New mayor says projects assigned to ministry to manage
Some members at the city council meeting expressed concern that they did not know the details of the contracts.
A few days before the swearing-in of the new mayor of Male, Adam Azim, 11 projects planned by the City Council were handed over to the housing ministry for management and the mayor has said on Wednesday that they were not completely transferred to the ministry.
Azim chaired the first meeting of the city council on Wednesday. Speaking at the opening of the meeting, Azim said these projects are important for the people of Male. The city council is responsible for the people of the city, and it is the responsibility of the city council to implement the projects, he said.
"The council had decided that the ministry will manage those 11 projects. They have been handed over only for operations. Hence, the responsibilities of the city council have not been passed on to them. The contract is between the city council and the developer. The entire responsibility of executing these projects is in the hands of the council," Azim said.
Projects managed by the ministry:
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Construction of a commercial building in Villimale
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Construction of Male Wholesale Centre
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Construction of Male Mix Local Market Building on the site of Local Market
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Construction of 14 parking buildings
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Construction of an office building in Fishermen's Park
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Male City Council Office Building
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Construction of an outdoor park in Villimale
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500 housing unit project in Villimale
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Reconstruction of Sinamale flats; 1,500 units
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Villimale Women's Market and Football Stadium Project
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Male Facility Upgrade Project
Going into details, Azim said on Wednesday that he would propose to the next session that the ministry submit a report to the council once a month on the progress of the projects. He asked for the support of the members.
After that, Azim said:
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Contract copies of the projects will be obtained on Wednesday and shared with all council members
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Some members expressed concern that they did not know the details of the contracts and said that all the details of the projects should be disclosed to the members along with the contract copies
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Azim assured members that he would disclose such agreements made by the council in the future
"It is our responsibility to complete these projects on time. I will make every effort to complete these projects under my presidency. I will meet with the Ministry of Housing. I will share the progress reports with the council meetings for discussion," he said.
Deputy Mayor Ahmed Nareesh chaired a meeting where the Ministry of Housing was entrusted with managing the projects on the grounds that the city council lacked adequate resources to implement the projects as they exceeded MVR 120 million.
Nareesh made the motion after the current President’s Office Corporate Development Minister, Mohamed Shahid, who was then in charge of the projects and worked on behalf of the council, attended the meeting that day and recommended it.
Azim and MDP have criticised the move. The opposition also accused the government of interfering in the affairs of the city council and making a joke of the council after the election of an opposition MDP mayor.
Azim added that his top priority as mayor will be to solve the housing and parking problems with the existing 11 projects.
