-
.
- Русский
Today we are laying the foundation stone of a new project of the Cyprus Land Development Organisation (CLDA), which hopes to house the dreams and aspirations of the Larnaca people. The project, as mentioned by the President of the Board of Directors of COAG, is the product of an architectural competition, and is a model of harmonious partnership between the private and public sectors, as well as the Local Government, for the benefit of our society, especially the young people of our country who are currently facing serious housing challenges.
Access to affordable housing for all citizens is a top priority of our governance.
Access to affordable housing for all citizens is a top priority of our governance. It is in this context that the international community also classifies affordable housing as a social good and considers its safeguarding as a fundamental human right, the protection of which is necessary to be able to talk about a welfare state, and not just to talk about but to show in practice through decisions, actions and projects, such as the one we have today, that we are a welfare state.
Throughout time, for the average Cypriot, the acquisition of a home - that is, a central pivot of family life and warmth - is one of the greatest personal achievements. With this in mind, the Republic of Cyprus, having completed the gigantic project of providing temporary housing for our refugees after the Turkish invasion of 1974 - most of whom have been accommodated in Larnaca - focused on housing our modestly and low-paid compatriots, establishing the COAG in 1980.
During its 40 years of presence in the housing sector, KOGA has so far helped over five thousand families to acquire their own accommodation while maintaining a decent standard of living. And I am glad to see today, in addition to the members of the current Council who are doing an excellent job, people from the previous Council. It is an indication of how much they love the Organization, which is among those who really do offer social work that is recognized by the state and beyond.
However, despite the above efforts, today we are facing a housing crisis that is unprecedented for our country, which primarily affects the younger generation, which we are called upon and must manage immediately.
The very high cost of building a house and the difficulty of securing financing have displaced a significant number of our compatriots from the housing market. By way of illustration, the cost of securing affordable housing, either by purchase or rental, has risen sharply in recent years in our country. As a result, the risk of erosion of social cohesion is now visible, as the increase in the family budget to meet housing needs adversely affects other equally important and necessary needs, such as education, family, children's needs, and many others. Only in this way will we be able to lay a solid and healthy foundation for the prosperity and prospects of our future generations, creating in practice essential hope and perspective.
Within this framework, the Government has decided to design a new Housing Policy Framework, as well as to establish a Single Housing Agency, which will be responsible for formulating the State's Housing Policy to address the needs of citizens. Once established, this new Single Housing Authority will be the single point of reference through which citizens will be guided in their housing choices, based on their needs and their economic and family circumstances, at the same time taking into account other priorities that we have as a Government, such as the need for rural regeneration, support for marginal areas, cooperation with the Local Government, but also addressing traffic, all these issues that we are called upon to take into account in our Housing Policy.
The implementation of our pre-election proposal for the new Housing Policy is modern and ambitious, but at the same time holistic and feasible, and measured. It acts on the implementation of targeted ideas and is a practical demonstration of our determination to remove, among other things, the barriers that stifle the dreams and aspirations of our young people to own their own homes.
It is our intention, through the New Housing Policy, to realise our pre-election promises to the Cypriot people:
[*]To provide housing to all groups of the population facing problems, especially young people and young couples, [*]To bring together all existing state housing schemes in a single framework through a single body, so that beneficiaries can benefit to the maximum from our housing schemes. At present there are such plans in the CRA, there are from the Ministry of Home Affairs, the Prefects. We are in constant consultation with the Minister of Interior and we will soon call a meeting with all stakeholders to announce specifically how this single housing agency will operate. [*]The collection and categorization of state-owned parcels of land, so that their development potential can be assessed and specific and targeted housing policies can be developed. It is not lost on us that policies to date have focused on assisting citizens' efforts to obtain owner-occupied housing, for the most part. The COAG has gone a step further than just acquiring housing. However, realities have changed and the goal of the New Housing Policy will also be to create and promote additional affordable rental housing projects. That is what the Agency has initiated. [*] The activation of the private sector, which is in a position, with targeted incentives, to contribute and help increase the available housing stock. The partnership and development of cooperation between the Single Housing Authority and the private sector and of course the Local Government is our priority, since this serves not only the housing sector, but also other important sectors of our country's economy and entrepreneurship. [*] Ensuring the unhindered access of the middle and low-income social strata to financing for the acquisition of a modern and decent first home, through the announcement of targeted grants and projects. [*]The strengthening and improvement of already existing targeted housing schemes to provide financial support for the acquisition of owner-occupied housing for permanent owner-occupation.
The development of an integrated housing policy and the provision of equal opportunities of access to affordable and decent housing to all strata of the population, looks forward to the further utilisation of the existing institutional framework, but also to its strengthening with new and innovative solutions, which will create synergies and a dynamic process of activating public and private sector actors in the timely production of housing units, with the aim of creating a strategic stock of housing units, ensuring the supply of housing of various categories. The ultimate goal is the activation of a single national strategy for affordable housing, through a matrix of policies and actions, where, in an integrated manner, immediate, medium and long-term actions for the management and utilization of important reserves of public and private land will be formulated through flexible models of cooperation.
Our determination to address long-standing problems and to put our pre-election promises into practice was demonstrated just last month with the announcement of Plan X The Plan aspires to ensure the right of our refugees to live in safe and decent conditions.
Today, we are going one step further to ensure the right to decent housing for all strata of our society and especially for the young generation of our country, which is the future of our homeland, and soon, in a meeting we will hold in the presence of the COGC, we will announce to all stakeholders this Single Housing Policy Body.
Congratulations again to the Cyprus Land Development Organisation.
(PM/MB/SX)
Contents of this article including associated images are belongs PIO
Views & opinions expressed are those of the author and/or PIO
Source
Source[/P][/P]
