The government cannot attain enough information about islands in the outer lying atolls, members of the Gaafu Alifu Atoll has said.

Speaking to Raajje Television’s ‘Falasurukhee’, members of the council said that the atoll’s fishing industry is hardly taken into account or monitored by the Fisheries Ministry.

Gaafu Alifu Atoll is one of the most prominent fishing atolls in the country. Hussein Adam, a member of the council, said that while the island also receives copious amounts of tourist arrivals every month, the Tourism Ministry does not monitor it either.

The council members spoke about how recent government decisions have negatively impacted decentralization in the country, most notably the one that requires local government councils to seek prior permission from the government before meeting foreign diplomats.

The council members said that the development of the island has effectively been left to its citizens and that they get very little support from the government.