Burden of increasing councilors' salaries must be borne by island's development budget: Feevah Council President

While increasing the salaries of councilors is a necessary step, Sh. Feevah Council President Ali Rasheed stated that requiring these costs to be covered by the council's existing block grant—without additional state funding—significantly hinders planned development projects for the island.

Speaking on Friday’s "Fashaairu" program, Ali Rasheed stated that while he personally welcomes a salary increase in his capacity as Council President, implementing it in the current manner is unacceptable. He noted that although the government is mandating the pay raises, the entire financial burden must be borne by the local community, as the funds are being deducted from the five percent block grant allocated to the island from the state budget.

As a council president, I personally appreciate the salary increase and find it quite satisfactory. However, I must express my concern that simply raising salaries in this manner is not something I entirely agree with. The issue lies in the fact that these salaries must be drawn from the five percent of the state budget allocated to councils based on population. This is the same funding intended for essential public services and local development projects. It is deeply regrettable that the funds meant for the progress of our island and the welfare of our citizens are being utilized for this purpose.

Ali Rasheed

Furthermore, Ali Rasheed stated that this marks the third salary increase since he took office at the council, noting that on each occasion, the council's own budget has had to bear the full financial burden.

He stated that each time salaries are increased, the council incurs an additional expenditure of approximately MVR 250,000. Consequently, this necessitates the suspension of various planned programs and development projects within the island.

Since I took over this council, we have seen salary increases on three separate occasions. In each instance, we have had to bear the additional costs ourselves, as the funds for these raises are drawn directly from our own resources. This means we are forced to halt planned projects and prioritize the payment of these increased wages instead. Consequently, for every such salary hike, we lose approximately 250,000 Rufiyaa from the programs we have scheduled for the year.

Ali Rasheed

Ali Rasheed noted that discussions had been held with officials from the Ministry of Finance regarding the issue. He stated that despite assurances that the matter would be resolved, no council has received a budget increase to accommodate the salary hikes to date.