Adam Shareef Umar, the Minister of Cities, Local Government and Public Works, affirmed at the inauguration of the Maldives’ first Local Council Internal Audit Conference that robust internal auditing mechanisms are indispensable to effective local governance.
The minister highlighted that rigorous oversight is vital to cultivating public trust and safeguarding institutional credibility, noting that internal audits serve a preventative role by enabling councils to identify risks and avert procedural errors before they occur, rather than merely responding to misconduct.
He also proposed that amendments to the state’s financial framework could streamline council operations and significantly reinforce anti-corruption efforts, with the administration seeking to tailor financial protocols to local contexts in order to secure the public confidence necessary for the decentralised system to succeed.
The two-day conference, aimed at strengthening financial governance across regional administrations, is jointly organised by the Local Government Authority with the Internal Audit Association of Maldives, and the event seeks to align council operations with financial regulations and ensure the accuracy of fiscal records.
LGA Chief Executive Mohamed Nimal said the initiative was conceived to unify administrative procedures under a single internal audit framework, noting that consistent standards across jurisdictions are essential for oversight and long-term improvement. The programme includes masterclasses, panel discussions and workshops on audit planning and execution. IAA Maldives Chairperson Mifzal Adam said the sessions would allow professionals to share expertise, address challenges in report preparation and explore technical methods to reinforce systems.
Forty-seven monitoring and audit personnel from city and atoll councils attended. Organisers intend to make the conference an annual event.