Latest news with #Mazaya
Daily Tribune
14-05-2025
- Business
- Daily Tribune
MPs sound alarm, demand action, as 25% rise in material costs delays housing projects
Twenty-five per cent price jumps in key construction materials have triggered fresh warnings from MPs and property developers, who say shortages are already stalling housing projects and pushing affordable homes further out of reach. They have called for a 10-year plan focused on steady supply lines, more factory output at home, better offloading infrastructure, and short-term relief for builders struggling to keep costs in check. Among their main concerns are schemes such as 'Mazaya' and 'Land and Loan', which rely on reliable supplies and stable pricing to remain within reach of ordinary buyers. Growing pressure MP Hassan Ibrahim Hassan pointed to growing pressure across government-backed developments, which depend on a constant flow of steel, cement and other materials. A break in the chain, he said, sets off delays across the board. He noted that while several Bahraini companies own the barges used to bring in materials, many were leased abroad on high-paying deals, leaving fewer resources at home. Basic inputs As a result, private firms working on ministry projects are now struggling to source basic inputs. He warned that the cost of public tenders has already climbed due to these shortfalls. With Bahrain needing up to 11 million tonnes of imported material each year, the latest shipments will not last long, perhaps a month. Domestic projects Meanwhile, suppliers in neighbouring countries are stretched by large domestic projects of their own and have little left to send. To keep home prices stable, Hassan said, attention should turn to helping low-income families who rely on subsidised housing schemes. He suggested building more berths to speed up deliveries and ease delays. MP Jalila Al Sayed said higher prices were making it harder for families to benefit from statebacked loans. With the cost of raw materials rising, so too are house prices. Good terms That, she said, risks putting units beyond reach and may cause developers to hesitate before offering homes on good terms. Shortages have already held up work across housing and infrastructure, especially where deliveries of concrete and iron have slowed. She said this could also weigh on hiring in the building trade. She called for Bahrain to cast a wider net when importing materials, avoiding too much reliance on one or two countries. Homegrown production More homegrown production of cement and blocks would help too. To keep the market steady, she proposed tax breaks and perks for firms willing to hold their prices, more warehouse space for storage, and tighter checks on resale prices. Builders who avoid passing costs on to buyers, she added, should be offered better financing terms. Jasim Mohammed Kadhem, head of Dar Al Sultan Real Estate, said price rises were affecting everyone involved, from developers to end users. He explained that building costs are not worked out by volume but per house, based on how much sand, concrete and steel each one needs. Sign Prices have shot up in recent months and there is no sign of them coming down. Kadhem pointed to concrete as one of the most affected materials. Where it used to cost BD25 to BD27 per square metre, it now goes for around BD34, a jump of roughly a quarter. He said this made it harder to plan budgets, especially when suppliers varied so widely in pricing. A load of sand now runs to about BD85. Steel is close to BD239 per tonne, although that shifts with global rates. A single 8-inch block costs 264 fils. Cement bags sell for BD1.6, while tying wire comes in at around BD2.5. Contractors and shopkeepers say materials are in stock for now, and the shortages seen earlier this year were linked to rising demand in nearby countries.
Ya Biladi
13-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Ya Biladi
The Mazaya Youth Orchestra brings «Peter and the Wolf» in Darija to Rabat and Casablanca
Picture «Peter and the Wolf», a timeless symphonic tale for children composed by Russian pianist Sergei Prokofiev in 1936, performed entirely in Darija The Mazaya Youth Orchestra will bring this unique concert to life, offering a captivating performance of Peter and the Wolf in Darija. Audiences in Rabat and Casablanca can enjoy the show on Friday, May 16 at 7 p.m. at EIMD in Rabat, and Wednesday, May 21 at 8 p.m. at Théâtre Mohammed VI in Casablanca. Interpreted entirely by the young musicians of the Mazaya program — from orchestration to narration — this production is a celebration of talent, discipline, and the transformative power of second chances. In Peter and the Wolf, each character is represented by a different instrument, offering a poetic metaphor for learning, unity, and personal growth. Conducted by Dina Bensaïd, the concert highlights the success of the Mazaya initiative, launched in 2012 by the Fondation Ténor pour la Culture. The program provides musical and academic training to underprivileged youth who have dropped out of school. Many alumni have joined the Moroccan Philharmonic Orchestra or become music educators.
