Zariyand pledges council control of Hulhumalé if elected mayor

Independent mayoral candidate Ismail Zariyand said that Hulhumalé falls under the responsibility of the Malé City Council and that, if elected, he would place the administration of the area under the supervision of ward committees.

Zariyand made the remarks in a post on X while outlining his position on the management of municipal services in Hulhumalé.

At present, municipal services in Hulhumalé are provided by Housing Development Corporation (HDC), which also owns the land in the area. When President Mohamed Muizzu served as mayor of Malé, he had advocated for the transfer of municipal responsibilities in Hulhumalé to the Malé City Council.

The transfer of these responsibilities was also included in President Muizzu’s election pledges. In line with this, an order was issued on 31 December 2023 to transfer municipal services to the city council. However, two years later, services continue to be managed by HDC.

Zariyand, who is contesting the upcoming council elections with the support of former President Abdulla Yameen, said the Constitution requires the decentralisation of administrative responsibilities.

He said Hulhumalé, as part of the Malé City Council area, cannot be excluded from the responsibilities assigned to the council under Article 40 of the Decentralisation Act. He said the transfer of authority is a legal requirement and not a matter of discretion.

“I will carry out the legal and administrative work required to transfer these responsibilities in accordance with the law and through the ward committees to be established,” Zariyand wrote.

President Muizzu had earlier said that Hulhumalé is part of the city and that municipal services were being managed by a company without a legal basis.

At a recent meeting with residents, he was asked why HDC remains in charge of municipal services in Hulhumalé. In response, the President said the transfer had not taken place because the city council had not taken over the services.