President Solih Ratifies Amendments To Important Acts

On December 13^th, President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih ratified changes brought to five different acts. The changes have been brought to Public Finance Act, Land Act, Transport Authority Act, Land Transport Act and Sea Vessels Act. The bills were passed by the Parliament at the 44^th sitting of its third session of this year on November 29th, 2021.

The Sixth Amendment made to the Public Finance Act include modifications to the guidelines for granting government funding for loans with authorization only. It also specifies the principles and procedures that councils must follow when acquiring loans, selling assets, and funding grants to associations.
 
According to the new amendments, under section 82 of the Decentralization Act (Act no. 7/2010), councils have the right to lend their money in the event they make a profit on pre-agreed terms and conditions to other councils after they deduct the cost of operation from the income they receive. This also provides the government the power to pay money to the lending council from the receiving council's budget if they fail to repay the debt to the lending council. The amendments further clarify the principles of lending as well as the mechanism for reporting pertinent loan information to the Ministry.
 
Furthermore, the bill makes significant changes to the Public Finance Act and requires the appropriate regulations and procedures to be published in the Government Gazette six months after it takes effect.

The Eighth Amendment made to the Land Act requires the transfer of lands allotted for various uses to government ministries and state bodies to be in compliance with the Decentralization Act. As the amendment further states, land handovers must be done in conformity with the guidelines established for land distribution. The amendment also requires the appropriate guidelines and procedures to be published in the Government Gazette six months after they take effect.

The bill to repeal the Maldives Transport Authority Act ratified, all civil servants employed at the Maldives Transport Authority will be transferred to the Ministry of Transport and Civil Aviation. Assets belonging to the Maldives Transport Authority, along with all the rights and obligations conferred to the Authority under law and under any agreements will now be transferred to the Ministry of Transport and Civil Aviation.

The fifth amendment to the Land Transport Act includes addition of section 49-1, subsequent to Section 49 of the legislation, stipulating the specification and delegation to respective administrative divisions of cities, atolls, and islands of services provided by the Ministry of Transport and Civil Aviation. It also specifies that the ministry and relevant institutions should provide the funds, resources, and assistance required by the local councils to provide those services. According to the amendment, the regulations made subsequent to this Act should also specify the manner in which the assistance would be provided.

The amendment also adds three more Subsections (t), (u), and (v), subsequent to Section 70 Subsection (s), providing definitions of city, atoll, and island councils. The regulations pertaining to the amendment should be drawn up or amended and published in the Government Gazette within six months of the ratification of the bill.

The fifth amendment made to the Sea Vessels Act introduces Section 5-1, pursuant to Section 5 of the Act, stipulating the delegation to respective administrative divisions of islands, atolls, and cities, specified services provided by the Ministry of Transport and Civil Aviation. It also stipulates that the ministry and relevant institutions should provide the funds, resources, and assistance required by the local councils to provide the specified services. According to the amendment, the regulations made subsequent to this Act should also specify the manner in which the assistance would be provided.
 
The regulations pertaining to the amendment should be drawn up or amended and published in the Government Gazette within six months of the ratification of the bill.