Law to be amended to mandate water and sewerage systems across all islands before 2028

The government has submitted an amendment to the Water and Sewerage Act to mandate the establishment and operationalization of water and sewerage systems across all residential islands in the Maldives before 2028.

The bill was submitted by ruling PNC’s Dhidhdhoo MP Abdul Latheef on behalf of the government.

The proposed amendments in the bill would mandate all relevant government authorities to work together to establish and operationalize water and sewerage systems across all residential islands in the Maldives before the end of 2027.

The Act presently states water and sewerage systems should be established and operationalized at all residential islands within five years from the date of ratification of the legislature.

The last MDP administration had commenced efforts to establish water and sewerage systems on many islands, citing that the administration would not differentiate between small and big islands. However, the majority of these projects remained unfinished at the end of the administration, which had also navigated the financial difficulties posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Notably, Infrastructure Minister Dr. Abdulla Muthalib, while speaking at the Parliament back in June, attributed the delays in operationalizing sewerage systems that have been completed at several islands to the failure to obtain documents required for the User Rights Agreement (URA) and the necessary permits from the Tender Board.

Speaking with residents of N. Manadhoo last night as part of his ongoing tour of Noonu Atoll, President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu assured that the sanitation issues faced on the island will be resolved within one and a half years.

One of the biggest criticisms against the incumbent administration is the failure to implement projects across the Maldives.

The current administration has defended its position, arguing that the budget approved by the 19th parliamentary assembly—dominated by now-opposition MDP—lacked adequate funding for essential projects, while some initiatives were allocated more funds than required.

Opposition MDP has criticized the government for its continued failure to implement projects even with the budget passed by the ongoing 20^th parliamentary assembly, where ruling PNC holds supermajority.

Finance Ministry statistics show a significant decline in spending on PSIP projects. Although MVR 12.4 billion was allocated for PSIP in this year’s budget, only MVR 1.5 billion had been spent as of June 12—compared to MVR 4.8 billion during the same period last year.