President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih has said that Republicanism is a basic feature of a people's government and ensuring equality in rendering public services is social justice. He said that the government had made efforts to ensure fairness in rendering public services over the past 3 years. He made the statement while addressing the nation at the official ceremony held to mark the 54th Republic Day of the Maldives.
Speaking at the ceremony, President Solih said that the foundation of a republic has always been to meet the people’s needs, and that it had been a top priority of the administration for the past three years. In this regard, he added that efforts of the administration had been focused on decentralization.
Highlighting that the administration also prioritized human resource development, President Solih underscored the numerous steps taken by the government for the development of the education sector. He pointed out that within the last three years, this administration has extended A ‘Level studies to all atolls, introduced the free first degree programme, and initiated the construction of 1000 additional classrooms across the nation, to facilitate schools to adopt single session schooling.
The President also shed light on the efforts of the administration towards regional development, highlighting the development of tertiary level hospitals in five regions of the country, the inclusion of mental health services under Aasandha health insurance, and the efforts to develop primary healthcare across the country.
Further, President Solih said that the government aims to complete all water and sewerage projects initiated by his administration within the next two years, in an effort to ensure the provision of basic necessities in all inhabited islands. He also detailed the ongoing progress of several major developmental projects, including the Thilamale’ Connectivity Bridge Project, High Speed Ferry Network Project and the efforts to lower travel costs to allow greater connectivity.
The President stated that the government, within the next two years will focus its energy on implementing all government policies and that the proposed budget for the upcoming year had been formulated towards achieving this goal. The President stated that the government will initiate housing projects worth MVR 1.5 billion to alleviate housing difficulties faced in the atolls. He further spoke on the importance of making the best use of planned housing projects in the greater Male’ region, better utilizing available land area and connectivity within the country.
First lady Fazna Ahmed, Vice President Faisal Naseem, his Spouse Aishath Shamsada, senior government officials, members of the parliament and senior officials from state institutions had gathered to witness the ceremony at the Republic Square.
