Public service works units to be established at all atolls

State Minister for Local Governance Mohamed Ibrahim has revealed the government’s decision to establish public service works units across all Maldivian atolls.

He made the remark while briefing on the works being undertaken by the Local Government Ministry during SSTV’s ‘Baaru Hathareh’ program on Tuesday night.

As per the State Minister, seven public service works units have already been established across islands.

He announced plans to establish an additional 15 such units across various islands before the end of next year, for which he noted that President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu has already instructed Finance Ministry to secure resources for these efforts.

State Minister Ibrahim cited resolving issues related to harbors and channels as the most crucial work being undertaken at atolls under public service works. On this note, he detailed shallowing at harbors and channels as a pertinent concern raised by many councils.

He added that the president has also instructed the Finance Ministry to secure the necessary resources to set up two mobile units to resolve the issue. In this trajectory, the State Minister expressed hope that the resources will be arranged within this year to allow the public to carry out crucial works.

While public service works are overseen by the Local Government Ministry, public service works units are established on islands to facilitate the provision of municipal services required by island residents.

State Minister Ibrahim described the provision of municipal services at islands by utilizing Local Government Ministry’s staff and machinery as a huge easement for local councils.

"We will work as requested by them. For example, we will not, at our own intiiation, go and clean a road on the island. We will only attend segments requested by the council," he explained. 

He added that the easiest way to enforce decentralization is with assistance from the government.