President Solih in Ukulhas for ‘Viavathi Raajje’ conference

President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih arrived in AA. Ukulhas on Friday, to hold the "Viavathi Raajje" conference.

President Solih invited city council mayors, island council presidents, and presidents of Women’s Development Committees from the central atolls for the second edition of the conference.

Along with the president are government ministers, policy executives from the President’s Office, and technical experts from various institutions, who will be participating as well.

After his arrival, President Solih took the time to participate in the sports festival held at the main beach of Ukulhas.

The event was organized ahead of the Viavathi conference as an icebreaker for the conference attendees: government ministers and other senior officials; technical experts; local government officials; and the media. 

Activities included beach volleyball, tug of war and penalty shootout. The president also joined in on the activities.

During the first edition of the "Viavathi Raajje" conference, President Solih signed the eighth amendment to the Decentralisation Act into law on December 15, 2019, at the first. This authorized more fiscal and legal autonomy for local councils.

The second edition of this conference, and is notably the first to be held following the amendment’s ratification.

As per the President’s Office, the conference seeks to provide the opportunity to review the existing structures and find avenues for improvement, and also offers an opportunity for the administration to confer its policies to ensure good governance.

The two-day conference would feature four sessions with presentations and discussions on various topics, including fiscal and legal autonomy, formulating land-use plans, the role of WDCs, crime prevention, social welfare, and climate resilience. It would also allow the council and WDC representatives to present their concerns to the President and discuss solutions.