Malé council to launch community engagement unit in Hulhumalé

The Malé City Council has approved the establishment of a Community Engagement Unit in Hulhumalé to monitor municipal issues and follow up on complaints while the transfer of municipal responsibilities from the Housing Development Corporation (HDC) remains unresolved.

The proposal was submitted by Hulhumalé South councillor Ahmed Ghalib during the council's general meeting on Wednesday.

Presenting the proposal, Ghalib said residents had raised concerns over issues including waste management, street lighting and public safety. He said residents were also facing difficulties in accessing municipal services and had requested the introduction of community wardens, similar to the arrangements in Malé and Vilimalé.

Ghalib also said there were no legal obstacles preventing the council from providing municipal services in Hulhumalé.

Mayor Adam Azim said the Community Engagement Unit already oversees municipal affairs in Malé and Vilimalé. However, he noted that assigning existing staff to Hulhumalé would create staffing shortages elsewhere, making it necessary to recruit a separate team for the suburb.

The council approved the following measures:

Azim said the unit's role would be to monitor HDC's delivery of municipal services until responsibility is transferred to the council.

"As HDC continues to manage these services, our responsibility is to monitor whether they are carrying out their duties. If they are not, we must bring the issues to their attention and follow up," he said.

The council also decided to hold a ceremony to introduce environment wardens and formally launch the Community Engagement Unit in Hulhumalé.

During the meeting, councillors expressed concern over HDC's management of municipal services and the continued delay in transferring responsibility for Hulhumalé to the council.

Azim said the council had repeatedly written to HDC seeking discussions on the transfer but had not received a response. He also rejected claims by President Dr Mohamed Muizzu that the council had been unwilling to assume responsibility for Hulhumalé's municipal services.

Following the meeting, the council decided that its officials would visit HDC headquarters to seek discussions with the corporation's management.

The Malé City Council has repeatedly requested the transfer of Hulhumalé's municipal services from HDC, maintaining that the process has been delayed because the corporation has not cooperated.

Before becoming President, Dr Muizzu had publicly supported bringing Hulhumalé under the administration of the Malé City Council. However, when questioned about the issue at a public meeting after taking office, he said the transfer had been delayed because the council was unwilling to take over the services, a claim the council continues to reject.