The newly-elected Malé City Council (MCC) has chosen Maafanu West Councillor Mohamed Shamau Shareef as its representative to the Local Government Authority’s board.
The opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) councillor was elected with the unanimous consent of all councillors present at a meeting yesterday.
The opposition party controls a majority of the capital city’s council with eight seats. The ruling Progressive Party of Maldives has three seats.
Under the landmark Decentralisation Act, the LGA is tasked with monitoring councils, ensuring standards, improving technical capacity, and coordinating with the central government.
The LGA board consists of a cabinet minister appointed by the president, a member appointed from the MCC, four atoll councillors elected from among members of atoll councils, a representative from civil society appointed by parliament, a member of the general public appointed by parliament, and a member elected from the Addu and Malé city councils.
Elections to chose representatives from city councils and atoll councils are due to place on March 18.
The former civil society representative to the LGA, Ahmed Faisal, meanwhile resigned from his post last month.
Met this guy last year, he was a genuinely decent person. Wish him all the best