The Maldivian ministerial cabinet has voted in favour restoring the previous authority of city, atoll, and island councils.

The decision was made at the third cabinet meeting held thus far; individual ministries will be making agreements with local government councils on how said authority is to be vested.

Prior to this, councils had less control over their resources and services than they had when the law establishing them was passed in 2010, with amendments to the act transferring authority to ministries.

These amendments, together with the administration’s restructuring of the Local Government Authority, the statutory regulator to island councils, have been described by critics as an attempt to tighten grips on power.

In mid-2014, the Housing Ministry’s appropriation of lands and property that were constitutionally under the authority of the Malé City Council was described by deputy mayor Shifa Mohamed as an attempt to destroy decentralization and ‘rob ordinary citizens of their power’.