Thinadhoo Council denies allegations surrounding salaries, vows to respond

Thinadhoo City Mayor Saud Ali has denied the allegations surrounding councilors’ salaries, adding the Council has not deposited salaries to any councilor unlawfully.  

A complaint was submitted to the Local Government Authority (LGA) accusing Thinadhoo Mayor and Councilors of taking a salary equivalent to officials of a city council before Thinadhoo was granted city status.

The case was filed by lawyer Ahmed Ragib, who was dismissed as State Minister for Environment after challenging Thinadhoo’s city status in a constitutional case.

The case has surfaced amid a case by North Thinadhoo MP Saudhulla Hilmy lodged with LGA, asserting Thinadhoo was granted city status in violation of the law.

Commenting on the matter, Thinadhoo Mayor Saud, citing the Maldivian government granted Thinadhoo city status within the confinements of law, stressed that it cannot be changed simply because someone is unhappy with it. He added that the Council will not allow for the opportunity to harm the people of Thinadhoo and obstruct the development of the island.

He accused Ragib of filing the case under the instructions of MP Saudhulla, whom he described as being jealous of Thinadhoo and intent on harming the island's residents. He added that the act amounted to a direct betrayal of Thinadhoo residents.

Mayor Saud said MP Saudhulla should not be allowed to influence Thinadhoo City Council as he desired, adding the policies of the Council are shaped in accordance with the law.

According to the Mayor, the Council had not been notified of the case by LGA or any relevant authorities. He said the case had come to the Council’s attention via social media and media outlets.

He reiterated that the Council has not deposited salaries unlawfully, adding it will be responding to the relevant authorities in connection to the case.

Thinadhoo was designated as a city on August 30, 2023, by then-President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih during the 2023 presidential campaign. The incumbent administration decided it would not revise the decision.

In the case filed with LGA, MP Saudhulla said that the population of Thinadhoo is under 10,000 – the legal requirement to be designated a city.

He said that the information of the deceased as well as people who had removed themselves from the island’s registry decades back were added to the list in order to artificially boost the population to 10,150.

MP Saudhulla suspects this was done by Mayor Saud.

Ahmed Ragib lodged a constitutional case with the High Court over the same issue. Raghib had been serving as a deputy minister for environment at the time but was subsequently dismissed. Notably, Ragib’s case was rejected by the High Court.