President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu has decided to bill councils at domestic rates for lighting public spaces and streets in cities and islands. The President revealed this decision in a post shared on social media. President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu stated that he has decided to have Fenaka Corporation or STELCO bill councils at domestic rates for lighting streets and public spaces in all cities and islands of the Maldives. He said that billing according to this change will begin from January 1st of next year.
The President said that this change is part of the efforts to further develop the decentralized system. He added that with this change, the amount available for councils to spend on other to spend on other municipal services in the islands will increase.
Currently, the electricity used to light public spaces and streets is billed to the council of that island or city. At present, such places are billed at rates specifically set for government institutions. Previously, only mosques were billed at domestic rates. Due to the higher rates for streets and public spaces like parks, electricity bills have increased, causing difficulties for some councils in paying these bills. With this change, the expenditure for councils on lighting public spaces and streets will be reduced significantly.
The President has also decided on many other measures to further strengthen the decentralized system along with next year’s budget. As such, noting that the current fiscal formula used to determine the block grants (general financial aid) provided by the government to councils results in smaller amounts for less populated islands, he has decided to revise the fiscal formula to consider island size. This change will be included when submitting the 2026 budget, as stated by the President.
In addition to councils, the President has also decided to double the budget for Women’s Development Committees in the islands and to make the Ramadan allowance for committee members payable from the council budget.
