DUSHANBE, September 12, 2011, Asia-Plus – The Consumers’ Union of Tajikistan (CU) is presenting results of the research aimed to assess awareness level of population regarding reform of residential building maintenance and management in five biggest cities of Tajikistan – Dushanbe, Khujand, Qurghon Teppa, Kulob and Chkalovsk – at a news conference, press release issued by CU today said.
The assessment has been conducted by the experts of Consumers Union in the framework of the European Union funded project, Promoting Civil Participation in the Reform of Residential Building Maintenance and Management in Urban Areas.
According to CU, about 8000 multi-storey residential buildings in urban areas of Tajikistan are not maintained properly for the last twenty years because of the privatization without relevant simultaneous systematic changes in maintenance and management issues. The visible result of current situation is the critical condition of the multi-storied housing stock, disorder and muddle with the financial, economic, administrative and social issues, videlicet to whom, for what and how much should people pay to achieve timely maintenance of the roofs, cellars, water pipes, and etc. In August 2009 a special law “About maintenance of the multistoried buildings and association of apartment’s owners” was adopted, which had to bring fundamental changes in the sector, assist in building of the market-based relations, and increase the quality of the services. However, generally the situation has not been changed; norms of this law are practically not implemented, because the population was supposed to be the main factor of the changes.
1500 people in five cities were surveyed during the research. According to results of the assessment, 91% of respondents are dissatisfied with the current system of maintenance. At the same time, 76% of the respondents have no information about the reform and 70% do not see the difference between private and state housing funds. The CU experts believe that such situation results in corruption and infringement of the consumers” rights.
