President Solih concludes trip to Gan for Viavathi conference

President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih concluded a two-day official visit to L. Gan to host the third edition of ‘Viavathi Raajje’ conference.

The third edition of the conference was focused around island council members and the representatives of the Women’s Development Committees (WDC) from Maldives’ southern atolls. Held on Sunday and Monday, the conference saw the participation of over 270 people including cabinet ministers, senior officials from government authorities and technical staff. Out of this, 107 were representatives of island councils and WDCs.

The purpose of the conference is to review the effective implementation of the decentralization policies and to ensure that people’s development aspirations are being met.

Before the conference kicked off – a sports festival was held on Saturday evening to build rapport amongst participants. 

The two-day conference featured four sessions with presentations and discussions on a variety of topics, including gender equality, the formulation of land-use plans, fiscal autonomy of local councils and building resilient communities. These sessions provided a platform for council and WDC members from the southern atolls to directly present their concerns to the President and collaborate on solutions with relevant parties.

President Solih signed the eighth amendment to the Decentralisation Act into law on December 15, 2019, at the first edition of ‘Viavathi Raajje’ conference, authorizing more fiscal and legal autonomy for local councils.