New resolution proposes to cut number of councilors, trim council budgets
This comes at a time the government has been criticized by the public as the number of political staff has increased
MP for Baarah constituency Ibrahim Shujau speaking at a Majlis sitting
At a time the number of political staff has increased significantly, and expenses have skyrocketed, MP for Baarah constituency Ibrahim Shujau has submitted a resolution to reduce the number of councilors and trim council budgets.
The main concern in the resolution proposed by MP Shujau, is the allegation that in addition to the high number of councilors, the large expenditure on councils is not yielding results.
President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu proposed the idea of reducing the number of local councilors and members of women's development committees as part of a broader effort to cut government spending. He has also called for the abolition of atoll councils and pledged to introduce the necessary legislative amendments to implement these changes. Reflecting this shift in policy, the state budget passed for the current year includes a reduction in the block grant allocated to local councils.
Speaking on the "Rayyithunnaa Eku" podcast on May 15, the president highlighted that councils are using the financial assistance, block grants, given to councils from the state budget under the Decentralization Act to go to Bangkok in the name of experience trips.
The resolution states that the decentralized system has become a system where political party activists are elected as island leaders.
In addition to this, Shujau's statement stated that this needs to be thought about deeply and that the resolution was submitted to see how lawmakers view such issues in order to solve them.
While such a resolution has been submitted to the People's Majlis, the government has been criticized by the public as the number of political staff has increased, that number is not disclosed, and with the increase in political staff, the expenditure on salaries has increased as well, with development projects remaining halted too.
Estimating the number of political staff, it has been stated that the total number of government employees is "approximately" 49,000 people. Political staff are employees appointed under the power granted to the president under Article 115(f) of the Constitution of the Republic of Maldives. Political staff are appointed directly by the president.
