Decentralisation bill

In his weekly radio address, which is recorded during his ongoing visit to South Korea, President Mohamed Nasheed discussed the controversies over the decentralisation bill. He stated that determining the type or model of decentralisation for the country was a very crucial issue.

The issue, he said, had created lot of disagreement among the two main political parties.

The decentralisation bill submitted by the government proposes the establishment of seven provinces, which is being opposed by the opposition Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party.

“In my mind, the amendments [removing the proposal for seven provinces] made by the [parliamentary] review committee to the bill are the wishes of the DRP,” he said.

The outcome of passing the bill with the amendments would be creating “twenty small governments”, he added.

The President, however, said the government was ready to accept any decision made by the parliament on the issue.

President Nasheed stressed that a main reason for establishing seven provinces was to have economies of scale and that it was not for political gains.

MNDF anniversary

Congratulating the Maldives National Defence Force on its 118th anniversary, President Nasheed highlighted the support of MNDF in bringing democratic reforms to the Maldives.

Visit to South Korea

President Nasheed also spoke on his visit to Korea to receive the UN Champions of the Earth award.

During his visit the President had talks with South Korean President Lee Myan-buk on Thursday.