Parliament of the Maldives has approved the new pay structure of local councillors.
The new pay structure was passed by the Parliamentary Committee on Public Accounts, with improved salaries for all councillors in accordance to the amended Decentralisation Act. The pay structure was approved by the Parliament with votes from 62 parliamentarians present at the sitting on April 29.
The new pay structure raises the salary of all local councillors, with the highest pay given to mayors of cities. As such, mayors have been allocated a monthly salary of USD 2,590, while deputy mayors have been allocated a monthly salary of USD 2,265. Other members of city councils have been allocated a salary of USD 1,940.
Furthermore, the new pay structure has also raised the salary of the presidents of atoll councils from USD 1,620 to USD 1,810. Presidents of island councils have been allocated a salary of USD 1,190, while vice presidents of island councils have been allocated USD 970. Other members of island councils will be receiving a monthly salary of USD 775.
The Parliamentary Committee on Public Accounts stated USD 10.4 million will be spent per year on the salaries of local councillors under the amended pay structure. The committee states this is an increase of USD 5.5 million per year, compared to the previous pay structure.
Major changes have been brought to the operations of local councils under the amendments brought to the Decentralisation Act. As such, local councils have been vested with more powers and authorities, and have been allocated additional sources of revenue to grant financial independence. The terms of councillors have also been extended from 3 years to 5 years.