Finance Minister has responded to speculations and has said that the government has managed its expenses this year entirely from revenue and the sale of T-bills, with no overdraw from MMA.
No loans have been taken from central bank Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA) to manage the expenses of the state this year, Finance Minister Dr Mohamed Shafeeq said today.
This was in response to former President Abdulla Yameen's comments last night, where he accused the government of taking MVR 14.7 billion from the MMA reserve, likening it to printing money.
The minister detailed that all expenses this year have so far been managed through both revenue generated by the government and sale of Treasury Bills (T-Bills), of which the interest rates range between 3.5 to 4.6 percent.
As of the first week of this month, the state's revenue stood at MVR 15.4 billion while MVR 18 billion was spent from the state's annual budget.
According to the Minister, the state has not taken any funds from MMA since January of the year, not even the one percent of the state's total income of the past three years allowed to be acquired from MMA as overdraft, as stated in the Fiscal Responsibility Act.
This one percent would total up to MVR 270 million.
According to the Minister, funds were overdrawn from MMA until December of last year. However, no overdraws were made since then, he said.
"What we've always maintained is that expenses are higher than the revenue generated. Because of this, we need to take money to manage expenses. When borrowing like this, we have not taken a loan at a high cost, as the President has said," Minister Shafeeq said.
"[The state receives] one percent from MMA legally. The [government] has so far not touched it this year. According to the law, up to MVR 271 million can be overdrawn. But we have not overdrawn the balance at any time," he explained.
Also speaking on the topic last Sunday night at the opening of the new ruling party People's National Congress (PNC) hub, President Dr Mohamed Muizzu said that the government has paid off MVR 13 billion in debt since coming into power.
In response, former president Abdulla Yameen said that Maldives Inland Revenue Authority (MIRA) data suggests that only MVR 12 billion was generated as revenue, while MVR 13.7 billion went towards expenses, questioning where the additional MVR 1.7 billion came from.
As of June 6, 2024, Ministry of Finance data shows that the state has earned MVR 12.4 billion in tax revenue, MVR 2.7 billion in non-tax revenues, MVR 9.3 million in capital receipts, and MVR 156.5 million in grants.
MMA's report published in May also shows that money was last printed in December of last year. That month, around MVR 2 million was overdrawn as well. MVR 1.7 million was overdrawn the month before that. However, MMA's reports show no indication of funds being taken from the bank at any time this year.
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