Government proposes amendments to Decentralisation Act of Maldives to abolish obstructions in the law to grant city status to Kulhudhuffushi in Haa Dhaalu Atoll.
An island with a registered population of over 10,000 must be granted city status, according to the Decentralisation Act. So far, in addition to the capital, Male', city status is only granted to Addu and Fuvahmulah as a whole atoll, with no single island allocated as a city.
Although, Kulhudhuffushi meets the required population to be named as a city, the status has so far not been granted due to some legal obstructions as the island is the capital of the atoll. In this regard, if Kulhudhuffushi is declared as a city, the government must appoint a different capital island of Haa Dhaalu Atoll, which consists of 13 inhabited islands. No solutions have been found within the laws in practise for the situation.
Speaking to PSM News, member of Haa Dhaalu Atoll Council Ahmed Athif said several challenges are faced when naming the island as a city, adding if Kulhudhuffushi is named as a city, a city council as well as an atoll council must be established. He said so far no solid solutions have been found for the aforementioned issues.
Meanwhile, the proposed amendment to the Decentralisation Act states if the Local Government Authority (LGA) requests to change an island to a city, the president will grant the status, if the island, the ward or the area meets the standards or prerequisites required for it to be declared as a city.
The proposed amendment also states if the respective island requested to change to a city, and if it consists of more than one inhabited island, and if that is the capital island, a decision must be made on what the capital island would be from the atoll, before granting the status to the respective island. The proposed amendment will be effective only after the president ratifies the bill.