Sunday 5 February 2012

Court orders President Nasheed and the MDP regime to reinstate the Island and Atoll Development Committees.

The Atoll and Island Development Committees in the Maldives did an excellent job in serving the local communities as well as government administrative bodies in the islands and atolls for decades. The members always elected by the people serve as an important voice and are a vanguard for representation of the citizens in matters concerning their islands and atolls. Former President HE Gayoom gave the Island and Atoll Development Committees control in structuring of the visions and missions for the development of the islands and atolls. Moreover the Island and Atoll communities comprising of locally elected agents also engage in fund raising activities and in partnership with the government or in some cases exclusively facilitates public services including building of local schools and power houses.
However the MDP regime as soon as they came to power, have a problem with them. The Presidents handpicked politically appointed activists in the name of Councillors regard the Committees as an interference and a threat.
Always run on dictatorial and authoritarian lines, the Councillors came to direct conflict with the Development Committees. Although the expenses for most public service and infra structure development projects carried out at the island levels by the Development Committees came from the pockets of the people the MDP without consultation to any Independent sources that exist for such purposes got rid of the Committees. Then; in their place the Councillors tried to appoint local devotees and die hard party activists. To make matters worse, the Power Houses and other such income generating local services formed by the Committees and belonged to the people were claimed by the government. Before the income from such sources goes back to the people, community and community improvement projects.
A supplicated self sufficient structure of local administration with clear cut mandate for democratic representation was seen as an obstacle by the MDP regime. Continuous and purposeful delays exercised by the regime, in carrying out the decentralisation process stipulated in the Constitution means the President’s politically appointed Councillors continue with their despotic rule of the islands and atolls. When the Island and Atoll Development Committees existed, there was some kind of citizen representation. Since they were annulled the people are constantly deprived and the social problems in the communities from drug abuse, murder, to violent robberies are completely ignored. The Councillors hire and fire people in the Public Services as they please. They recruit people to harass and intimidate non-supporters.
Therefore few MP’s representing the main opposition party DRP took the matter to the Court and today, the Court and the Justice System has ruled in their favour and asked the MDP regime to reinstate the Island and Atoll Development Committees with immediate affect, until the decentralisation and local election gets carried out. The Court also restricted the government from abusing the income generated by the services established by the Committees as the rightful owners of such income are the communities and the people.
The MDP government running on dictatorial line thinks they can undermine the Judiciary system and Court Judgments. It will be interesting to see what they ultimately do. The politically appointed Councillors at the moment are having field days in running the extremely dictatorial regimes like kings. However it is in their best interest to respect the Court ruling.

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