Seems like miniature governments have come into existence: Dr Hassan

Special Advisor to the President Dr Hassan Saeed last night said that the current situation in the local governance system seems like miniature governments have come into existence that are trying to seize more power and authority not available to them. Speaking during a ceremony to inaugurate the training program for finance officers in the local councils, Dr Hassan said that the main government has had to reclaim some of the powers vested in the local councils. He added that the result of the incompetent use of the authority by the councils is the loss confidence of the people.

“We recently created a Commission called the Human Rights Commission. At the time it came into existence in 2004/5 everyone was talking about the Human Rights Commission. People will say if they are aggrieved they would make full use of the Human Rights Commission. At the time people had confidence in it. However, that faith in the Commission has now been lost. Because of the way it functioned. Couldn’t adapt to the change in circumstances,” Dr Hassan said.

He also stressed that our actions at the infant stage of the local government system threatened the future of the whole system.

“Once the faith in a system is lost, it is not so easily restored,” he added.

Dr Hassan further said that although the constitution stipulates that the Maldives is a unitary State, sometimes it does not seem so. He added that the due to the actions of some people running the councils the State has become more like a federation or miniature governments divided as a union.

President’s Special Advisor stressed that the purpose of the local system is to facilitate even the ordinary people to meet an elected individual and voice their concerns.

“The channel has been established as not everyone can meet the ministers of the main government,” he said.
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