Daily Tribune
09-05-2025
- Politics
- Daily Tribune
MPs demand urgent action over 47,000 long-delayed housing requests across Kingdom
TDT | Manama Parliament yesterday examined a report into yearslong delays in housing, with MPs accusing the ministry of withholding information and ignoring mounting concerns from applicants. The committee behind the inquiry said the Housing Ministry had refused to provide records on how complaints were handled, including those filed by people who have been waiting since 2002. More than 47,000 requests remain unresolved. 'We weren't given any data on the complaints. So how are we supposed to judge if disputes are being dealt with properly or at all?' asked MP Mohammed Al Rifaai. The report raised concerns over 280 cases where usual rules were bypassed. No explanation was given for how these applications were brought forward, or who authorised the decisions. Issue MPs also took issue with the two-year rule requiring applicants to report income changes. They warned that even small pay rises could lead to people losing their place in the queue, despite the rising cost of living. The committee found no evidence that the ministry had taken this into account. The findings described a system still burdened by delays, with no timetable for clearing older cases and no temporary relief for those at the bottom of the list. The committee recommended scrapping the income-check rule, restarting plot services as required under a 2024 law, separating figures for ownership and loan schemes, and removing state-granted land from the final cost of housing units. MPs also called for a clear schedule to finish existing projects and a published plan to bring down the backlog. Al Rifaai criticised the process itself. 'The report was handed to us the day before the session. Three thousand five hundred pages. How are we meant to debate it properly?' he asked. The lawmaker said the committee had only met eight times over four months, and that five of those meetings involved any proper discussion. MP Mohammed Al Balushi argued that the inquiry had led to results. He said the ministry had agreed to rework how Mazaya payments are calculated and was open to raising the income cap for housing support from BD1,200 to BD1,500. 'That's something families will welcome,' he said. Unconvinced Deputy Speaker Abdulnabi Salman remained unconvinced. He said the report simply repeated what the minister had already said and failed to tackle the main issues. 'Where are the answers on the waiting list? What's been done about loan rates? Or land for the Land and Loan scheme?' he asked. Salman also said the committee had overlooked Crown Prince Salman's public instruction to give priority to applications filed before 2004. 'That's exactly what the committee should have been checking,' he said. 'Instead we got a tidy summary of the ministry's own notes.' Pressure Housing Minister, Her Excellency Amna Al Romaihi, defended her ministry's record, saying 10,000 requests had been processed in two years and that new housing projects across the country were helping reduce the pressure. She named developments in Salman, Khalifa, Hidd and Sitra, and said partnerships with the private sector had supported delivery. The Minister added that new financing options had been introduced through the Tas'heel and Mazaya schemes. However, she did not directly address MPs' concerns about missing records, bypassed procedures or the ageing backlog. Despite the differences, MPs from across the chamber appeared to agree that the current system needs clearer rules, steadier planning and an honest look at what has gone wrong.
Daily Tribune
30-04-2025
- Business
- Daily Tribune
Urgent move to reinstate housing requests struck off over pay rises
TDT | Manama Parliament has urgently agreed to a proposal calling for the reinstatement of housing applications struck off when applicants' salaries rose above the allowed limit. The plan, tabled by Hamad Al Doy and four other MPs, demands that affected applications be restored to their original submission year, without treating them as new cases or sending them through new checks. MPs say this would keep families from losing years they had already waited, and would help put right a rule that punishes people for bettering their circumstances. 'The housing file in the Kingdom is riddled with gaps that affect citizens' ability to access housing services, whether through units, the Mazaya programme, Tas'heel or other schemes,' Al Doy said during the debate. 'If a citizen's salary reaches 1,200 dinars, their application is cancelled, setting them back to square one. We call on the Ministry of Housing to reinstate these applications without forcing citizens to start over.' Cost Urgency was pinned to the rising strain on families left without homes, as well as the cost of new builds and private homes, which most households can no longer meet. MPs said that while public spending on housing needs to be kept in check, including by cutting housing allowances, this must not come at the cost of fairness for people who have worked to climb the ladder and seen their pay rise as a result.
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
