The Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) said today that the Local Government Authority (LGA) has failed to explain how abolishing atoll councils will reduce state expenditure.
The party’s Decentralisation Committee met with senior LGA officials today to share the party’s concerns. Speaking to reporters outside the LGA office after the meeting, the chair of MDP’s Decentralisation Committee and the party’s former Deputy Chairperson Ali Niyaz said the discussion focused mainly on the abolition of atoll councils.
Niyaz said they sought clarification on the LGA’s position regarding the abolition of atoll councils and whether the authority had provided technical advice to the government on the matter. In response, LGA CEO Mohamed Nimal’s personal view was that atoll councils should be abolished. However, Niyaz noted that the technical staff at the LGA did not support that decision, and no formal technical advice had been issued by the LGA endorsing it.
He said that since the LGA CEO is a presidential appointee, Nimal defended the government’s position, but it became clear that the LGA’s technical staff do not support the decision.
“So what became clear is that this is a change brought about within Parliament under government policy. Once that change came, they [the LGA] are simply acting accordingly,” said Niyaz, who represented the Hulhumalé constituency in the 19th Parliament and also chaired that Parliament’s Decentralisation Committee. “They do not, technically speaking, view this as a positive change to the overall decentralisation system.”
The government had previously cited reducing state expenditure as one of the main reasons for abolishing atoll councils. However, Niyaz said the decision would not actually cut costs.
“That wasn’t done with cost-cutting in mind. The law now includes an additional mandate for the LGA to establish branches in the atolls. So costs won’t go down. Even from what they said, it doesn’t come across as something done to reduce spending. There is no evidence to suggest costs will be reduced,” he said.
Niyaz also said that as the LGA makes important decisions affecting the public, the reasons behind those decisions must be made clear to citizens. As an example, he pointed to the recent decision to hand over land belonging to the people of the entire F. Atoll to the F. Nilandhoo Council. He said this had been a major grievance among residents of other islands in F. Atoll, yet the reasoning behind the decision remained unclear.
Niyaz also alleged that the LGA made that decision under political influence, noting that the MP for the Nilandhoo constituency is Fathimath Sauda, President Mohamed Muizzu’s younger sister.
One of the requests MDP made to the LGA during the meeting was for the authority’s board meetings on major decisions to be broadcast live.
“We requested that when they deliberate on such major decisions, their proceedings be livestreamed,” Niyaz said.
