Lease terms for the Villimale Local Market stalls have expired, and it has been decided that the current terms will be extended until the end of July. Stalls will be announced again for application following the creation of new regulations.
This decision was made at the 2nd official general meeting of the Male' City Council's 5th term, which was held earlier today. The decision comes after councilors discussed over what plan should be taken, as the lease term for the market stalls has already expired on 30th April, 2024.
Mayor Azim noted that the council’s general practice thus far has been to extend the lease terms for those who pay rent regularly. However, the councilor for the Maafannu West constituency, Mohamed Rilwan Ali, proposed that after granting a specific extension period, new regulations should be established and the stalls should be opened for re-application. He further requested the council to implement a system where points are awarded to those who have a consistent record of paying rent. Many councilors spoke in support of this proposal.
In addition, the Councilor for the Villimale constituency, Ibrahim Samah suggested that both customers and stall owners at the market are not receiving appropriate conditions and that the cleanliness is also not being upheld. Therefore, he said that the market needs to be properly developed and regulations need modification before it can be leased out.
Under the proposed regulations, stall leases would not be transferable to third parties. They also have measures to monitor and prevent such practices and procedures for handling cases of expatriates leasing or running stalls.
The lease agreements for the Villimalé Local Market stalls expired at the end of April. The matter was scheduled to be discussed at several meetings during the previous ouncil term, but no decision was made due to lack of required quorum.