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Review of the Decentralization Framework in the Maldives

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Review of the Decentralization Framework in the Maldives REVIEW OF THE DECENTRALIZATION FRAMEWORK IN THE MALDIVES © Transparency Maldives 2019. REVIEW OF THE DECENTRALIZATION FRAMEWORK IN THE MALDIVES Transparency Maldives, a National Chapter of Transparency International, is a non-partisan organisation that promotes collaboration, awareness raising, and other initiatives to improve governance and eliminate corruption from the daily lives of people. Transparency Maldives views corruption as a systemic issue and advocates for institutional changes that will punish and prevent corruption. www.transparency.mv Author : Transparency Maldives Researcher : Aminath Haifa Naeem Editor : Mimrah Abdul Ghafoor Layout Design : www.calibre.studio This publication may be reproduced in whole or in part in any form for education or non- profit use, without permission from the holder of copyright, provided acknowledgment of the source is made. Transparency Maldives would appreciate receiving a copy of any publication which uses this publication as a source. No use of this publication may be made for resale or other commercial purposes without the prior permission of Transparency Maldives. © Transparency Maldives 2019. This publication is produced by Transparency Maldives as part of the project funded by the European Union to strengthen local governance in the Maldives through capacity building local councils and empowering citizens for social accountability. Any opinions expressed in this publication do not necessarily represent the views of the European Union. 1 CONTENTS i. Executive Summary 4 ii. Purpose of Study 5 iii. Methodology 5 Chapter 1 : Background 8 1.1 An Overview of Political History 8 1.2 Governance of Islands 9 Chapter 2 : Literature Review - What is Decentralisation? 17 2.1 Political decentralisation 18 2.2 Administrative decentralisation 18 2.3 Fiscal decentralisation 19 Chapter 3 : The Aspiration for Decentralisation in the Maldives 21 Chapter 4 : Legal Framework 29 4.1 The Constitution 30 4.2 Decentralisation of the Administration Divisions of the Maldives Act 7/2010 30 4.3 Local Council Elections Act 36 4.4 Amendments to the Decentralisation Act 36 4.5 Some Proposed Changes to the Decentralisation Act 40 Chapter 5 : Local Government Authority 43 5.1 LGA Board and the Seventh Amendment 44 5.2 Training Opportunities 45 5.3 Monitoring 50 5.4 Disciplining 51 5.5 Challenges Faced by the LGA 51 Chapter 6 : Decentralisation in the Maldives 2010-2017 55 6.1 Local Council Elections 56 6.2 Appointed Councillors and Province Offices 58 6.3 Alignment with Other Existing Legislations 59 6.4 Level of Administrative, Political and Fiscal Decentralisation 66 6.5 Challenges Faced by Local Councils 70 Chapter 7 : Other challenges for Decentralisation and Way Forward 73 Chapter 8 : Conclusion 77 Chapter 9 : Recommendations 81 References 84 Annex 1: List of Interviewees 89 Annex 2: Selection of councillors for the telephone survey 90 Annex 3: Survey questionnaire for councillors 91 Annex 4: Councils that participated in the telephone survey 93 2 3 I. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY mechanism using measurable indicators. • Review the mandate of the LGA with a The Review of the Decentralisation view to facilitating and strengthening the Framework in the Maldives is produced functions of local councils. with the purpose of empowering local • Increase the participation of local councils communities and strengthening local and communities in development planning, governance. This review seeks to understand implementation and monitoring of the historical context and experiences of projects. decentralisation during the past few decades, with the aim of informing policy actions of Decentralised administration was agreed by Transparency Maldives and other actors. actors across the political divide as crucial for the Maldives’ development during the debate The review explores the legal and in the constitutional assembly, resulting in a structural framework of decentralisation specific provision in the 2008 Constitution as well as experiences of local government decreeing that administrative divisions of the officials including elected councillors and country are to be governed in a decentralised administrative staff of local councils. The manner. The 2010 Decentralisation Act review discusses Maldives’ governance details the objectives of decentralised systems of the past decades, from monarchy administration: to allow island communities to republic, back to autocracy and finally the to make their own decisions in a democratic adoption of a democratic Constitution in and accountable manner; to improve people’s 2008. Governance of the islands, dimensions living standards through social, economic of