FUJAIRAH // Building sustainable homes and financial assistance to buy them were the topics at the first Fujairah Youth Council session.
About 50 young Emiratis discussed the importance of energy-efficient homes and smart electronic systems.
“Air conditioning consumes about 70 per cent of electrical power because of the hot weather,” said Ahmad Al Kaabi, 25, who took part in the session last week.
“We should start thinking about energy-saving methods and spread the awareness about the importance of having energy-saving houses and apply smart systems to save energy.”
The session was attended by Shamma Al Mazrui, Minister of State for Youth Affairs, and officials from the Sheikh Zayed Housing Programme.
The session was part of the Youth Circles initiative launched by Ms Al Mazrui to share ideas, come up with solutions and discuss best practice for issues important to youths.
Mr Al Kaabi said many Fujairah people were being priced out the Sheikh Zayed Housing Programme.
“The housing programme allows residents with salaries less than Dh10,000 to benefit from the fund, but I think this is not fair as most of us work in other emirates and get paid more than that due to the high cost of living,” he said.
“In Abu Dhabi we get higher salaries to cover the high rents compared to Fujairah but that shouldn’t affect our right.”
Another young speaker talked about the lack of services at the new residential compounds built for Emiratis in Fujairah.
“Most of the compounds are handed to residents without services and it takes years to be completed,” said Doha Al Hamoudi, 26. “My suggestion is to finish all the services such as the roads, parks and facilities first before moving residents to their new houses.
“I suggest to create a savings plan for young, working Emiratis to deduct an amount out of their salaries for their future homes.”
rhaza@thenational.ae
