PNC councillor resigns as Malé City Council audit committee chair within a day

Ahmed Saneeh Haneef, the People's National Congress (PNC) councillor for the Hulhumalé Medhu constituency, has resigned as Chair of the Malé City Council's Audit Committee less than 24 hours after his appointment.

Saneeh, who was elected to the council on the PNC ticket, previously served as Chief Real Estate Officer at the Housing Development Corporation (HDC). He was dismissed from that post following an issue involving the allocation of land under the 'Binveriya' housing scheme to an individual who was not eligible.

His appointment to lead the Audit Committee drew criticism on social media from supporters of the opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), which holds the majority in the council.

Following the criticism, an official from Malé City Council confirmed on Thursday that Saneeh had stepped down from the position.

The appointment also drew attention because of allegations of corruption relating to the period when President Dr Mohamed Muizzu served as Mayor of Malé.

Investigating those allegations was one of the commitments made by MDP candidates during the local council elections. The MDP currently holds all but two seats on the Malé City Council.

The council has not undergone a public external audit in recent years. Despite managing the largest budget and rental income among local councils, the most recent published audit report dates back to 2020.

The council has since carried out an internal audit. However, the matter became the subject of public attention this week after the council's Information Officer declined to release parts of the audit findings in response to a Right to Information request.

Mayor Adam Azim later said the decision to withhold the information had been taken by the Information Officer without consultation with the council or its senior management.