Beneficiaries of the flats allocated under the ‘Gedhoruverin Scheme’ by the former administration of Ex-President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, have expressed concern that government employees are trying to reverse the process, contrary to incumbent President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu’s statements about handing over the flats to the recipients.

Speaking to RaajjeMV, some flat recipients asserted that there is a discrepancy between what the government says and what it does regarding this issue.

According to a flat recipient, employees at the housing ministry are appearing on TV programmes and speaking contrary to what the president has said, which has spurred confusion regarding the matter.

Flat recipients have voiced their concerns after employees at the housing ministry stated that the entire list is being reviewed, on a TV programme.

Senior Political Directors of the ministry stated in a TV program that the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) had halted the allocation of flats before the end of the previous government and that the incumbent administration has established a Housing Advisory Committee and an Advisory Committee to verify if the rightful people are on the list.

Based on the work of these two committees and the ACC, the ministry has since decided to review the entire scheme and recreate the list, according to the ministry officials.

In contrast, during a recent meeting with senior officials of Fahi Union on 2 September 2024 at the President's Office, Muizzu said that he would give the flats to the rightful owners as promised during the election.

Muizzu promised to hand over flats and plots of land to their rightful recipients, without any changes as publicized in the government gazette, during the presidential elections campaign, having said that his government would allocate flats according to the list determined by the government. Even after coming to power, the president said that he will not take away housing given to a citizen.

Naaif Aboobakuru, the founder of Fahi Union, told the media after meeting the president at the President's Office on September 2 that the allocation of flats to the list was halted due to instructions from ACC, that flats would be handed over by the end of next month, and in response to rumors about dividing the flat list in various ways, he cited the president having assured that it would not happen.

As part of the "Gedhoruverin" scheme by the previous administration, a list of 4,000 flat recipients was gazetted, and agreements have been made with 3,778 of them.

Some of the flat beneficiaries have stressed that they still don’t know what is going on with the allocation of flats.

A series of protests have surfaced, with protestors voicing concern over the government’s shifting tone in its statements.

Since the president’s promise took a completely different turn after he was elected, the government has re-compiled the entire list, and contrary to the previous promise, the allocation of flats and land plots is now based on entirely new policies.

This has resulted in several beneficiaries of the scheme losing hope of seeing a light at the end of the tunnel and receiving their rights swiftly.

This was inevitable, given that the president had confidently claimed that even if it was done incorrectly, his administration would not take back anything given to a citizen by the government.

Back then, the president had promised to respect that.

With this, residents of the Greater Malé Region have been taking to the streets in a series of protests, calling for the allocation of flats and plots of land in accordance with the president’s promise.

The protests staged specifically for this purpose were based on three main factors.

These were to voice the concerns of the citizens to the government, to pause this movement if the government provides assurance, and to resume the protests if the government doesn't act accordingly.

Following the incessant protests against the president’s failure to fulfil his promises, the president met with those involved in the serial protests and given them assurance that their concerns will be addressed.

Therefore, the associations active in this matter are now considering halting the protest activities for the time being to observe the timelines given by the president.

Organizers of the protest who spoke to RaajjeMV, revealed that during the meeting with the president, he had assured them that the flat list would be released before the end of October.

The president is also to have said that the rightful owners of the flats would be able to move in before the end of July next year.

Those who have been raising their concerns during the protests have now accepted this and are eagerly waiting in anticipation.

They remain in hopes that the president will not break his promise again.

Protestors revealed that if the flats and plots of land are not handed over according to the timeline given by the president, they will recommence the protests with the same enthusiasm and intensity.

This matter of grave concern mirrors the incumbent administration’s incompetence, with people having to resort to protests every time to demand their rights and call on the government to fulfill its promises to the people.

It also shows the extent of the incumbent administration’s negligence towards the people.

Either way, the people are once again left only a sliver of hope that the government will act according to the new deadline they have given, and finally give them their rightful plots of land and flats.