President pledges “special attention” to developing smaller communities

President Mohamed Waheed Hassan visited Laamu Atoll yesterday claiming his government will work with small island populations across the country to address local development issues.

Speaking yesterday on Gaadhoo, the president said he regretted that a senior government official was not thought to have travelled to the island community in “several years” and pledged to provide special attention to similar destinations with smaller populations in the future.

“We must visit the islands and see for ourselves the well-being of our people. It is our duty to fulfil the needs of the people as much as possible,” Waheed was quoted as saying in a President’s Office statement.

Waheed added that challenges remained in ensuring that basic services are provided to islands with even very small populations, but pledged to ensure that any development decision was made “democratically, through consultation with the people.”