Addu City Mayor Ali Nizar has criticized President Dr Mohamed Muizzu's decision to remove Savaaheli from the jurisdiction of Addu City Council for tourism development, calling on the government to reverse the decision.
The government removed Savaaheli from Addu's administrative jurisdiction last Wednesday under powers granted to the President by the Decentralization Act, which allows the head of state to determine the jurisdiction of city and island councils.
Savaaheli is an uninhabited island located southwest of Feydhoo and Maradhoo-Feydhoo in Addu City. In 2021, the Addu City Council decided to develop the island as part of its tourism expansion plans.
On the 19th of this month, the council opened bidding for the development of recreational facilities in Savaaheli as part of the Addu City Tourism Zone. According to the council, companies had already begun purchasing bid documents when the island was removed from its jurisdiction.
Speaking at a press conference, Nizar said the council had written to the President's Office in May last year seeking special permission to proceed with tourism development in Savaaheli.
He said the government removed the island from the council's jurisdiction without responding to that request.
"Companies had already purchased the bid documents. We had spent a long time preparing the project, and after announcing it, we were shocked. We woke up to find in the Government Gazette that Savaaheli's jurisdiction had been changed. It was no longer under the council," Nizar said.
He argued that land in Addu belongs to the people of the city and should not be controlled by authorities in Male'.
Nizar said the government introduced the change without any consultation or official correspondence with the council, describing the decision as being imposed unilaterally.
"There are legal ways of doing this, and this is not one of them. It should not be done in a way that interferes with the council's development work," he said.
He called on the government to review its decision and restore Savaaheli to the jurisdiction of the Addu City Council.
"We are not happy with the way the change to Savaaheli's jurisdiction was carried out. We oppose it and ask the government to reconsider its decision and return Savaaheli to the Addu City Council," Nizar said.
The mayor said Savaaheli and the Feydhoo Tourism Zone should be developed as a single integrated project.
He warned that separating the two projects could undermine tourism development in Addu and discourage investment.
According to Nizar, local businesses have already invested in tourism development in the Feydhoo Tourism Zone and are concerned that the sudden policy change could affect the security of those investments.
He also accused the government of implementing policies that hinder Addu's economic development and discourage private investment.
Nizar said nearly 400 tourist rooms in the Feydhoo Tourism Zone are close to completion and that the number is expected to reach 1,000 rooms by 2028.
The Addu City Council first announced plans to develop Savaaheli for tourism in April last year. However, development was delayed after amendments to the law gave the President the authority to designate uninhabited islands for tourism through publication in the Government Gazette.
The government has said Savaaheli was removed from the Addu City Council's jurisdiction to facilitate tourism development.
