Housing minister declines meeting request from Malé City Council

Minister of Housing, Land and Urban Development Dr Abdulla Muththalib has declined a request to meet members of the Malé City Council, asking instead that all communication be conducted in writing.

The issue was discussed during the council's general meeting on Wednesday, where Mayor Adam Azim said councillors had been seeking a meeting with the minister for two years to discuss development projects and public concerns affecting Malé.

According to Azim, all councillors, including the mayor, visited the ministry last Wednesday in an attempt to meet the minister. The ministry informed them that Muththalib was unavailable and said a meeting would be arranged for the following Monday.

However, Azim said the meeting did not take place and that the council instead received a letter from the minister.

According to the mayor, the letter stated that written communication would be preferable because the mayor had previously misrepresented verbal discussions and was not cooperating with government development projects in Malé.

The letter also requested that any matters for discussion be submitted in writing.

Azim rejected the minister's claims, stating that he had never held a meeting or telephone conversation with Muththalib.

“I have never spoken with him verbally or over the phone,” Azim said during the council meeting.

The mayor said the council had sought discussions on several issues, including road development projects, the availability of cemetery space, housing matters, redevelopment of the Malé Local Market and what he described as a lack of consultation on housing projects.

According to Azim, road development works planned for Malé are expected to commence this year under a contract awarded to a Chinese contractor, and the council has requested information on the project.

He also said the council had requested additional land for cemetery use due to capacity concerns and had sought discussions on housing-related issues affecting the city.

Azim further stated that the council's housing committee had not been consulted on housing projects being implemented by the ministry.

On the redevelopment of the Malé Local Market, he reiterated the council's position that existing agreements linked to the site must first be resolved before the land can be handed over for a new project.

The mayor said these matters had previously been raised with President Mohamed Muizzu following his assumption of office. He added that the council later wrote to the President's Office and was advised to coordinate directly with the relevant ministries.

According to Azim, letters were subsequently sent to several ministries, but the council had not received responses.

“Therefore, I urge the minister to make time and fulfil his responsibilities. Let us work within the law and work together to resolve these matters,” he said.

Azim also stated that the council had already submitted information and requests in writing as requested by the minister but had not received replies.

“Everything has already been sent in writing, and not a single document has received a reply so far,” he said.

During the meeting, Hulhumalé South councillor Ahmed Ghalib said cooperation between the council and the government depended on cooperation from the ministry.

He argued that the council's requests for a meeting were driven by concerns requiring discussion and called on Muththalib to resign from his post.

Some councillors also proposed staging a sit-in at the ministry until a meeting is granted. However, no decision was taken on the proposal as it was not included in the meeting agenda.