By- Radio ML
A regulatory report revealed that the National Real Estate Company of Tunisia (SNIT) allocated construction plots to both the public and company employees without a clear legal basis for the employees and a procedural guide for the public, resulting in missed additional revenues. It was recommended that the company establish a procedural guide for this purpose. The High Authority of Administrative and Financial Control (under the supervision of the Presidency) observed these violations in its annual report No. 29 for the year 2023, published yesterday, Tuesday. The control activities covered the period from 2010 to 2021. The authority pointed out that the National Real Estate Company of Tunisia suffers from a complete lack of transparency in the allocation of many plots through negotiated sales and, in some cases, before the final approval of the subdivisions. There is also a lack of criteria for prioritizing the allocation of plots to company employees. The authority began following up on the implementation of the reforms in December 2022, with the first follow-up results reviewed by the authority's council on February 21, 2023. The second phase of follow-up began in May 2023, with the results reviewed on July 4, 2023. The list of violations included the absence of all minutes with a list of vacant plots, lack of justifications for approving some employees' requests while deferring others, and the requirement of "immediate payment" for some employees but not others. At the level of residential plot allocation and lack of transparency in procedures, the report noted that there was no indication that the plots sold through negotiated sales had been previously offered for sale to the highest bidder in newspapers, as recorded in four instances. Additionally, there was no indication of prepayments made to the company in six files related to negotiated sales to non-employees. Lack of Transparency and Favoritism The report highlighted the allocation of multiple plots to some beneficiaries through negotiated sales (three plots in 2018 in the "Ras El Ain Zaghouan" subdivision to one beneficiary) and negotiated sales of plots in Tunis and its suburbs, such as "Gardens of El Menzah 1" and "Manouba", as well as "El Mrazga Hammamet", despite numerous requests filed in its registry. This raises the possibility of favoritism and conflicts of interest among the beneficiaries. The violations also included a lack of transparency and favoritism towards some clients over others in adopting the negotiated sales method for selling construction plots by the company, in addition to missing out on higher financial revenues if competition was invited. The regulatory operation on the allocation of residential plots by the National Real Estate Company of Tunisia covered the period from 2010 to 2021. This regulatory task was carried out based on a memorandum from the Ministry of Equipment addressed to the Ministry of State Property and Real Estate Affairs concerning a series of observations. These observations particularly concern the allocation of plots through negotiated sales without a legal and procedural reference in this regard, as well as the allocation of plots to company employees without being legally authorized to do so and without respecting pre-established procedures. The authority noted in its report that the reform implementation rate by the institution reached 43% during the first follow-up and 57% during the second follow-up. Based on the results of the first and second follow-up, the council decided to continue monitoring the report's findings and urged the National Real Estate Company of Tunisia to continue its reform efforts and provide the High Authority of Administrative and Financial Control with a specific schedule for implementing the remaining recommendations. The report emphasized the company's commitment to implementing the authority's recommendations, particularly adopting a procedural guide that sets a clear methodology for selling construction plots, publishing it for all clients, and reviewing the company's basic regulations. The report recommended revising the legislative and regulatory texts governing its activities and renewing the call to the Ministry of Equipment to prepare a national strategy for managing residential real estate in coordination with various parties. The regulatory authority also recommended that the Ministry of Equipment organize the allocation of plots and housing by institutions and public establishments under its supervision within a regulatory reference framework in the form of a decision. Additionally, it called for contacting the supervisory ministry to follow up on the outcomes of the judicial procedures taken.