The Minister of Cities, Local Government, and Public Works, Adam Shareef Umar, disclosed that the Government has distributed canned tuna cases to 113,382 households across the country as a Ramadan gift for this year.
The Minister revealed this information during a press conference at the President’s Office. The Minister noted that while there was a slight decrease in the number of households receiving gifts in the outer atolls compared to the previous year, the number of households in the Greater Male' region has seen an increase.
Minister Adam Shareef Umar further stated that the distribution process in the Male' region commenced on January 24th and was successfully completed for all households by 04 March. Following the practice of previous years, each household was provided with a case of canned tuna. According to the Minister, a total of 55,667 households in the Male' region received the gift this year. The Minister also highlighted that 57,715 cases of canned tuna were dispatched for distribution to households in the atolls. Consequently, this year's government Ramadan gift reached a total of 113,382 households throughout the Maldives.
The Minister stated that for the Male' region households were identified based on domestic meters registered with STELCO. In the atolls, the distribution relied on the latest registers provided by the local councils. The Minister further assured that the accuracy of these lists was thoroughly verified before the distribution of the tuna cases to the households.
During last year's Ramadan, 60,712 households in the atolls received tuna cases. The decrease in this number for the current year is attributed to the significant migration of people to the Male' region. Accordingly, while 50,525 households in the Male' area were provided with tuna cases last year, this figure has increased by 5,142 households this year.
This marks the third consecutive year of the "Ramadan Gift" program. Like previous years, the government has distributed a case of 48 tuna cans to every Maldivian family.