Mahzoom: Malé deserves better

And yet, for ordinary residents, what changed for the better?

With an area less than two percent of the country’s total landmass, more than 40 percent of the country’s population reside in Malé City, making it one of the most densely populated capital cities in the world. Anyone who lives in Malé can see this reality without needing statistics. Flooding remains routine. Roads are unsafe. Public spaces are shrinking. Crime and disorder have increased. Despite this, elected mayors routinely tell the public that these problems fall “outside their mandate.”

What exactly is the mandate of Malé City mayors? An uncomfortable question too often answered with photo opportunities, ribbon cuttings and blaming previous administrations for the current failure. Real decision making is quietly being avoided, while governance has become performative. This is neither acceptable nor consistent with the spirit of decentralisation promised by our constitution. 

This persistent gap between power and accountability is the primary reason why city leadership needs to be reformed. If elected mayor, I will reform this through actions. I will publish quarterly reports, set clear delivery targets, and launch an open digital dashboard. Which will allow Malé residents to track municipal works, such as sewer maintenance, road repairs, waste management schedules, and council spending.

The Maldives must be governed by a decentralised system, local councils have the authority to, and responsibility to, act in the interests of their communities. Yet Malé City remains a glaring exception. It is the only city in the country where land allocation is not controlled by the council. Even though land scarcity is one of the city’s most urgent problems. 

This is not a failure of law. It is a failure of political will. 

Over time, politics has shifted from public service to personal advancement. Positions of authority are treated as tools for influence, not responsibility. Solving the daily hardships of Male’ residents has been reduced to an election-season ritual, spoken about endlessly, acted on rarely.

I have lived through seemingly avoidable problems for 29 years. As someone who grew up under the municipal services and the local council system, nothing really changed. Same issue was consistent. Problems were not unsolvable; they were simply never prioritised. 

For 15 years, Malé City’s problems have been discussed, debated, and acknowledged. Discussion alone has not produced solutions, and it never will. Without courage, decisive action, and accountability, nothing changes.

A city cannot move forward, if it must be rebuilt every time it rains. Development cannot be achieved through short-term fixes and recycled promises. Malé City needs innovation, planning, and a leadership willing to challenge entrenched interests. 

If elected, my administration will conduct a comprehensive audit within the first 100 days to identify unsafe roads, neglected public facilities and identify drainage failures within the infrastructure of the city. I will redefine the powers through measurable actions serving as a plan to strengthen the city’s resilience for years to come, so that no further administration would have to start from scratch. 

At the heart of this crisis lies corruption, not only in criminal sense, but in the normalisation of favouritism, patronage, and governance by personal connections. If services are distributed based on who you know rather than what you need, Malé will remain broken.

For municipal services to be reorganised for the citizens to access them transparently, efficiently and with dignity, this city requires leadership that is system driven, clean and is unafraid to take difficult decisions.

It also requires political platforms that place community before convenience. Contesting under the ticket of a party that believes in giving back and values the community, I believe the public office must solely exist to benefit the residents it serves. This is the This is the principle long advocated by the Maldives Development Alliance, enriching people, eliminating corruption, and securing a dignified life for all. And I believe these ideals must be brought and reflected in every decision made at council level. 

Do not let the upcoming local council election become just another routine vote. It is a rare opportunity to confront the rot that has hollowed out this city’s governance.

Malé cannot continue operating with system and attitudes that belong to the 19th century. It must be transformed into a 21st century city. Liveable, safe, organised and humane.

The tragedy is that Maldivians are repeatedly offered the same political actors, repackaged as new. Both major political ideologies accused each other of corruption, and both accusations often hold truth. Alliances are shifted overnight, principles are traded easily and once power is secured, accountability disappears. 

In such a climate democracy itself becomes a casualty. When both the elected officials and the opposition fail to represent, the citizens are left without a genuine voice.

Malé City deserves leadership that reflects the sacrifices Malé City has made for this country, for independence, for democracy, and for progress. There is no justification for allowing the capital city to decay while political elites protect their own interests. 

The failures of the past fifteen years were not inevitable. They were choices. And different choices can still be made.

Malé City does not need to remain a city defined by frustration, disorder and insecurity. It can become a city where its residents are proud to call home, with honest leadership, genuine commitment for reform and political courage. 

The question is no longer whether change is possible. 

It is whether we are finally willing to demand it and deliver it.

This is my share for my city.

Editor's note: Abdulla Mahzoom Majid is running for mayor of Malé as a candidate of the Maldives Development Alliance, a party led by Meedhoo MP Ahmed Siyam Mohamed, owner of the Sun Siyam Resorts. This is the third in our series of mayoral candidate op-eds, following pieces by Aiham and Zariyand Ismail. The Maldives Independent has offered all mayoral candidates the opportunity to publish op-eds on equal terms.