The local Disaster Management Act yet remains entirely unenforced and unadhered to, Defence Minister Mariya Ahmed Didi has said.
Minister Mariya said, while speaking at a National Unity Day event in Dhuvaafaru island of Raa atoll, that the law describes how civilians, security forces, and authorities should conduct themselves.
Mariya said that while the law has existed for years, the conduct of security forces and state institutions during small ‘disasters’ have not been in adherence to it.
The minister also said that while disaster risk reduction guidelines and policies should have been incorporated into development projects, ‘some’ previous governments have failed to do so.
Minister Mariya had criticized former president Abdulla Yameen and his government and their road development projects in Malé City, after severe flooding from heavy rain earlier this month.
The current iteration of the Disaster Management Act was passed on 6th September, 2015. The 'National Unity Day' is held on 26th December, the day Maldives was hit by the 2004 tsunami caused by an 9.3 magnitiude earthquake near Bandeh Aceh, Indonesia.
