President Dr Mohamed Muizzu will not wait for external actors to hold the Government accountable, Minister at the President’s Office for Presidential Affairs Ali Arif has said, emphasising that accountability is being pursued directly through engagement with the public.

In a post shared on social media platform X, Minister Arif said the President, together with Cabinet ministers and heads of State-owned companies, has been engaging directly with citizens as part of efforts to ensure transparency and responsibility in governance. He said the Administration’s approach prioritises direct communication with communities rather than limiting engagement to formal channels or select groups.

Minister Arif noted that the President had visited islands nationwide and met residents to hear concerns and respond to public queries, describing this as a deliberate effort to strengthen accountability through public interaction. 

The remarks were made in response to comments by the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) on the role of local councils in holding the Government accountable.

Minister Arif added that assigning an oversight role to councils could risk politicising local government institutions, potentially diverting their focus from municipal service delivery and development work. He said councils are mandated to focus on local administration and community development, and that accountability mechanisms should function within the established separation of powers framework.