LGA urges to expedite depositing block grants to councils

Local Government Authority (LGA) has requested the government to expedite state allocated financial assistance to local councils.

In a letter signed by the LGA's Director General Adam Shareef Ahmed to Minister of Finance Dr. Mohamed Shafeeq last Sunday, he stated that some councils were expressing concern over the delay in receiving the monthly block grants allocated to them.

The councils have also expressed concerns about the difficulty in contacting the Finance Ministry to clarify the reason for the delay in receiving the grant, as well as other related matters, the letter read.

"Many councils are paying their employees' salaries and other recurrent expenses monthly through the block grant allocated to the council. If the block grant is delayed, employee salaries might not be paid at the end of the month, leading to employee dissatisfaction," the letter read.

Therefore, LGA requested the government to deposit the block grant as soon as possible and if the block grant for a council is withheld for any reason, it should be communicated to the council and LGA. A system should also be established to enable councils and the LGA to easily contact the Ministry of Finance.

Expressing concern over the delay in receiving the block grant, Vaavu atoll Council President Shujau Ali said that earlier, the grant was deposited on the 20th of each month or the first two weeks of each month.

However, now the previous month's grant is not deposited even by the middle of the next month, he said.

"The amount allocated for the year was divided into 12 months which had been deposited monthly in a timely manner. There was no issues before. However, now many island councils and atoll councils are facing this problem," he said.

Since 2020, the state budget allocation to councils has changed to "block grants" or state-allocated grants. The amount of the financial grant is determined in relation to the state's revenue.