The sectors represented on the Board of the National Drug Agency (NDA) have been changed, and the requirements for the position of CEO have been made more stringent.
Last Thursday, the agency introduced the first amendments to the NDA Board’s administrative regulations, which had been in effect since 2014. These changes include:
- Previously, the NDA Board consisted of members from 10 different agencies. However, representatives from the President’s Office, Ministry of Defence, Immigration, and Customs have been replaced by other institutions.
- An official appointed by the Ministry of Social and Family Development from among staff involved in implementing social protection policies.
- An official appointed by the Ministry of Social and Family Development from among staff working to protect children's rights.
- An official appointed by the Maldives Correctional Service from among staff involved in determining policies related to providing drug treatment for persons in custody.
Further amendments were made regarding the requirements for the CEO. Previously, the position required an educational background in Business Administration, Public Administration, or Human Resource Management.
According to the new amendment, if an applicant has a Master’s degree or higher in one of these fields, they must have 2 years of experience. If the applicant holds a qualification lower than a Master’s degree, they must have 5 years of work experience.
The previous requirements stated that if an individual held a Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Business Management, Public Administration, Human Resource Management, or Social Sciences, they were required to have 5 years of experience in management and 10 years of experience in senior management.
While the CEO of the NDA was previously appointed for a term of three years, that duration has now been increased to 5 years.
NDA, which faces significant public criticism, currently does not have a permanent CEO. Since July 2024, the agency has been overseen by Deputy Minister Mohamed Rashid, following the dismissal of the previous CEO, Imad Solih.
