Publicising various inquiries into local councils will lead to stronger accountability and transparency, the Minister of Cities, Local Government and Public Works, Adam Shareef Umar has said.
In a post shared on social media, Minister Adam Shareef said he had asked the Local Government Authority (LGA) to make the summary of its inquiries into local councils public.
Offering more insight into the directive with PSM News, the Minister said making such inquiry reports public and disclosing as much information as possible is one of the characteristics of good governance, adding that it will also lead to more accountability of local councils and encourage the LGA to follow the required protocols to conduct such inquiries.
The LGA conducts an inquiry into complaints over a council based on the decision of the authority’s board. A total of 120 complaints were submitted to the LGA by the public regarding the council and councilors last year.
One of the more high profile inquiries in recent times has been the inquiry of the Thinadhoo City Council, which led to the suspension of both the Mayor and Deputy Mayor of the city.