News Desk
President Mohamed Muizzu has ordered a second rebranding of the administrative offices established to replace the Maldives’ abolished atoll councils, renaming the bodies “Government Service Centres” as his administration continues to pull regional authority back under government oversight.
The executive decree, issued under Article 116(a) of the Maldivian Constitution—which authorises the president to create and restructure government agencies—establishes the newly designated centres across 18 administrative atolls. Under the new directive, all 18 offices will operate under the direct jurisdiction of the Ministry of Homeland Security, Labour and Technology.
The administrative structures have seen repeated overhauls in short succession. Following the passage of sweeping constitutional amendments late last year to dismantle the elected atoll council system—ratified by President Muizzu ahead of this year’s local council elections—the government initially established regional offices under the title of “Atoll Branches” of the Local Government Authority (LGA). They were subsequently designated as Integrated Service Centres before the latest presidential decree changed their title once more to Government Service Centres.
According to government officials, the rebranded centres are intended to streamline operations by acting as centralized administrative hubs. Under the provisions of the Decentralisation Act, the offices will serve as primary conduits through which national agencies and central ministries deliver public services across the outer atolls.
The designated entities under the Ministry of Homeland Security, Labour and Technology include:
- Government Service Centre – North Thiladhunmathi (Haa Alifu Atoll)
- Government Service Centre – South Thiladhunmathi (Haa Dhaalu Atoll)
- Government Service Centre – North Miladhunmadulu (Shaviyani Atoll)
- Government Service Centre – South Miladhunmadulu (Noonu Atoll)
- Government Service Centre – North Maalhosmadulu (Raa Atoll)
- Government Service Centre – South Maalhosmadulu (Baa Atoll)
- Government Service Centre – Faadhippolhu (Lhaviyani Atoll)
- Government Service Centre – Male Atoll (Kaafu Atoll)
- Government Service Centre – Ari Atoll North (Alifu Alifu Atoll)
- Government Service Centre – Ari Atoll South (Alifu Dhaalu Atoll)
- Government Service Centre – Felidhu Atoll (Vaavu Atoll)
- Government Service Centre – Mulaku Atoll (Meemu Atoll)
- Government Service Centre – Nilandhe Atoll North (Faafu Atoll)
- Government Service Centre – Nilandhe Atoll South (Dhaalu Atoll)
- Government Service Centre – Kolhumadulu (Thaa Atoll)
- Government Service Centre – Haddhunmathi (Laamu Atoll)
- Government Service Centre – Huvadhu Atoll North (Gaafu Alifu Atoll)
- Government Service Centre – Huvadhu Atoll South (Gaafu Dhaalu Atoll)
The restructuring marks the formal conclusion of the previous atoll council system.
The move comes amid mounting criticism from opposition figures, legal experts, and advocates for local governance, who argue that President Muizzu’s administration is systematically eroding the country’s constitutional decentralisation framework. Beyond dissolving atoll-level elected leadership, recent legislative adjustments have sharply restricted the commercial and financial powers granted to island councils. Furthermore, central authorities have stripped local councils of their power to manage, allocate, or re-designate land within their jurisdictions.
Opponents of the overhaul maintain that replacing elected regional councils with centrally controlled ministry branches violates constitutional principles and ignores the geographic realities of the archipelagic nation, which historically relied on decentralized governance to serve dispersed island populations. The administration, however, maintains that the integrated service centres will ensure greater efficiency and standardized delivery of state services across the country.
