The Civil Service Commission of the Maldives (CSC) has appointed 127 members as secretaries-general of local councils established under the Decentralisation Act.
CSC has been working to appoint secretaries-general to local councils. As such, CSC first opened applications for the position in local councils in June last year. Over the past year, CSC has appointed 127 secretaries-general to local councils. However, four secretaries-general appointed have resigned from the position.
Vice-President of CSC Ibrahim Rasheed said the issues have been identified in the appointment of secretaries-general over the past year. He said the biggest issue identified is the salary. He said there are also other issues identified, such as people not being interested as the job is a five-year appointment and not being interested to be involved in politics.
The requirements for the secretary-general for the island councils include having a bachelor's degree qualification with four years of relevant work experience, or a master's degree with two years of relevant work experience. For atoll councils, a bachelor's degree with six years of experience or a master's degree with four years of experience would be required. Meanwhile, a bachelor's degree with eight years of experience or a master's degree with six years of experience would be required for city councils. However, due to the lack of applications, the requirement level in some councils has been lowered to a diploma qualification.
The secretary-general is the highest administrative position in the local council and is responsible for handling the administrative and financial work of the council.