One step forward and three steps backward

The amendment to decentralization bill to have as many councils as you want has been ratified. According to this amendment each administrative unit (mistakenly) called an island is also to have their separate councils.I checked the meaning of island from the dictionary and it says

“A land mass (smaller than a continent) that is surrounded by water”

Hence I do not understand how anyone can call a part or ward of an island such as kulhduhoo, fares, maathoda, hulhudhoo meedhoo, feydhoo, maradhoo, etc separately an island. Two schools, two island offices, two health centers in an island where it only takes maximum 15 minutes to cover by walk- with a combined population barely reaching a thousand or two is really ridiculous. With that comes ‘artificial ‘job creation in the civil and other services where public money is wasted for zero productivity (5 or 6 billion out of 7 billion revenue as salaries) and the result is fat and expensive administration.

We gave up the choice to have a lean administration with minimal costs and save the money to use for productive work that would contribute to better quality of life.

Its a win for the politicians a great loss for the people!

Comments

Anonymous said…

Having 2 Island offices, 2 schools, 2 courts...and so on is not a problem, but having 2 counsel is what a huge problem.
More than 100 islands are living less than 1000 people.., major enomic and developmental problem. So why governmnet cant rais up with new consolidated policy rather than encouraging that small population living isolate do they have any?

13 September 2010 at 13:49

Anonymous said…

maybe kandukos can fix your problem?

Maumoon vs. Kandukos

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BpE8pnHEGfE

14 September 2010 at 09:06

Divide and rule!

We are an unfortunate lot. I mean we are already divided geographically to insignificant proportions making it unsustainable, unfeasible and not viable to do and sustain anything valuable. (On top of that some bigger islands want to stay divided administratively to get two or more councils!!). In this state the perks available to any ruler is ignorance of his subjects, them being busy with their quarrels, arguments, and differences to notice the sorry state they are in. This makes The Maldives a heaven to get power, to stay in power and sustain that power without doing much, for centuries to come! Let me get to the point. According to last census, 75 islands have a population of less than 500, 58 islands have a pop. between 500-1000, and only 65 islands have more than 1000 pop. If I have my way, an inhabited island should have at least 1000 pop (which is not much). If it does not fit the criteria, the people should be offered the option to move to bigger islands. Any i

Towards a more equitable budget

The article was published in Maldives Economic Review in its December 2019 Issue 2. To read the full article click link at end World Bank in an introductory economic report on Maldives in 1979 states that “Male dominates the political, economic, and social structure of the country. It is here that a small national elite presides over the archipelago's affairs and takes decisions that are crucial to the well-being of the atolls. Not surprisingly, a disproportionate share of government expenditures directly benefits Male and ensures its residents a standard of living that is substantially higher than in the atolls The other islands now rely upon it as their main trading post and contact point with the rest of the world” Fifty years later Male’ has become one of the most congested cities in the world with a population density of 65,201 per km according to National Bureau of Statistics of Maldives. Top reasons for migration as per census is; as a return migrant, educati

Can we, women of this country, have some space to grow food and offer food security to our family?

Illustration by Aishath Rishtha Translation: “When the Last Tree Is Cut Down, the Last Fish Eaten, and the Last Stream Poisoned, You Will Realize That You Cannot Eat Money” The article was published in Maldives Economic Review in its March 2020 Issue 3. To read the full article click link at end 2014: Think about it? In 2014, I started writing a book using census and all available economic data on every atoll including data on how many uninhabited islands each atoll has. I thought that showing demographic, geographic and economic data will make people realize we need to do something about abandoning such rich resources for a congested living in Male’…. I shared the first draft with friends and mother thinking everyone will be very pleased. They weren’t happy. Major problem seemed to be - “just throwing data on people is not enough… we need to talk about some solutions. Take food security for one…..” Outline of the article 2014: Think about it? 2016: Write a

Voice of Maldives Islands

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