President: No attention to infrastructural development of councils in past 13 years

President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu, underscoring former administrations have paid no attention to the infrastructural development of the local councils in the past 13 years, has affirmed his administration would bring an end to this.

In an address to the nation on the occasion of Decentralization Day, the President described local councils as entities that have been bestowed a large number of responsibilities by the law.

However, he stressed that the office buildings of most local councils are old and worn-out, which poses a lot of difficulties to the councils in providing services to the public.

“Henceforth, I convey my decision to prioritize resolving the difficulties faced at council office buildings by undertaking special efforts to develop council secretariates' infrastructural development via investor finance basis,” he said.

Speaking further, President Muizzu cited providing education and training to staff as one of the most important steps to strengthening the decentralization system further. In this trajectory, he highlighted the need to increase training and awareness programs for staff by leveraging existing opportunities.

He also highlighted the importance of prioritizing capacity building of council staff through technical training and experience.  

President Muizzu underscored empowering local councils as one of the most crucial policies of his administration. He added that his administration was working with this goal in mind.

In this regard, the President is meeting with all local councils in his ongoing tour of all Maldivian atolls.