President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu has made additional promises while the pledges made during the presidential election campaign remain unfulfilled.
The president spoke to the residents of Thoddoo island of Alif Alif Atoll on Sunday, as part of his ongoing tour of some islands of Alif Alif Atoll and Kaafu Atoll.
Muizzu promised to deliver more developments for the island community during his speech. He had promised many developments for the island during the election campaign as well.
Speaking to the island community, Muizzu said that road construction projects, school expansion, health center development and expansion, and waste management are essential needs for Thoddoo.
The president said that the island community is focusing on local tourism, with about 50 guesthouses already in operation and 40 more guesthouse projects underway. As a result, a local tourism industry capable of accommodating about 3,000 tourists is emerging on a single island within the next two years. He noted that this has led to a significant increase in U.S. dollar transactions.
Muizzu said that as part of his policy to provide equal services to the people, he intends to establish a way to withdraw dollars while staying on the island. The president shed light on his plans to set up a dollar ATM so that every citizen can have access to local banking in both MVR and USD, based on the island's income. He added that since Thoddoo generates more dollar income, he plans to establish a USD ATM.
In addition to this, the president noted that practical work to fulfill all the promises made across the country will begin within the next two years.
Muizzu said that 2025 and 2026 will be the years he visits the islands and practically implements the work to fulfill the promises made during the presidential election.
The president noted that they would begin practical work on all the promises he has made in a specific order, spread across all regions of the Maldives, be it the development of harbors, roads, land reclamation, schools, hospitals, or sports facilities. He said that the government would commence the practical work, and various projects will also be completed. Earlier, Muizzu stated that priority should be given to islands with larger populations when implementing development projects, and that island consolidation can only happen then.
Muizzu, who several citizens say speaks differently on different occasions, said during a meeting with students at Princeton University in America as part of a trip to attend the 79th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on 26 September 2024, that with 1,100 islands in the Maldives, having people living on 186 islands is a relatively high number. He clearly stated that it is not possible to focus on developing all 186 inhabited islands.
