsewhere, it claimed 13,000. No clear answer was given to explain the gap. Costs of direct government housing projects came under scrutiny too. A standard unit now carries a sticker price of about BD128,871. State support Applicants are asked to pay BD42,000, backed by state support. However, the land beneath the houses, said to be a royal grant, has been included in that total cost, something the committee said skews the figures. The findings pointed to a deeper strain. Housing, once seen as a building block of social order, has become a source of division.
Gulf Insider
25-03-2025
- Health
- Gulf Insider
Surgeon Wins BD42,000 Payout From Private Hospital
A plastic surgeon owed more than BD35,000 in unpaid wages has secured a court order forcing a private hospital to pay him BD42,000 in total, after it failed to meet its contractual obligations. The High Labour Court also directed the hospital to cover court fees, enforcement charges and the doctor's legal expenses. Lawyer Hanan Hammouda, acting for the claimant, said her client had joined the hospital in January 2022 as a plastic surgeon, with a monthly salary of BD3,000. Amicable terms Two years later, in October 2024, both parties agreed to end the employment on amicable terms. But the goodwill stopped there. The hospital, according to the claim, failed to pay what it owed. The outstanding dues included BD35,100 in unpaid wages, BD6,000 for unused annual leave, and BD3,250 as an end-of- service lump sum. The doctor also asked that the hospital pay the cost of legal fees. In response, the hospital's representative claimed the surgeon had only been earning BD1,000 a accepted liability for the end-of-service payment and a flight ticket but denied the remainder of the claims. Hammouda maintained her position. She presented the original employment contract, signed by both sides, and cited Article 19 of Bahrain's Labour Law. That article states contracts must be written, in Arabic, with each side keeping a signed copy. Where no contract exists, a worker may prove their case by other means. In this instance, both a written contract and a valid work permit under the hospital's name had been provided. The breakdown of earnings, according to the claim, ran as follows. The doctor was employed for roughly 26 months and 10 days. Of this, 20 months and 15 days were spent working; the remainder was unpaid leave. During that time, the hospital paid him BD26,400. Based on the agreed monthly pay, he was entitled to BD61,500 – leaving BD35,100 outstanding. The court examined the paperwork. It found that the surgeon had begun work on 1 January 2022, under a two-year contract with a monthly salary of BD3,000. Evidence The hospital said the original contract had gone missing and offered no credible response or evidence to challenge the claim. Despite a mutual agreement to end the employment, the hospital still failed to pay what was due. The court ruled in favour of the doctor. Also read: 5 Bounced Cheques Leave Developer Owing BD22,500
Daily Tribune
24-03-2025
- Health
- Daily Tribune
Surgeon wins BD42,000 payout from private hospital
A plastic surgeon owed more than BD35,000 in unpaid wages has secured a court order forcing a private hospital to pay him BD42,000 in total, after it failed to meet its contractual obligations. The High Labour Court also directed the hospital to cover court fees, enforcement charges and the doctor's legal expenses. Lawyer Hanan Hammouda, acting for the claimant, said her client had joined the hospital in January 2022 as a plastic surgeon, with a monthly salary of BD3,000. Amicable terms Two years later, in October 2024, both parties agreed to end the employment on amicable terms. But the goodwill stopped there. The hospital, according to the claim, failed to pay what it owed. The outstanding dues included BD35,100 in unpaid wages, BD6,000 for unused annual leave, and BD3,250 as an end-of-service lump sum. The doctor also asked that the hospital pay the cost of legal fees. In response, the hospital's representative claimed the surgeon had only been earning BD1,000 a month. He accepted liability for the end-of-service payment and a flight ticket but denied the remainder of the claims. Hammouda maintained her position. She presented the original employment contract, signed by both sides, and cited Article 19 of Bahrain's Labour Law. That article states contracts must be written, in Arabic, with each side keeping a signed copy. Where no contract exists, a worker may prove their case by other means. In this instance, both a written contract and a valid work permit under the hospital's name had been provided. The breakdown of earnings, according to the claim, ran as follows. The doctor was employed for roughly 26 months and 10 days. Of this, 20 months and 15 days were spent working; the remainder was unpaid leave. During that time, the hospital paid him BD26,400. Based on the agreed monthly pay, he was entitled to BD61,500 — leaving BD35,100 outstanding. The court examined the paperwork. It found that the surgeon had begun work on 1 January 2022, under a two-year contract with a monthly salary of BD3,000. Evidence The hospital said the original contract had gone missing and offered no credible response or evidence to challenge the claim. Despite a mutual agreement to end the employment, the hospital still failed to pay what was due. The court ruled in favour of the doctor.
