Government services to be made available in Hulhumale’ and Villimale’

One of the biggest issues that a lot of Maldivian citizens face is the over-centralisation when it comes to the country. Since the country started developing, it has been noted that the capital city of Male’ had an advantage - getting more development and focus than other islands. Although this issue is not special to the Maldives as every capital city in the world is more developed than the rest of the country, as the Maldives is a number of scattered islands in the Indian Ocean, the over-centralisation forces people to spend a lot of time and money travelling to Male’ City to get basic services - especially in terms of healthcare and Government offices.

Although islands face the worst of centralization as citizens have to pay thousands in tickets to travel to get some services, there is no doubt that some difficulty is faced in the Greater Male’ Area itself. While residents of Hulhumale’ and Villimale’ have to travel a shorter distance to get these services from the capital city, there is no doubt that crossing the bridge or taking the ferry to Male’ poses its own difficulty.

With this, President Dr Mohamed Muizzu has announced the administration's plans to ensure that Government services are available in both Hulhumale’ and Villimale’.  Noting some of the services that are to be available in both areas, the president listed down some vital services such as ID card and passport services to be made available. Although the plans are not limited to just these two services, the introduction of these services in both the Hulhumale’ and  Villimale’ areas would take away an extra burden from citizens who will no longer have to travel to the capital city.

In addition to offering the ease of not having to travel to one place for all the services, the President also revealed that this is a part of a broader plan to reduce the traffic congestion that is experienced in the Greater Male’ Area.