Rostam’s Decision: The Minister Bids Farewell to Raisi’s Government
Rostam’s Decision is a special report on the poor performance of Rostam Ghasemi, the Minister of Roads and Urban Development. Ebrahim Raisi had promised to build 4 million housing units during the election campaigns, despite economists warning about the detrimental effects of this non-expert plan. However, currently, more concerning news is emerging from the Ministry of Roads and Urban Development, which is responsible for implementing this plan. Some domestic media sources suggest that Rostam Ghasemi might bid farewell to this troublesome ministry.
Since the Thirteenth Government officially started its work on August 3, 2021, it has consistently retreated from its electoral promises. The promise to build 4 million housing units was among these promises, and the government has repeatedly deviated from its previous stances.
Rostam’s Stances
1. Insistence on Promises
An examination of Rostam Ghasemi’s positions, the Minister of Roads and Urban Development in Raisi’s government, on this subject shows that they have changed multiple times over the past 12 months. For example, at the start of the cabinet’s work, the Minister of Roads and Urban Development was strangely insistent on the feasibility of this promise. This insistence by Ghasemi occurred despite economists strongly considering the implementation of this plan as highly inflationary and against national interests.
2. That Wasn’t What We Meant
However, over time, the level of insistence by the Minister significantly decreased. Rostam Ghasemi, changing his statements, declared that the government’s plan would include the renovation of dilapidated areas. This means that the promise Ebrahim Raisi made to the people during the 2020 campaign was not sincere, as he had emphasized that during his four-year presidency, he would build 4 million housing units, one million each year.
But following last year’s positions by the Minister of Roads and Urban Development, it became clear that a major portion of these 4 million units was supposed to be supplied from the renovation and rebuilding of dilapidated areas. Meanwhile, voters were drawn to Ebrahim Raisi with the hope of new housing construction in the country and achieving the dream of homeownership. On the other hand, many mass builders, who had set up extensive campaign headquarters for Raisi with the hope of securing projects of hundreds or even thousands of units, were disappointed by Rostam Ghasemi’s stance.
3. A Promise That Shrunk
It wasn’t long before the Minister of Roads and Urban Development of the Thirteenth Government even retreated from the position of renovating and rebuilding dilapidated areas. At the beginning of the current year, he faced extensive public pressure demanding one million housing units in the first year of the government. However, in the seven or eight months since his ministry began, the Minister had realized that the government was financially strapped and incapable of implementing such baseless plans.
Thus, in the early months of 2022, he completely changed his position and announced that the conditions for housing construction in the first year of the government were not ready. Following these statements by the Minister of Roads and Urban Development, critics of the government raised their voices again. Economists emphasized that the government should admit its mistake during the elections and refrain from wasting national resources, especially under conditions where sanctions have heavily burdened the people.
4. Where’s the Land?
This situation continued until one of the members of the Thirteenth Cabinet, who is also a member of the Revolutionary Guards, announced that the necessary land for implementing this plan was not ready. According to Rostam Ghasemi, by August 2022, only 4% of the land requested by the government from various institutions for affordable housing construction had been realized. According to the Minister of Roads and Urban Development in Raisi’s government, 96% of the government’s demands from governmental and sovereign institutions for land provision had not been pursued.
In simpler terms, it can be said that to date, none of the governmental and sovereign institutions have agreed to hand over their prime lands to the government. In fact, the first and biggest obstacle for Ebrahim Raisi in implementing his hollow promise is the very government he presides over, as institutions and organizations have ignored this government demand and have turned a blind eye to it.
After Rostam Ghasemi’s recent remarks, whispers from the parliament suggest that the government intends to complete the unfinished Mehr Housing projects, most of which are more than 60% complete, and deliver them to the people under the name of the National Housing Movement plan. In reality, the government intends to ride the waves of populism by reopening a project that was initiated over 15 years ago.
It seems that the Mehr Housing, which initially faced widespread criticism and is still incomplete, has become Raisi’s only hope for fulfilling part of his unsupported promise. A project that is fundamentally flawed and has caused dissatisfaction among many of its owners.
Problems such as low construction quality, improper and incorrect site selection, lack of allocation of resources and urban facilities after construction in various areas, failure to deliver many unfinished units, and fraud by some contractors are just part of these issues.
Rostam’s Decision
Now, whispers from within the government suggest that Rostam Ghasemi intends to bid farewell to a cabinet that he joined with the hope of securing the Ministry of Oil. Some informed sources report dissatisfaction within the Ministry of Roads and Urban Development with the current minister’s performance. On the other hand, some believe that Ghasemi is very frustrated with advancing the goals of the National Housing Movement plan.
Evidence suggests that the Minister intends to shirk his responsibilities before things get more complicated. However, such an action by the current Minister of Roads and Urban Development might be an attempt to secure his desired position, the Ministry of Oil. Most observers believe that the current Minister of Oil is also on the brink, and the scenario of replacing Rostam Ghasemi with Javad Owji is not far-fetched. But the point that should not be overlooked is the uncertainty of the promise to provide housing for the young people to whom Raisi had said during the election debates, ‘Marriage from you, housing from us.’