Political leaders will come and go, but islands, atolls and cities will remain, and that is why decentralised governance must be sustained, MDP President Abdulla Shahid said.

Speaking at the party’s 5th Congress, Shahid said the decentralised institutions that drive island development must be strengthened to last for generations. He added that the country’s real development depends on this change.

Calling on the government, Shahid said spending should be directed to councils, and that councillors and Women’s Development Committees (WDCs) should be empowered with higher salaries and allowances.

Shahid said the Maldives cannot develop if its economy is seen as revolving only around Malé. Maldivians live on the islands too, he said, and the country needs an economy connected to its atolls and islands.

He said the change the people want is tied to decentralisation and island-level development, and that the MDP is the party committed to handing powers and financial management to the islands. Shahid added that an MDP government would implement the decentralised system in its true sense.