Over 200 councilors to convene in Crossroads at President’s invite

Over 200 councilors from local councils across Maldives are scheduled to convene for a symposium in Crossroads Maldives at the invitation of President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih this Sunday.

A spokesperson from the President’s Office told Sun that the councilors are convening for a two-day symposium, Viyavathi. He said that the symposium is designed to familiarize local councils regarding the recent significant amendments to the Decentralization Act, and the State Budget 2020.

“The amendments passed by the Parliament to the Decentralization Act and the 2020 budget will be discussed during this symposium. President Solih will be in attendance during both days the symposium will be held,” said the spokesperson.

According to the spokesperson, the President will ratify the amendments to the Decentralization Act during the symposium, which will begin at 1:30 pm this Sunday.

“This program will be attended by Speaker of Parliament, Cabinet ministers and other stakeholder,” he said.

THE AGENDA:

• Ratification of Decentralization Bill
• Keynote speeches by President Solih, and Speaker Mohamed Nasheed
• Panel discussion partaken by President Solih and Speaker Nasheed
• Presentation on the significant budget allocated to local councils
• Briefing by Foreign Minister regarding foreign policy
• Discussion on improving productivity of local councils
• Discussion on the role of councils in executing government policies
• Discussion on waste management
• Discussion on combatting religious radicalization
• Discussion on experiences of local councils

The spokesperson said that at least one councilor from each island will be attending the symposium, and that 80 percent of the councilors are presidents of their respective councils.

The closing ceremony of the symposium will be held at 4:30 pm on Monday. The Parliament has made key amendments to the Constitution and the Decentralization Act, including increasing the term of a councilor to five years, and allocating a significant portion of the State Budget to councils, and reserving 33 percent of council seats for women.