Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has revealed it has begun reviewing the audit report on the prices of the flats in the Hiyaa housing scheme set by the previous government. It has begun reviewing the report to ascertain whether a criminal investigation needs to be conducted, said ACC.
Auditor General's Office (AGO) conducted the audit after the Housing Development Corporation (HDC) requested AGO to review the prices of the 7,000 housing units set by former President Abdulla Yameen's administration. The audit has revealed the prices of the flats in the Hiyaa housing scheme set by the previous government were economically unfeasible, AGO stated.
In the audit report, AGO stated the government and HDC would have incurred a significant financial loss if the flats had been leased at the previous price of USD 363 per month. The report stated a debt of USD 583 million would be incurred in net cash flow in a 25-year period if the Hiya housing units were leased at the prices set by the previous government.
AGO stated the estimates have taken into account the loans taken by HDC to complete the project as well as other costs related to the housing units. It stated the HDC and the government would have incurred a significant loss if the housing units were sold at USD 363 and would have been unable to pay back the loans used to finance the project.
In the audit report, AGO advised the relevant institutions to use the equated monthly installment (EMI) method to estimate the monthly payments needed for housing units in order to take into account the revenue needed to repay the loans.