The number of members of the People's Majlis and independent bodies will be reduced, President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu said last night.
Speaking at a rally of the ruling People's National Congress (PNC), the President shared many of his plans for cutting costs with reducing the number of MPs and institutions as two important tasks.
“God willing, the government will propose amendments to laws to reduce the Majlis to 77 or to a reasonable number thereabouts and cap it instead of having the Majlis to be elected in the future at 93 or at a number that exceeds that,” the President said.
Many institutions were created by the Constitution and laws but a “big team” is not needed to do sincere work, the President said. The number of members in commissions will be reduced and commissions with similar mandates will be merged, he said.
“Members were determined in unusually large numbers to these places too as stated in the laws. In my view, five people, seven people, 10 people - commissions don’t need to have that many members. You don’t need to have a big team in order to do something with the people sincerely and faithfully,” he said.
Moreover, the President said last night that he wants to reduce the size of councils and to hold the presidential and parliamentary elections at the same time.
“I believe the most beneficial way for the Maldivian people would be to hold the presidential and People’s Majlis elections together. That way we can save at least MVR 120 million from public funds,” the President said.
The public will see the benefit of reducing the size of councils, the President said.
“When a President and Vice President are elected to the council as leaders on behalf of the public, that will be enough for small islands in terms of populations. And even if the number is made slightly bigger for somewhat larger islands in terms of population or for cities, I believe that making the size of councils smaller than now is the most beneficial to the public and most in line with the public pulse,” the President said.
