In the meantime, the Ministry of Commerce announced that it started supplying whoever wants with imported construction materials at subsidized prices.
This falls in line with the orientations of Al-Maliki government to ease the burdens imposed by the circumstances upon the citizens, like unemployment and the housing crisis that could be regarded as the most important problems facing the population. The government started the project of social protection to keep off hazards from families who suffer from poverty. Politicians and citizens say that the status of these families is resulted from the lack of employment opportunities provided for their sons.
A source in the Ministry of Finance stated that Mr. Jabr Al-Zubaidi declared, during his meeting with the Minister of Labor and Social Affairs Mahmmoud Al-Sheikh Radi, the decision of his ministry to specify one billion dollars (that is, one trillion and 500 billion iraqi dinar to help the unemployed set up small projects for themselves to provide a decent living for their families. He said: work of this project will start with the beginning of next year.
During his talk with the Minister of Labor, Azzubaidi said that the amount is enough to cover the expenses of 50 thousand projects whose owners could pay back the loans over 15 years without interest.
The Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs noted that the project would contribute to develop the economic status in Iraq on one hand and to achieve self-sufficiency for the families included in the social protection network.
Officials noted in earlier times that this network needs to be supported with financial surpluses resulted from the increase in selling prices of fuels. It has not been possible for "Assabah", though, to know whether this amount is a deduction of the savings achieved by raising prices of petrol to 250 dinars per liter. On its part, the Ministry of Labor formed a committee, consisting of representatives from the ministries of Finance and Planning to control the grants given to beneficiaries and to decide whether the proposed project needs financial support.
In order to confirm the ministry's quest for supporting community and alleviating the oppressive conditions, it started receiving requests from citizens who wish to build houses for themselves. An official source in the Ministry of Finance stated to "Assabah": The loans range between 20 - 30 million dinars. They are granted to anyone who has a piece of land and wishes to build it, repaid over a period of 20 years at an interest of 6% of the loan value. He explained that the bank will grant loans ranging between 8-12 million dinars for those wishing to add another building, repaid over a period of 15 years.
He pointed out to the granting of 20 million for those who wish to build on an area of 75m-100m, 25 million dinars to the area ranging between 101m-125m and 30 million dinars for constructing an area of more than 126m.
The instructions for granting the loan conditions to present a pledge to pay back the amount through the deduction of salary if the receiver is an employee or cash if not, it also conditions that the receiver and his wife do not have a land plot any were in the provinces or that he and his minor children have no real estate in any province. Also, there should be a guarantor available.(Source)AlSabah
