President promises pay raise for members of WDCs

President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu said on Wednesday that he will make “an appropriate positive change” to the pay of members of Women’s Development Committee (WDCs).

He made the announcement during a gathering in Sh. Funadhoo – as part of his ongoing tour of northern Maldives.

Members of WDCs receive a fixed allowance and a sitting allowance each month, the latter of which depends on their attendance to committee meetings. The number of meetings is capped at four.

Committee members therefore currently receive around MVR 6,000.

Addressing Wednesday’s gathering, President Muizzu said he plans on changing the allowance currently paid to members of WDCs to a salary, and to making them entitled to all incentives afforded to civil servants.

He said that the allowances they currently receive will be something they receive in addition to their salary.

But this change requires legal amendments, he said.

President Muizzu said that he therefore needs there to be lawmakers in the Parliament who support his administration’s policies.

“Having a pro-government majority in the Parliament will make it easy to carry out such important work. Therefore, I assure you that if there’s a Parliament that implements our polices, I will make all the legal amendments asked by the women’s development committees, especially since I personally support this,” he said.

President Muizzu – during his current tour – has been meeting councils and WDCs to inquire about the developmental needs of local communities.

He is accompanied on the tour by a delegation of high-level government officials.