Parliament of Maldives has passed the Amendment Bill to the Decentralisation Act, which grants financial independence to local councils and allocates 33 percent of council seats to women. The bill, which was proposed by the government, was passed with votes from 76 parliamentarians.
The bill states local councils will receive 40% of revenue from leasing land, islands and lagoons, and 100% of the revenue generated from land and other resources in the direct jurisdiction of the council. Councils will also receive 5 percent of the domestic budget allocated under the State Budget, according to the bill. The parliament has allocated a budget of over USD 103 million for local councils in 2020, which is over two-fold higher than the budget allocated for councils in 2019. In addition, all Public Sector Investment Programmes (PSIP) under USD 324,500 are proposed to fall under local councils as sectoral grants.
The bill grants Local Government Authority (LGA) the authority to take action on members of local councils if they are found to have abused their authorities, such as misusing the funds and resources allocated to councils. LGA must conduct an inquiry into any abuse of power by the councils and publish any actions taken against a member of a council in the Government Gazette.
The bill also seeks to amend the roles and regulations of local councils including fixing the term of local councils to five years, and ensuring that women fill 33.3 percent, or one-third, of all council seats. Mayors of city councils as well as presidents and vice presidents of local councils are proposed to be elected through a public vote.