The Minister of Cities, Local Government and Public Works, Adam Shareef Umar has stated that local councils must be made accountable to the people they serve. The Minister made the statement in an interview with PSM News.
With the establishment of the Ministry of Cities, Local Government and Public Works, the present government has created a dedicated Ministry to improve the relationship between councils and the government, and strengthen the administration of the decentralisation system. The work of the Ministry has been carried out for the past one and a half years, and the councils have now begun to recognise and accept the roles and responsibilities of the Ministry, he said.
Minister Adam Shareef noted that the primary role of the Ministry is to serve as an intermediary between the government and the councils. The Minister noted that so far, significant policies regarding the ministry’s operation have been formulated and implemented. With this change, efforts are now underway to bring about positive changes and meaningful reform within the system, he said.
The Minister highlighted that the main focus of the system is to empower the people, and this can be achieved through strengthening the councils.
"It is important that councils have the opportunities to operate within their jurisdictions and policies define their function. The councils must be reliable and trusted by the people. The Decentralisation Act must be amended accordingly,” he stated.
Minister Adam Shareef further said along with these reforms, councils should not only be accountable, but must also have the capacity to demonstrate accountability to the people. Therefore, the Ministry will give top priority to expand the services provided by the councils and ensure that they are institutions where the voice of the people is heard, he said.
Noting that during President Dr Mohamed Muizzu’s visits to the atolls, many citizens express dissatisfaction on how various ongoing projects are being implemented, and request for changes. The Minister noted that the main reason for such issues stem from a failure to identify consider the needs and preferences of local communities during the initial planning stages of the projects.
"We hope that the future projects will be implemented in close consultation with the councils, and under the advise and guidance of the councils and the people,” the Minister said.
In addition to strengthening the decentralisation framework, the government is working to provide the necessary resources to the councils. In this regard, the government will develop 50 council offices across the Maldives with the assistance of the Chinese government, with a Chinese team scheduled to arrive in the Maldives this month to conduct the project’s feasibility study. In addition, construction of an additional 55 councils funded by the Maldivian government is also underway, the Minister noted.