Male' City Group of Hospitals CEO Ibrahim Haleem warned last night that electing opposition candidates in the upcoming Local Council Elections would hinder councils working together with ministries.
Haleem made these comments at the rally held last night to inaugurate the ruling People's National Congress (PNC)'s South Galolhu Campaign Hub.
Haleem further said that the opposition claims that those who will hold the government accountable should be elected to every council.
However, thorough review of the Decentralization Act had not shown any articles requiring council members to hold the government accountable, he said.
Instead Article 2 of the Act states that the purpose of decentralization is for the councils to be answerable to the citizens under democratic principles, Haleem said.
Bearing this in mind, it is imperative to elect candidates who will work together with the government, Haleem said. It is only through electing councilors who will work in this manner that President Dr Mohamed Muizzu's vision for the Male' area as well can be realized, he added.
"When looking at the powers of a city council in that law, there are a lot of powers granted. However, nowhere in it is there a mention of candidates, councils or councilors having to hold the government accountable," Haleem said.
Instead, the law calls for councils to extend cooperation to ministries' work and to do the necessary, he stated.
The law further calls to conduct activities in compliance with policies set by relevant ministries, he continued. The law also stipulates that plans for use of land under council jurisdiction to be made in compliance with advice from ministries and ward offices.
Haleem said that he cannot understand how such work can be conducted if opposition candidates are elected. He urged the public to also consider this.
Haleem then spoke of the Male' City Council. Although there are numerous committees under the council, all their work stops at the Mayor, he said. This is because once committee reports are submitted to the Mayor, the Mayor may then 'hide away the reports in his drawer', he claimed, framing this as a reason why a PNC mayor should be elected.
The mayoral candidate running on a PNC ticket is Moosa Ali Jaleel, who has served previously as Defence Minister and Chief of Defence Force.
