The First National Conference for Housing Sector in Iraq

(Baghdad/Al Rasheed Hotel, Al Zawraa Hall, 14-15/1/2009)

Supporting the efforts which aim to keep on building and construction and because the housing sector represents one of the main prop in reconstructing.

And because the Iraqi republic new constitution insures for the citizen and the family specially the child and woman, the social and healthy insurance and the basic ingredients to live a decent life which secure the appropriate income and housing.

And to achieve The Government of National Unity agenda which make insuring the suitable housing to Iraqi people one of its main aims so The Ministry of Construction and Housing is responsible for this vital side in citizens' life.

And to achieve the future vision which the Ministry looks for and makes it actual:

The Ministry Of Construction And Housing held the First National Conference for Housing Sector in Iraq in 14-15/1/2009 in Baghdad-Al Rasheed hotel with the presence of the Ministers and Members and all the associated side from the Ministries, the national organizations and private sector, where the housing sector are discussed in Iraq through the following aspects:

1.    Put a general policy depend on scientific and correct bases in order to solve the housing crises.

2.    Display the joint cooperation results between the Ministry Of Construction And Housing and the (UN-HABITAT) in preparing non-central housing strategies in Najef, Babel and Arpil.

The following sides participated by presented worksheets that discussed the aspects mentioned above:

1.    The Ministry of Construction And Housing (the Ministry, The Housing State Commission and housing fund)

2.    The Ministry of Planning and Cooperation Development.

3.    The Ministry of Municipalities and Public Work.

4.    UN-HABITAT.

 The discussions and conversations between the specialists from all the sectors which involved in housing affairs resulted in:

1.    The government goes on providing the houses (considering it as a right not as a need) to the deprived, disadvantaged, displaced, exiled, and low and limited income citizens.

2.    Considering the housing sectors as producer sector instead of being a social roof subjected to the market activity of the middle and upper classes.

Establishing on what mentioned above, the conference go out with the following recommendations:

Firstly: Rapid and Timely Solutions:

1.    Increasing the finance allocations for housing sector from the annual government budget.

2.    Developing and supporting the housing finance sector by enable and encourage the person or the estate companies to build and buy housing units.

3.    Decrease the necessary costs to build housing unit and strengthen the industry of structural materials and develop the worker skills.

4.    Define the lowest level of the housing criteria which make the shelter suitable to live.

Secondly: The Vision of Future:

 In order to coordinate to ensure that there is no multiplicity in making the decision in housing sector and no overlapping in administration and decisions

1.    The necessity to form a high committee under the direct supervision of the Prime Minster which the specialists' sides including the private sectors connected to it. This committee entitles to take a decision in all housing fields and coordinate between Ministries and Governorates.

2.    The high committee divided in to specialist technical committees which take the coordinating tasks and the necessary steps to draw national policy, cooperating with the related sides, assisting with the international experiences of United Nations Human Settlements program especially the issues about encouraging the civilized administration, set the reformation and institutional capacity, encouraging the private and public sectors association and updating legislative and regulatory frameworks.

3.    The committees connected to the Planning units which formed recently in governorates, coordinating with housing facilitate groups which can be formed in all the Ministry Of Construction And Housing offices in each governorate within a full frame according to a national program to facilitate housing coordinating with the specialist Ministries depending on a studied plan to make it an important participant in developing process which related to housing sector.

The proposed structural administrative takes the following roles:

·        preparing national housing policy on the next and long term

-The high committee takes over starting in establishing the methods and the necessary steps, cooperating with specialist work groups, benefiting from United Nations Human Settlements program and the international experience in all the related fields. Beginning with (know the actual situation, analyses, define the requirements ,providing the budget, set the equivalent, develop the best equivalent, execution, pursuing and continuous modification) to ensure a right and scientific plan to solve the housing problem on the long term.

·        Financing the investments in housing sector

-update mechanisms to coordinate between housing fund and investment commission,  use new mechanisms in financing and quick regaining investors money to attract the investors to provide the infrastructure to the lands which specified for housing. build residential complex and strengthen building industry in all its categories.

-legislate new housing fund low and increase its capital.

-use the amounts which go to housing fund as a grant. In order to make the fund supervised by the high committee get used from the loans benefits to finance the different housing programs and finance strengthen the housing of United Nations Human Settlements program.

· providing work opportunities

-prepare national program to rehabilitate housing areas by using variant policy to raise its level by (improvement, development, raise the level) and provide the services and the main infrastructure, consider it a continuous policy for the state assisting by the experience of United Nations Human Settlements program.

·       the legislations field

- prepare full law for housing, release the accomplished laws and define the new fund housing legislation.

- review the exist legislation and release new one to strengthen the legislation frame to support the housing plan on condition that it accomplished within limited time defined by the specialists sides, coordinated with the related sides supervised by the high committee.

·        Benefiting from technical support of United Nations Human Settlements program.

-The high committee use updated methods to strengthen the work cooperating with United Nations Human Settlements program to widen and assess building capacity program in accordance with the housing national policy

 -review the national program for housing facility which proposed in the conference to approve it and provide the faculties to be completely applied in Iraq supported by United Nations Human Settlements program.

·       Providing lands and the legislations to arrange ownership

-take a full inventory for State-owned lands in order to provide and allocate large number of lands for housing. Remove all the obstacles in the laws and the exist programs which are unable to meet the need like municipal administration law and law no. (32) For 1986. Facilitate owning land for the investors to encourage housing producing depending on participation principle in profit and regaining it after a period of time determined by the law.