The result of the government's policy of not discriminating between small and large islands in carrying out development projects can be seen in the small island of Veyvah, President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih said today.
Speaking in Veyvah during his campaign tour of Meemu atoll, the president repeated his criticism of previous governments neglecting Meemu atoll.
"As the islands of Meemu atoll have small populations, they were put on the bottom of the list for development projects by governments then, including Veyvah," he said.
The results of corrective policies proposed by the Maldivian Democratic Party's (MDP) 'Jazeera Raajje' manifesto have started to appear, the president said.
"The only pledge made during the presidential election was harbor expansion. That has been completed. New buildings were needed for the new powerhouse and the school and the council administration needed to be repaired as the office could not be used and the magistrate court building needed renovation - all of this was listed and started and a lot of the work has been finished," he said, listing projects undertaken on the small island.
The president urged the people of Veyvah to share what they needed for the next five years.
"What's been noted so far is protection from beach erosion. God willing, we will do that as something to be included in our manifesto," the president said.
The president also pledged to resolve some problems with the harbor and to build a modern turf football pitch for the island's youth.
"We're going forward swiftly with providing essential services to the public without discriminating between small islands and big islands, we're doing that work swiftly," he said.
The president also said he expected unprecedented support from Meemu atoll in this year's election.
"As a result of the work done in Meemu atoll these past five years, our coalition will win a large majority of Meemu atoll in the votes cast on September 9," he said.
In his Meemu atoll trip, the president repeated criticism about the people of Meemu atoll being left behind in development.
Speaking at a campaign rally in Naalaafushi yesterday, the president said political decisions made by politicians were to blame for the failure to develop small islands.
"Development was not brought to such small islands as this because the leader at the time prioritized political interest. They always saw the election to be held in the next five years. So they only targeted places where they could get votes. Places with more votes. As politicians see it, the 384 people who live on this island are not too important, considering the vote," the president said yesterday.
But the vision of the allied parties is to ensure essential services to every citizen in their place of residence, he said.
