Pres. ratifies amendment extending deadline for water and sewerage works

President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu, on Monday, has ratified the amendment to the Water and Sewerage Act, extending the deadline to establish water and sewerage services across all inhabited islands by two years.

The government-backed bill to amendment to the Water and Sewerage Act, sponsored by Dhidhdhoo MP Abdul Latheef Mohamed, requires the establishment of adequate water and sewerage systems at all residential islands all residential islands.

Parliament passed the bill in a 61-7 vote on August 11^th.

President Muizzu ratified the bill on Monday.

Under the previous version of the Water and Sewerage Act, all necessary steps to establish and operate water and sewerage systems on residential islands were required to be completed within five years of the law's enactment.

Since the Act came into effect in 2020, this meant the deadline for completion would fall at the end of this year—unless amended through legislation.

The former MDP-led government had launched numerous water and sewerage projects across islands of all sizes. However, the COVID-19 pandemic severely disrupted the completion of many of these initiatives during its tenure.

The current government's amendment proposal came after Housing Minister Dr. Abdulla Muthalib’s statement to Parliament in June. He noted that service delivery on many islands—despite completed sanitation projects—had been delayed due to missing documentation required for User Rights Agreements (URAs) and the lack of necessary approvals from the tender board.

Project implementation challenges across various regions have persisted since the new administration took office. The government has blamed its failure to carry out projects in remote areas last year on the 2024 budget approved by the 19th Parliament. It described the budget, passed by the then-MDP-dominated legislature, as a “mockery,” arguing that it lacked sufficient funding for these critical projects.