Maldives Speaker requests MPs not to withdraw requests to question cabinet ministers

April 3, 2023 3:22 pm

Male: Maldives Parliament Speaker Mohamed Nasheed has asked MPs not to withdraw their requests to question cabinet ministers.

The Parliament today scheduled to question Home Minister Imran Abdulla on the request of Nolhivaram MP Mohamed Nasheed Abdulla. However, the MP withdrew the question sometime last night. MP Mohamed Nasheed has previously withdrawn questions after moving to question ministers.

“Honorable member, you have acted in this way even before. When you do this, other honorable members lose the chance to question the minister despite being in the queue,” Speaker Nasheed said.

The Speaker said there is already a long list of MPs who have requested to question over 20 cabinet ministers.

Nasheed said that heads of SOEs aren’t political appointees, and that it isn’t necessary their vision and the company direction align with the government’s policies.

“I am certain their vision and the company direction shouldn’t be linked to the whims of political heads of the government,” he said.

Nasheed added that SOEs spend more than the state budget, and need more funds for their payroll than the civil service.

He said that a huge chunk of taxpayer money goes into repayment of loans taken by SOEs, which is sometimes higher than state spending on health and education.

Nasheed’s comments come after State Trading Organization (STO)’s managing director Hussain Amr Mohamed Rashad was dismissed last week, after he refused to back President Solih’s re-election and aligned himself with Nasheed instead.

Amr was dismissed by the Privatization and Corporatization Board (PCB) at President Solih’s direct orders.