President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih has announced a significant decision to grant a 35 percent allowance to employees of Local Councils. Starting from October 1, 2023, this allowance will be extended to local council staff.
The President’s Office spokesperson, Miuvan Mohamed, revealed that this decision was made in response to concerns raised by local council employees. It stemmed from the earlier decision to provide a 35 percent allowance to civil servants (excluding those in local councils) starting May 1, 2023, which created a salary disparity between government ministry workers and their counterparts in local councils.
To address this wage gap and support the decentralization process, President Solih decided to extend the allowance to local council civil servants. He believes that not offering this allowance hindered local council employees’ ability to provide services more effectively to their communities and that aligning their benefits with other civil servants is the right step forward.