Kulhudhuffushi mayor questions LGA after atoll board halt

Kulhudhuffushi City Mayor Mohamed Athif has criticised the Local Government Authority's (LGA) decision to halt plans to establish a representative board comprising councils in Haa Dhaalu Atoll to coordinate regional development.

The proposal, put forward by Athif during a meeting with island council presidents from across the atoll, sought to establish a joint body through which councils could collaborate on development initiatives.

On Tuesday, the LGA informed the councils that such a board could not be established under the current legal framework.

In a letter to Athif, the authority said responsibility for overseeing island development matters had been transferred to the LGA following the dissolution of Atoll Councils.

Responding in a post on Facebook, Athif said he was surprised by the decision.

"I am simply left shocked," he wrote. "Does the LGA not understand its own legal responsibilities and powers?"

Athif said the proposed board was not intended to carry out the statutory responsibilities previously assigned to Atoll Councils or currently exercised by the LGA.

Instead, he said its purpose was to enable councils within Haa Dhaalu Atoll to work together on regional development and identify opportunities for cooperation that would benefit the atoll.

He also argued that the LGA's position was inconsistent with its own council performance assessment framework, which encourages cooperation between councils and includes such collaboration as an assessment criterion.

"We will not be backed into a corner by these kinds of intimidation tactics. The work we are doing on behalf of the rights of the people of this region cannot be stopped," Athif said.

In its letter, the LGA stated that, under the current legal framework, it did not consider the formation of a joint board by the Kulhudhuffushi City Council and other island councils in Haa Dhaalu Atoll to be legally permissible.

The authority also said that establishing an independent body above local councils would be inconsistent with the objectives of the amendments to the Decentralisation Act.

The LGA instructed the councils to suspend all work relating to the proposed board and requested clarification on the legal basis for the decision to establish it.