Housing Scandal Rocks Interior Ministry: Audit Targets Corrupt Civil Servant Associations

Intended to facilitate access to housing for civil servants with modest incomes, housing associations have acquired state and local authority domains at affordable prices. But "over the years, their management has led to systemic abuses," says Al Akhbar, indicating that some associations have taken advantage of this opportunity to benefit people who are not public employees, while officials have allowed members of their families to acquire and then resell several plots of land.

Some associations have made access to housing more difficult for civil servants with modest incomes, by imposing restrictive membership conditions or refusing payment facilities. "These maneuvers have allowed the governing boards to have a surplus of lots, which were then sold according to the rules of speculation, far from the initial spirit of mutual aid. The dysfunctions also extend to opaque partnerships with real estate developers, bypassing the legal tender procedures," the daily newspaper specifies.