Malé, Maldives – Three months have passed without a CEO to run the National Drug Agency (NDA).
The President’s Office assigned Deputy Health Minister Shamaau Shareef as the Chairman of the board at NDA on June 28. Meanwhile, the board and management was previously reshuffled with 5 members removed from the board and members reassigned to the board from the Education Ministry, Home Ministry, Youth Minister, Health Ministry and the President’s Office.
The Drugs Act (Law No. 17/77) of Maldives dictates that the Maldives President must assign the National Drug Control Council, who shall advise the president on the policies on combatting drug trafficking in the Maldives, the prevention of use of drugs and policies relating to the rehabilitation of drug dependence persons.
The National Drug Control Council shall consist of the following 12 (twelve) members, the Vice President of Maldives, various ministers and the heads of Customs and Immigration, the Prosecutor General and Attorney General.
The Drug Act also states that the National Drug Agency shall be managed, with the advice of the Board of the Agency, by the Chief Executive Officer appointed by the Board, and the board must have 10 members.
The National Drug Agency shall be managed, with the advice of the Board of the Agency, by the Chief Executive Officer appointed by the Board… and shall have the qualifications stipulated in the Regulations made by the Agency under this Act.
Drugs Act of Maldives (Law No. 17/77)
While the CEO is responsible for the running of NDA, the position has remained empty since the departure of former CEO Mohamed Habeeb on 16 May 2021. Prior to Habeeb the NDA CEO Hassan Shaheel resigned after just four months.
The Agency has been shifted back and forth from Gender Ministry and Health Ministry and since the resignation of Habeeb on May 16, there have been no job announcements for the CEO of NDA position.
