Opposition MPs have questioned the integrity of the ACC with regard to their investigation into the flat allocation matter. They accused the commission of acting outside their mandate, and of bias in their decision making.
Members of parliament have raised questions regarding the Anti Corruption Commission (ACC)'s investigation into the complaints regarding the allocation of flats under the previous administration's Gedhoruveriya housing scheme.
Galolhu North MP Eva Abdulla has submitted a motion to parliament calling for prompt issuance of flats to those on the recipient lists found to be eligible even after the investigation.
Speaking in the debate on this motion, Deputy Speaker and MP for Hoarafushi constituency Ahmed Saleem stated that the ACC's actions with regard to the flat allocation issue is highly questionable, claiming that it is clear to him that the commission's intentions are not pure.
"Had their intentions been pure, they could have acted in the many opportunities they were presented with to intervene when the administrative work on flat allocation was being conducted. They could have identified any cause for concern that corruption was involved, and stepped in at the time to rectify that, as allowed in the laws. However, that is not how they chose to proceed," Saleem alleged.
Saleem claims that it currently appears as if the ACC is working from within the Housing Ministry. He says that if ACC had the right intentions, they would allow Housing Ministry to proceed with the work mandated to them.
"What we are seeing now is the ACC itself evaluating the forms. What this will result in is the need for another entity to look into ACC's evaluations and then decide if they are, in fact, accurate. This is not the way this must be done," Saleem said.
"We are at the point now where responsibilities, duties and mandates are all mixed up. People are in a state of confusion."
Saleem spoke out against withdrawing flats from those listed as recipients and creating discord amongst the people. He cautioned to ensure that political prejudices are not allowed to seep into the issue.
Saleem accused the government of 'torturing' citizens who made it on to the flat recipients list with their current actions, alleging they have no real interest in actually finding a solution for the issue. He affirmed that Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) would not cease their efforts to protect the involved citizens' rights.
Hulhumale' MP Ali Niyaz stated that the ACC's current actions are clearly outside its mandate, indicating that the commission is now working on a mandate that appears to align with one belonging to a government ministry.
He claims that according to information he received, the ACC first concluded after its investigations that the flat recipient list was legit and did not have any problems regarding the allocation process. He accuses that the Housing Ministry rejected these findings and held a closed door meeting with the ACC, accusing that it was at this meeting that the findings had been changed to reflect the ministry's wishes and indicate fraudulent allocation.
"This is entirely political. Their aim is to give away 60 percent of those flats to PPM (Progressive Party of Maldives)/ PNC (People's National Congress) aligned individuals so as to influence the upcoming elections. We will not allow that to happen," Niyaz stated.
Thulhaadhoo MP Hisaan Hussain dismissed the entire issue, stating that they have no authority to withdraw flats granted to citizens by a government. She insists that those flats are now the property of the citizens who received them.
Hisaan said that, as per the Constitution, a government can only law claim to a citizen's property through a court ruling that allows them to do so.
No MPs from the ruling coalition attended the debate and vote on the motion submitted by Eva.
Opposition MPs criticized this decision, and claimed it exhibits the lack of sincerity the government has regarding the flat issue and shows they are not truly seeking reasonable solutions.
As per the ACC's findings they shared on Monday, 59.6 percent of the 4,048 forms they evaluated do not meet the necessary criteria to be eligible for flats.
They further revealed that forms that met the criteria, and did not have any further issues, amounted to 20.7 percent of the sample. Forms that do meet the criteria, but have other issues total 19.7 percent.
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