The Gaaf Dhaal atoll council spent MVR 837,000 on a trip to Turkiye and Dubai this year, Deputy Speaker Ahmed Nazim said yesterday, expressing concern over irresponsible spending by councils.
Debating the fiscal responsibility bill, Dhiggaru MP Nazim said that some laws have facilitated a situation where the state does not have power over fiscal responsibility. Councils have been exercising legal powers without any fiscal responsibility, he said.
“The government will give MVR 2.4 billion as a block grant to councils in 2024. At a time when the economy is down, it’s been noted that atoll councils have been travelling to Turkiye, Dubai and Bangkok,” Nazim said.
Haa Alif atoll council members have planned a trip to Bangkok for the upcoming Independence Day holidays on July 26, Nazim said, sharing details of overseas travel by the Gaaf Dhaal atoll council this year.
“MVR 837,078.96 was spent for Gaaf Dhaal atoll councillors to travel to Turkiye for 12 days and Dubai for three days. Dollars were bought from the black market for MVR 17.60 [per dollar]. This is not what we should be doing. We need to be responsible,” Nazim revealed.
Councils will be brought in line with the government even if it requires amending the decentralisation law, he said.
Hassan Faihath Qudrathullah, the Gaaf Dhaal atoll council president, was elected on a Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) ticket. The council has one independent member, four Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) members and four members from the ruling Progressive Party of Maldives-People's National Congress (PPM-PNC) coalition.
