The design of the long-delayed mosque SJ Construction is building in Hulhumalé Phase 2 has been changed and the work will finish this year, Islamic Minister Shaheem told parliament. He said the original design would have left it inadequately sheltered from rain, and engineers had revised it in consultation with HDC. He was answering Hulhumalé North MP Hussain Shareef, who said the delay was a major public concern. The ministry signed with SJ in January 2022 for completion within 420 days. The mosque is being built under a settlement agreement reached after the ministry terminated SJ's contract for the Zikura mosque in Malé and the company sought MVR141 million (US$9.1 million) in compensation. Shaheem said early last year the mosque would be finished by December.
Shaheem said the tin temporary mosques in Hulhumalé will be removed this year and permanent mosques built across the area before the end of the year, with about 20 mosques due to open before Ramadan. He said more than 81 projects are under way under his ministry.
Shaheem declined to answer why 11 mosque projects were awarded to Fenaka, saying it was not related to the day's subject and could be answered from another position. The 500-capacity mosques were awarded to Fenaka in March 2025 for Baarah, Nellaidhoo, Noomaraa, Henbadhoo, Inguraidhoo, Maalhos, Kudarikilu, Feridhoo, Veymandoo, Hirilandhoo and Feydhoo.
The LGA indefinitely postponed Saturday's election for the councillor and WDC president seats on its board, saying preparatory work was incomplete. MDP Chairperson Nasheed called it the government declaring its own defeat and said the election should be held on the scheduled date. MDP is fielding Manadhoo council president Ali Zafir and Gan WDC president Mariyam Neena; PNC is fielding Nilandhoo council president Ali Ahmed and Funadhoo WDC president Mariyam Zeena. Kulhudhuffushi Mayor Mohamed Athif is unopposed for the city councillor seat.
BML announced a new organisational structure with four executives moving to adjacent roles for an initial six months: Aishath Zamra Zahir as chief commercial officer, Moosa Nimal as chief marketing officer, Rashfa Jaufar as chief risk officer and Gary Laughton as chief credit officer.
The disability register reached 15,652 people in June (9,046 male and 6,606 female), NSPA figures showed. Of those, 5,331 are under 18, 7,892 are aged 18 to 64 and 2,429 are 65 or over. The largest categories are physical disability at 4,317 and multiple disabilities at 3,549, followed by psychosocial disability at 2,409, hearing and speech at 1,861, intellectual disability at 1,829, visual at 1,035, autism at 594 and learning disability at 58. Therapeutic treatment worth MVR7.07 million was provided to 253 people during the month.
A 27-year-old man was arrested and remanded until the conclusion of his trial over the rape of a 16-year-old girl on an island in the Upper South Police region, police said. Police gave no further details and said the investigation is continuing. There have been 158 reported sexual abuse cases this year, a 2.1 per cent increase from 273 last year and 322 the year before.
NSPA paid MVR8.2 million in April for treatment at private hospitals under its medical assistance programme: MVR4.6 million at Tree Top and MVR3.6 million at ADK. At Tree Top the largest amounts went to orthopaedic cases, MVR1.27 million for 51 people, followed by MVR 628,000 for 51 other cases and MVR606,000 for 40 childbirth cases. At ADK the largest was MVR608,000 for 23 ENT cases, then MVR586,000 for 21 other cases and MVR553,000 for 27 orthopaedic cases. NSPA also spent MVR1.77 million on assistive equipment in April, including 45 CPAP or ventilator devices, 28 hearing aids and 23 oxygen concentrators.
The cancer hospital planned for the IGMH grounds has been moved to Hulhumalé and will be built on a contractor-finance basis, Malé City Group of Hospitals CEO Ibrahim Haleem told Mihaaru. It will form part of the 500-bed tertiary hospital being built in Hulhumalé Phase 2, with the rest given over to women's and child health. Haleem said the change was made because of space constraints and safety, that proposals have been received and financing is arranged, and that work will begin this year. A separate Diagnostic Centre for Oncology Services on the same site will provide PET scans and radiation therapy, with work starting this year. Radiation therapy is not available in the Maldives and cancer patients must travel abroad at a certain stage of treatment.
