Galolhu North Constituency Member of Parliament Mohamed Ibrahim (Kudoo) has sent a letter to Minister of Gender Geela Ali requesting her to check whether the case of the children who neglected the elderly man living in a destitute condition alone in GDh. Faresmathoda has been submitted to the relevant authorities for investigation.
The man, who is over 70 years old, was brought under state care after living alone in a destitute condition for many years. According to people who spoke from the island, although the man has two adult children, he did not receive any care from them.
In connection with the matter, the member requested to clarify in his letter to the Minister whether the Ministry has submitted the case of children who failed to care for their parents to the relevant authorities under the Family Act.
According to the letter, the elderly man had to live in a destitute condition for two years due to a delay in bringing him under state care. As known, this situation occurred because there was no vacancy at the Special Needs Centre located in K. Guraidhoo.
Therefore, Kudoo questioned whether leaving a lone individual in destitution on the grounds that there is no vacancy at the Guraidhoo centre constitutes state negligence. Kudoo also requested details of the efforts made so far to increase capacity at such centres.
In the letter, the member also raised the question of why there is no mechanism within the system to arrange a temporary caregiver at the island level to look after individuals in situations where vacancies are not available from centres. Furthermore, the letter requested clarification on why the establishment of a national system to permanently provide government assistance to the elderly is being delayed.
The affairs of the man living in a destitute condition alone were previously being looked after by the Faresmathoda Council and the police. Both of these institutions were also the ones that requested for the man to be brought under state care due to the destitute condition he was living in.
