It has been revealed that Malé City Council spent over MVR 1 million to hold its public meetings this year.
According to information obtained last month on the 20th under the Right to Information Act by an individual named Ahmed Aiham, MVR 567,839 was spent on the public meeting held last February.
The largest expenditure was incurred for event management. In that regard, the work was awarded through bidding for MVR 360,000. Additionally, the information shows that MVR 135,000 was spent on preparing the video presentation for the meeting.
Cost Details of the First Meeting:
- Banner printing: MVR 30,024
- TV Live: MVR 34,607
- Meeting event management: MVR 360,000
- Meeting video presentation: MVR 135,000
Five months later, MVR 585,137 was spent on the public meeting held last month. That includes MVR 360,000 for event management and MVR 129,600 for the video presentation awarded through single-source procurement.
Cost Details of the Second Meeting:
- TV Live: MVR 34,607
- Banner printing: MVR 34,992
- A photographer and a videographer: MVR 18,000
- For hanging banners: MVR 5,702
- Book printing: MVR 2,235
- Meeting event management: MVR 360,000
- Meeting video presentation: MVR 129,600
Under the Decentralization Act, two meetings are held each year to seek public opinion on the work done by the council. The first meeting must be held in February and the second meeting in July.
Although the City Council spent over MVR 1.1 million on these two legally mandated meetings, decorating the hall for these meetings in a manner similar to holding a major ceremony drew criticism from many people.
