Mayor Azim stated that, although the decision was difficult to accept as the facility was built with funds from the council's budget, the council would comply with the government’s directive.
Male' City Council has been instructed to transfer the management of the Olhu Hiyaa cat facility to the Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Welfare.
During a general council meeting, Male' City Mayor Adam Azim read a letter received from the Ministry, which stated that the Cabinet had decided to place the facility under the ministry’s management. This decision followed a directive from the President’s Office, which had instructed the Ministry to convert Olhu Hiyaa into a permanent facility and oversee its operations.
The letter from requested the Male' City Council to meet with the Ministry on December 4th at 11:00 hrs for discussions, in accordance with the provisions of Article 10 of the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed between the council and the Ministry on February 22.
Mayor Azim stated that, although the decision was difficult to accept as the facility was built with funds from the council's budget, the council would comply with the government’s directive.
He said that the facility was ready, and the cats were prepared to be moved there.
Deputy Mayor Ahmed Nareesh also said that, while the council would not oppose the transfer, the council should be compensated for the expenses incurred in building the facility.
Other councilors supported the idea that the council should be reimbursed for the costs. Some suggested that the transfer should not take place until the facility’s a date was confirmed to begin services at the facility. The council unanimously agreed to proceed in this manner.
While Male' City Council is currently preparing to begin transferring cats to the facility, the Ministry has stated their reservations against doing so, citing that the facility does not have all the necessary services and ordered the work to be stopped for the time being.
In a statement issued yesterday, the ministry said although SOPs and plans to follow in transferring cats to the facility have been earlier shared with the Council, no response has been received so far. With the SOPs not being followed as of yet, transferring cats to the facility may negatively affect the health of the cats, the Ministry said, and there stands a risk that adequate care cannot be provided for the cats.
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