Malé, Maldives – President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih has on Monday reconstituted the board for the Local Government Authority (LGA), appointing Minister of Home Affairs, Sheikh Imran Abdullah, as the Chairman.
The President reconstituded the LGA as per Article 59 (a) (2) of the Decentralisation Act (Act No. 7/2010) and appointed the Home Minister as the chairman as per the Article 140 of the Maldives’ Constitution, which mandates that a cabinet member should be responsible for overseeing bodies established by the legislature or executive (with the exception of constitutionally-mandated independent state bodies).
Following Article 64 of the Decentralisation Act, President Solih appointed Fathmath Afshan Latheef as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the LGA Board. Further, the President appointed the Minister of State for Finance, Ahmed Shareef, to the LGA board to oversee all financial matters of the authority as per Article 59 of the Decentralisation Act.
Local Government Authority (LGA) is a state institution established under the Decentralisation Act to regulate, oversee and develop the local governance system of Maldives as envisioned in the Constitution.
The Decentralization Act confers the following mandate on LGA.
- Monitor to ensure that the work and activities of councils created under this Act function in accordance with the Constitution, the Decentralisation Act and other Laws;
- Coordinate the work of the councils at national Level;
- Perform all other responsibilities mandated to the LGA under the Decenralisation Act;
- Monitor and harmonise standards and procedures, work activities, and regulations formulated by different councils;
- To formulate a mechanism to demark the boundaries of the administrative divisions set forth in the Decentralisation Act;
- Formulate rules of procedures for Women Development Committees as defined in the Decentralisation Act and conduct elections for the WDC’s and monitor performance;
- Identify training needs and conduct programs for capacity building of local councils.
The LGA aims to Assist Local Councils in achieving Sustainable Development Goals and ensure fiscal decentralization.
