Pres. attempts to take credit after work begins to repair Malé parks

K. Male'

16 Feb 2025 | Sun 15:55

President Muizzu with family at Rasfannu

Malé parks

Pres. attempts to take credit after work begins to repair Malé parks

No renovation work has been done at Rasfannu and Sultan Park since 2016

The activities carried out by the City Council for the citizens will be visible to the public through the council's social media accounts and media outlets

While the President spoke about renovating Sultan Park and Rasfannu, the City Council had already assigned the work to a contractor

Zunana Zalif

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Malé City Mayor Adam Azim and the City Council have begun renovation work coinciding with the upcoming fasting month of Ramadan, after parks, squares and swimming areas in the capital city were left unmaintained for several years.

President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu has been attempting to take credit for the work.

The City Council has begun work on enhancing the capital city for Ramadan, cleaning and renovating public parks, squares, and swimming areas.

After this work was announced and has been underway for a while now, President Muizzu recently posted on social media platform X, expressing his sadness at seeing the condition of Rasfannu and Sultan Park.

He stated that both the popular spots among locals, have been deteriorating, and these two locations bring immense joy and happiness to the people in the congested capital city.

The President's post highlighted that he wanted to inform the citizens of the capital city and all people living in Malé that the government would undertake special efforts to restore and enhance the beauty and vivacity of these spots beyond their previous state.

However, several people have been commenting that the President is trying to take credit for the work being conducted by the City Council presently, when nothing was done for maintenance during all the years of authority since 2016.

President Muizzu served as Housing Minister from 2012 to 2018. During his time as minister, he brought all of the affairs of the capital city under his supervision and paralyzed operations when the City Council had an opposition majority.

He served as the Mayor of Malé City from 2021 to 2023. While he claimed there was no money for park and square renovations at that time, the current government officials in the City Council were hiring people with high salaries and holding expensive ceremonies. Even after the incumbent administration has been in power for one and a half years, none of these works were initiated.

Speaking to RaajjeMV, Malé City Mayor Adam Aazim said that Sultan Park has not been maintained since 2016. He added that when he came to the City Council, the place was damaged beyond use, and therefore, they have begun conducting assessments and maintenance work on these areas.

The iron structures and materials there have rusted and deteriorated to a point where they pose a risk of injury to visitors. The staircases and wooden structures are damaged and could harm children, which is why those areas have been closed off. Today or tomorrow, we will announce the renovation project. Last week, we tweeted that an assessment of the place would be conducted and this week we will announce a tender to find contractors for the renovation. I deeply regret that the President is handling matters in a way that misleads the public."

Mayor of Malé City Adam Azim

Azim went on to note that the Rasfannu beach has been completely eroded and damaged. He said that an assessment has been conducted, measurements have been taken, and a contractor has been assigned to repair the area. Azim also said that work would begin within the coming week.

Then he mentioned that some of the huts there were damaged. The maintenance of huts falls under the contract between MTCC and the Housing Ministry. They couldn’t complete it during the past year. We have now discussed it with MTCC and transferred the contract under our authority. Last week, after transferring the contract, we sent a letter to MTCC informing them that the contract has been transferred to us. Therefore, we are now preparing for the repair work there. So we have completed all the arrangements. It's regrettable when such statements are made just as the work is about to begin and show progress, especially when it comes from the President of the Maldives. We believe he is someone who should be helping us in these matters."

Mayor of Malé City Adam Azim

Azim highlighted that the services provided by the City Council for the citizens would be visible to the public through the council's social media accounts and media outlets. He added that citizens would clearly see how the City Council is working to resolve issues that cause difficulties for the public.

In addition to this, the people of Malé will see the scenes of re-laying and improving the stones in flood-prone areas of Malé. There is no need to try to portray the people of Malé as those who don't understand their surroundings, whether it's the President of the Maldives or anyone else. The people of Malé and those who live in Malé are knowledgeable citizens who understand their environment, observe matters, are literate, and are competent. Therefore, they know the work being carried out by the Malé City Council."

Mayor of Malé City Adam Azim

After his pretentious post on Friday morning, President Muizzu has landed in hot water. It remains clear that the Rasfannu work was entrusted to MTCC. The kiosk there and the maintenance and upkeep of Rasfannu were also assigned to MTCC. While no repairs have been made to the place during the past year, with the change in government, MTCC is now headed by someone appointed by President Muizzu. Several have been stressing that MTCC's failure to maintain the place represents a failure of the leader whom President Muizzu appointed with trust.

Further, several people also continue to say that while he was the Housing Minister, Muizzu had taken all powers from the City Council for himself, did nothing while serving as Mayor, and even after one and a half years in power, as soon as the City Council began the initiative, he started working to take credit for it without having contributed anything of significance.