Male’ Mayor: We have requested for budget to pay WAMCO

Male’ City Mayor Dr. Mohamed Muizzu states that the Male’ City Council has requested the government for a buget allocation to settle over MVR 30 million in outstanding bills to Waste Management Corporation (WAMCO). 

WAMCO announced last week that the Male’ City Council owes the corporation MVR 30.5 million in outstanding bills. 

Muizzu responded in a tweet on Friday evening that the Male’ City Council already owed MVR 30 million in outstanding bills when he took office in May. 

“The MVR 30 million was already owed to WAMCO when we took office on May 17, 2021. We have requested a budget to make the payments,” he said. 

In a press conference on Thursday evening, WAMCO’s Chief Financial Officer Abdul Haleem Abdul Gafoor said WAMCO and Male’ City Council regularly communicate regarding financial matters, and that the corporation sends letters reminding the council of outstanding bills. 

“If we were to talk about the city council, the latest records show the city council owes WAMCO MVR 30.5 million,” he said. 

The latest dispute between Male’ City Council and WAMCO arose after the corporation resumed doorstep waste collection services in the Maldivian capital last Wednesday. 

While it is WAMCO’s standard service to provide doorstep waste collection services, the corporation had stopped doorstep waste collection and asked households to put out waste in the streets during waste collection hours as a precautionary measure due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The move also meant WAMCO collected waste from both registered and unregistered households. 

Though WAMCO resumed its doorstep waste collection services on Wednesday, some households had put waste out in the streets. 

The waste on the streets was collected by Male’ City Council, and dropped off outside WAMCO’s gates on Thursday morning – an incident which Deputy Mayor Ahmed Nareesh insisted was not deliberate, and resulted due to “miscommunication” between council and WAMCO workers. 

Male’ City Council has apologized to WAMCO over the incident.