Adam Shareef calls on MDP to resolve legal issues linked to Thinadhoo city status

Local Government Minister Adam Shareef Umar has called on the main opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) – which holds a majority in the Parliament – to resolve the legal obstacles to designating the local council in Thinadhoo as a city council, after the southern island was granted city status in August – during the last months of the MDP administration.

In a press conference on Tuesday afternoon, Adam Shareef accused former President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih of making a “rushed” decision to grant Thinadhoo city status during the presidential campaign, after President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu pledged to get it done if elected to office.

He said that the decision has forced the island council to take on the responsibilities of a city council, and that the issue needs an urgent remedy, even if it requires revising existing laws.

“We hope that MDP, given their large majority, provides a solution to all these issues and cleans up their own mess,” he said.

Adam Shareef said that he has not seen the Parliament working to solve the issue facing Thinadhoo, he hopes that changes.

“If a solution isn’t found, it would be an injustice to the people of Thinadhoo and the council,” he said.

 The former Maldivian president designated Thinadhoo as a city on August 30, with the powers vested in him under Article 51 (a) of the Decentralization Act.

During Tuesday’s press conference, Adam Shareef said that his ministry is working to improve relations between councils and the central government.

“The biggest objective of the work conducted by the Local Government Authority and this ministry is to empower councils and ascertain our role in linking councils with the central government,” he said.

Adam Shareef promised to share concerns raised by councils with the president.

The Thinadhoo Council has asked the Parliament for assistance in determining its legal status. The Parliament’s Decentralization Committee decided on Monday that the council can attain the status of a city council even if its mid-term. But the Parliament’s Counsel General Fathimath Filza declared the decision unlawful.

The committee therefore decided to amend Article 51 of the Decentralization Act in order to eliminate the legal obstacles to designating the council in Thinadhoo as a city council.

Seven out of nine members of the committee are from the MDP.