decentralisation, the Decentralisation Act and cultural development; and to create and the amendments brought to it, Local an environment conducive for peace and Council Elections, governance of councils prosperity. and the Local Government Authority (LGA), and challenges faced by the decentralisation However, successive governments have system are analysed in the review. Local failed to decentralise, especially with regard Government Authority, civil society, to fiscal decentralisation. The centralisation representatives of the government, and of governance has contributed to wide councillors were interviewed for the review. inequalities in the quality and accessibility of basic services across the atolls. Despite THE MAIN FINDINGS OF THE challenges, civil society actors, elected local REVIEW INCLUDE: government officials and some political actors continue to work towards a more democratic • Lack of political will to implement and inclusive governance system, of which a decentralisation, in particular, fiscal key demand is decentralised administration. decentralisation, severely hampering the It is our hope that this publication will help ability of local councils to implement their generate discussion on the challenges mandates. and solutions to decentralisation, and by • Lack of capacity of some local councils to extension, empower local councils, civil implement the broad mandate as specified society, and political actors in their efforts to in the Decentralisation Act. strengthen local democracy by implementing • The politicisation of LGA and the utilisation decentralised governance system. of the LGA to stifle political dissent. • Lack of inclusivity in local councils, notably the extremely low number of women contesting and successfully winning local council election. • Administrative challenges faced by some local councils in implementing their mandate due to conflict with the administrative staff, who are accountable to the civil service and not the council. • Transparency Maldives recommends the following based on the findings of the report. • Prioritise fiscal decentralisation to promote self-determination of local communities and provide adequate resources and support to implement the mandate of the local councils. • Promote local resource ownership and allow councils to conduct development projects that are in-line with the National Development Plan and Sustainable Development Goals. • Ensure councillors and administrative staff are provided regular capacity building opportunities. • Implement a local council monitoring 4 II. PURPOSE OF STUDY This review was undertaken as part of a broad project by Transparency Maldives to strengthen local democracy and the decentralisation system in the Maldives. As part of this project, there was a need to understand and capture the historical development and experiences of decentralisation in the Maldives. The review, therefore, examines the legal and structural framework in place in the Maldives, how it has evolved in recent years, and captures the experiences of the elected local councils. The review also provides policy recommendations to reform and strengthen the decentralisation framework in the Maldives. III. METHODOLOGY As stated in Article 2 of the Decentralisation Act, the main objective of introducing a decentralised administrative framework in the country is “to allow the island communities to make their own decisions in a democratic and accountable manner; to improve people’s living standards through social, economic and cultural development; to empower the people; bring the services closer to the people; and to create an environment conducive for peace and prosperity”. This clause in the Act is used as the primary research question in undertaking this review, the actual question being whether this objective has been achieved. As the review also attempts to highlight the challenges faced by local councils and the Local Government Authority (LGA) in implementing decentralisation, information was collected through: • A desk review of published reports and news articles. • Twenty-six interviews conducted with thirty individuals, which includes representatives of various institutions and relevant professional individuals. (See Annex 1 for a full list of interviewees) • Thirty telephone interviews conducted with former and current local councillors. (See Annex 3 for the interview questionnaire and Annex 2 for the factors considered in selecting councillors for the interviews.) The review looks at events up to and including the third local council election held in May 2017. 5 6 CHAPTER 1 BACKGROUND 7 CHAPTER 1: BACKGROUND 1.1 authority on matters of government, including AN OVERVIEW OF POLITICAL the administration of atolls and islands HISTORY outside of Male’. Both Presidents Nasir and Gayoom vested most government authority in The Maldives is currently a democratic
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