Residents of selected communities could soon see organised commercial zones, new food courts and expanded green spaces, as the government’s Model Village Initiative moves to reshape development around family values and citizen participation as much as infrastructure.
The plan, President Dr Mohamed Irfaan Ali said on Monday, is designed to redefine community development, transforming villages into places where families can thrive, businesses can flourish and citizens are empowered to shape their own future. He was speaking during a consultation with residents at Tuschen Secondary School in Region Three.
Beyond physical upgrades, the president said, the initiative places equal emphasis on the social and human dimensions of development. Communities under consideration for the programme are looking at organised commercial zones, modern food courts, expanded green and recreational spaces, climate-resilient infrastructure and new agricultural technologies to strengthen food production and local enterprise.
That vision, Ali said, is rooted in values as much as construction.
“We want communities to be anchored in faith, communities to be anchored in trust and love. Communities that are built with a socio-economic support system that allows people to have viable economic opportunities,” he said.
To that end, Ali said the government will continue investing in roads, drainage and recreational facilities, but stressed that sustainable development must also be driven by shared responsibility, strong family values and active citizen participation. Every community, he added, should develop its own unique identity and economic ecosystem, supported by infrastructure and services that improve quality of life while preserving order, safety and environmental sustainability.
That identity, Ali said, is being shaped directly by residents. Government teams have spent the past several months surveying communities to identify development priorities, and the consultations now under way are intended to ensure residents play a central role in shaping the projects.
The Model Village Initiative is being rolled out in selected pilot communities, with consultations forming a key part of the planning process.
