The Parliament of Maldives has issued an announcement asking for public opinion on amendments to Decentralisation Act. The announcement asks the public to submit any comments and suggestions to the parliament by November 10.
The new amendments include significant changes to the Decentralisation act including the decision to extend the term of councils to 5 years from 3 and the proposal to allocate 33% of all councils to women. The amendments also propose mayors and presidents of councils to be elected through a public vote.
Amendments to empower councils include the provision of 5% of total annual budgets, warranting councils the income it generates from sources under its jurisdictions in addition to permitting the councils the rental incomes from lands.
The bill is currently being evaluated by Parliamentary Committee on Decentralisation. The committee is working to forward the bill to the floor by November 9 upon a request from Speaker Mohamed Nasheed.
The parliament aims to pass the amendments by November 13.