Government Will Fully Empower Councils: The President

The government will empower councils in the full sense of the word, and so far the government has been working towards that goal for the past three months.

Speaking at the swearing-in ceremony of the new Mayor and three newly elected councilors at Dharubaaruge tonight, President Dr. Muizzu said the government wants to empower the councils financially. The government has found that the revenue from the atoll shops in Malé is not reaching the atoll councils.

"However, we have now decided that hopefully in the future we will hand over the money received from the shops to the atoll councils. Then the atoll councils will be able to work through the island councils to provide services," he said.

Further, the President said that in order to enable councils to conduct economic activities, each council has now been given a way to earn income by acquiring islands outside of its jurisdiction through the new rules published in the Gazette last week. The President said that the rule has facilitated all councils in the country to generate revenue.

The government will work to formulate the development master plan with full participation of the people under the government's long and medium term plan, he said.