LGA advises councils against issuing Malé residency letters without official records

The Local Government Authority (LGA) has requested island and city councils not to issue letters certifying 15 years of continuous residency in Malé for the government’s "Boahiyaavahikan Enmenah" program unless they maintain official, verifiable records of such residency.

In a letter sent to councils, the LGA noted that many individuals have been approaching council offices for these documents, leading councils to seek guidance from the authority.

The LGA clarified that under the current housing guidelines, residency documents are only valid if they are based on data officially maintained by a state institution. If a council does not have pre-existing official records to verify an applicant's duration of stay in Malé, it cannot legally issue a letter to that effect.

The LGA emphasized that "if a person's duration of stay in Malé cannot be verified based on official records kept by the council, we advise the council not to issue such a document to any party."

The authority also warned that legal action has been taken in the past against officials who issued unverified or false residency letters.

Following this directive, several councils, such as the Madaveli Council, have officially announced they will not be issuing these residency certificates as they do not maintain the necessary records.

Housing Minister Dr. Abdulla Muththalib supported this stance in a recent interview, stating that a council president cannot issue a letter based on personal knowledge or "what they feel in their heart"; documents must be based on institutional records.

To assist those who may not have official institutional records, the Minister explained that the government has provided alternative ways to prove the 15-year residency. Applicants can submit employment records, official documents showing they raised a family in Malé, or even a letter from a landlord.

However, Muthalib stressed that such private letters must be notarized by a lawyer to ensure legal accountability for both the lawyer and the person providing the information, to eliminate the loss of rights for eligible citizens through false claims.

This stricter documentation process follows allegations and an ACC investigation into the previous "Gedhoruveriya" scheme, where some councils were accused of providing false residency documents.