Names of dismissed political appointees is personal information: President's Office

The President's Office has decided not to disclose the names and details of the 248 political appointees that they say have been dismissed in a bid to bring down State expenditure, claiming that the information is personal, and hence protected.

President Dr Mohamed Muizzu announced on October 15 that 228 political appointees will be dismissed under the Economic Reform Agenda.

In a post on social media platform X, President's Office Spokesperson Heena Waleed announced that 248 political appointees had been let go. However, details of those dismissed, or which ministries they were from, have not been disclosed.

Hence, a private individual submitted a Right to Information (RTI) request to the President's Office seeking these details. In their response, the Office stated that the names will be held confidential as it is considered personal information, and that the ministries also cannot be disclosed, as it could compromise the identities of those who were dismissed.

However, ministries have previously disclosed names and details of political staff working at their offices.

Mihaaru News also submitted an RTI request to the President's Office seeking details of the 248 political appointees said to have been dismissed. After initially asking for an extension to the deadline, the PO later failed to respond at all.

As per the law, Mihaaru has now lodged a case with the Information Commissioner's Office about the President's Office failing to respond within the set deadline. The case has been accepted, and hearings are now being scheduled.

President Dr Mohamed Muizzu has earlier said that the staff who will be dismissed will include 7 State Ministers, 43 Deputy Ministers, 109 Senior Political Directors, and 69 Political Directors.

He said then that this change would save a the State a monthly amount of MVR 5.7 million.

Salaries of political appointees amount to 1 percent of the total budget, which means that about MVR 120 million is spent on their salaries in a year. This comes to approximately MVR 10 million a month.

Information shared with Mihaaru News by various government institutions indicate that there are currently over 1400 political appointees. Some ministries still have not disclosed these details regarding their institutions.

Initially, the President had claimed that there would be no more than 700 political appointees during this administration.