Governor Ali Hashim has informed the parliament of his inability to attend the Public Accounts Committee meeting scheduled for today, removing the case on recommending his dismissal from the position of Governor to President Muizzu from today's agenda.
Monetary Authority of Maldives (MMA) Governor Ali Hashim has informed of his inability to attend the parliament's Public Accounts Committee meeting scheduled for today on recommending his dismissal from the position of Governor to President Dr Mohamed Muizzu.
A letter delivered to the parliament by MMA today stated that the Governor had excused himself from work today due to health concerns and is therefore unable to present himself at the Public Accounts Committee today to be subject to questioning.
According to the Maldives Monetary Authority Act, the President is conferred the authority to appoint and dismiss the Governor and Deputy Governor of the Central Bank on the recommendation of the parliament.
The committee had scheduled to summon the Governor at 1100 hrs this morning to subject him to questioning on the case. Mihaaru News reports that the Governor had delivered a report from MMA - which shed light on the country's financial state - to the parliament chambers before the case was scheduled on today's agenda.
The committee meeting scheduled for today was cancelled following the notice informing of the Governor's absence.
Recommending the Governor's dismissal to President Dr Mohamed Muizzu was proposed to the parliament by Deputy Speaker and MP of Dhiggaru Constituency, Ahmed Nazim.
Nazim said that the MMA had failed to carry out its mandate outlined in the Maldives Monetary Authority Act, particularly at this time when the country's economic situation is derailing. He also added that Monetary Policy, which is the foundation of MMA, is not functioning at sufficient standard.
He carried on to highlight that the Governor had not offered any counsel to the government nor proceeded any practical work to achieve targets of the authority since the current administration assumed office, emphasizing that he has failed to undertake the responsibilities of his role.
"Ali Hashim does not sufficiently fulfil the mandate of his position as the highest authority of MMA," said Nazim.
Ali Hashim was appointed to the position of the Governor on September 8, 2019 during the administration of former president, Ibrahim Mohamed Solih. He had also previously served as the Finance Minister of Maldives from 2008 to 2010.
- The governor indirectly controlled loans issued to the public by banks and financial institutions and pushed to hold bank reserves at MMA.-
As such, with less money circulating the economy, economic activities came to a halt and the economy's pace slowed down.
- While the government currently generates funds from the domestic market, the governor fails to regulate this market despite a dire need for it.
- Information shared by Police and the Ministry of Homeland Security on the challenge of crime prevention which includes MMA's regulations not having been updated.
The Public Accounts Committee had also earlier scheduled a meeting to summon the Governor in order to clarify the financial situation of the country however, the meeting slated for July 8 was cancelled.
This meeting was scheduled solely to assess the country's financial state and was not connected to the Governor's dismissal.
Although the case on recommending the dismissal of the Governor, Ali Hashim scheduled for 1100 hrs today at the Public Accounts Committee was cancelled, the agenda of the parliament session today still include summoning senior officials of Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) and Auditor General's Office to concerned committees.
Senior officials of ACC are arranged to present themselves to the Committee on State-Owned Enterprises for the meeting at 1230 hrs today to clarify the proposed concerns surrounding SOEs and assess procedures to solidify company operations.
Meanwhile, leaders of the Auditor General's Office are being summoned to the Public Accounts Committee at 1400 hrs today to be subject to questioning on barriers posed to performing their duties.
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