Islands bereft; islanders leave for greener grass
Finance minister Ameer said that due to budget deficits already incurred, the government is going to halt all expenditures on new projects.
By
Azuhaar Abdul Azeez
There is a VR Cafe’ in Male. There are several themed parks, skill development institutions, volunteering opportunities, sports venues, coffee shops vying for style and variety, and if you step to any beach side, plenty of water sports youth to offer a jet ski ride or a banana boat ride. So many things to do, so many things to see.
Yet, even the Male youth look for more recreation here. So, could former president and current Speaker of Parliament Mohamed Nasheed be wrong in saying that the new generation of Maldivian youth prefer city life to island life?
The public takes note of statements Nasheed makes, and often discards them in derogatory tones, but we here at Atoll Times have spoken with enough youth to ascertain that this is our crude reality.
For decades now, islanders have protested on being treated like second class citizens, and the government, whichever political party is leading at the given time, struggles with the national budget, to ensure the people in the atolls that they are not any less than the capital city residents.
This is no easy task. The Maldives is spread out on the Indian ocean, scattered into atolls. Transport is a challenge to begin with, but the government has ensured that almost all the islands have education and health facilities, most even have STO pharmacies. Regardless of population size, geographical isolation and even government revenue these islands can procure, the governments of Maldives have consistently tried to improve island standards of living.
At Wednesday's parliament session, finance minister Ibrahim Ameer said that due to budget deficits already incurred, the government is going to halt all expenditures on new projects under the Public Sector Investment Programme (PSIP).
PSIP is the main tool through which the government sets out to achieve economic development objectives and deliver on the pledges it has made to the people. Under PSIP, schools in the atolls get funding for structural and technological developments. PSIP will also grant local government authorities the funding needed to make land plans and infrastructural developments on the islands.
Sure, the whole Maldives’ population is equivalent to that of a single state in gigantic countries like India, and we earn plenty through our high-end tourism industry, but developing each and every island in the Maldives individually will be a huge challenge for any government.
There are 1,192 islands in total, of which 187 are inhabited as local populations. It is absolutely necessary that each island has a strong sea wall, considering the nether-land status of Maldives and the global climate change effects we are experiencing. Where there are people, there must be health facilities, commerce, governing bodies and educational institutions. These are the very basics of any community, and the Maldivian governments have always tried to cater to the local islands as well.
Still, the growing concern of migration to the capital city has become a major issue for debate, in the parliament even.
Considering the reasons why people leave their beautiful island homes with as pure environmental conditions as are available in this modern era:
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Every parent dreams of offering their children with the best educational opportunities, and even though the island schools follow the same curriculum as that in Male schools, parents still believe Male schools have more to offer their children. Higher education is another story completely, with the majority of colleges and universities headquartered in the capital.
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For employment opportunities, since the islands have limited jobs for the population present. If someone wants a specialised career, they have no option but to migrate. Field variety is limited in islands as per their developmental levels.
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For better health care. Even if not to migrate, Male sees a vast increase in travellers from the atolls every holiday period, and the majority of these people come for surgeries, specialist consultations and medical investigations they are unable to get in their atolls, let alone their islands.
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Apart from the free basic education offered by the governments, parents also wish for their children to harness other skills and experiences. They see what Male has to offer, so they pack up their children and leave their homes for a more robust lifestyle instead of the quiet island life. These are purely recreational needs.
The Hulhumale Magistrate Court, for example, is being dissolved, because magistrate courts are only established in the atoll districts. Judicial services are going to rename the court as per regulations, and redeem the employees in the new court branch that shall replace the magistrate courts. What of the magistrates that served in Hulhumale Court? Certified magistrates, as the name implies, should work in magistrate courts, and they have no option but to continue their careers in the atolls now. The magistrates working in the atolls now are few and stretched around the islands, doing judicial tours.
Everyone has a specific reason for leaving their islands behind, but development is carried upon the shoulders of the people. So how can leaving their islands improve any of the conditions these migrants wish to change? The lesser populated islands are left with the people who cannot afford migrating to Male, and the prevalent problems remain as they are. It is high time the government considered addressing these issues, so that decentralisation can actually help the people.
