In the years past, many efforts have been made to strengthen the administrative areas of Maldives. In 2008, Maldives adopted a new constitution and a decentralisation system was born to empower local councils.
The biggest obstacle, however, was the challenge of relinquishing powers long concentrated in the central government coupled with the lack of resources in the Atolls.
Successive governments had adopted different approaches for decentralisation, before this Administrative formed the Ministry of Cities, Local Governance and Public Works aiming to finally bridge the divide.
The entire mandate of this Ministry is focused towards improving the quality of services provided in the Atolls. One of the top priorities of the Administration is to make the functioning of local councils sustainable and independent from the central government.
One of the most important decisions taken by the Cabinet in early 2024 to achieve this is to extend the jurisdiction of councils to 700 metres from its shoreline.
The next step was to allocate uninhabited islands outside the jurisdiction which has to be sanctioned by the Ministry. The ministry acts as an intermediary in acquiring these islands for the local councils.
The Ministry has invited local councils to submit proposals for the acquisition of islands. So far, the proposals submitted by three councils have been evaluated including Inguraidhoo Council, Raa Atoll, Dhaalu Atoll Council and Maavah Council, Laamu Atoll.
The Ministry has also concentrated efforts to strengthen the decentralisation system last year. One of the most important of these is the effort to build the capacity of the local councils. The Ministry is also involved in efforts to ensure that the services offered in the capital Male’ are made available in the islands.
The councils are divided into seven clusters and the training of staff is currently underway. Training has started in six of these Atolls and plans are underway in the remaining Atolls.
In addition, infrastructure development of councils has also begun with 187 council buildings in much need of renovations when this Administration took office just over a year ago.
The Ministry has designated 55 councils to be built under the government's PSIP budget and 50 councils have been included under the assistance of the China government.
Since the introduction of the Decentralization Act in 2010, 10 amendments have been made to the Act so far. A study was conducted last year to see if these reforms really made a difference. In the light of this study, three main findings emerged.
Too many council members were elected
Educational qualification of elected members should be higher
Increase the financial capacity of councils and women's development committees (WDC)
In addition to improving services, the Ministry has also given special emphasis to many things to enhance the quality of life of the people living in the Atolls. to the people under the special directive of President Dr Mohamed Muizzu. The Ministry has facilitated special celebrations in festive occasions such as Eid al-Adha and Eid al-Fitr in all cities and islands.
The role played by the Ministry in transferring municipal services in Hulhumalé from the Housing Development Corporation (HDC) to the Malé City Council (MCC) remains a notable milestone last year.
The Ministry has looked to expand public works under its supervision and solve the issues faced by the city and island councils. Through such extensive initiatives, the new Ministry has moved closer to bridging the long standing divide between the central government and local councils.