Opposition Maldivian Democratic Party's Parliamentary Group has submitted to parliament a no confidence motion against Minister of Economic Development, Transport and Trade Mohamed Saeed.
The motion, signed by 13 MDP MPs, states that Saeed has been negligent in fulfilling his legal responsibilities. Further, he has failed to fulfill his legal obligation to be answerable in parliament, and committed acts that a cabinet minister is prohibited from.
The motion proposes taking a no confidence motion against Saeed and removing him from the post.
Points highlighted in the motion include:
- Perpetual rise of black market dollar rates and subsequent increase in prices of goods
- Failure to oversee State property and funds with integrity
- Obstruction to parliamentary efforts to hold him answerable
- Failing to protect private businesses
- Amendment to the SEZ Act and risk to State sovereignty
The motion also notes that despite the announcement of several major projects promised to revolutionize the Maldives' economy, the projects remain stalled.
This includes the failure to obtain a revenue of USD 400 million from bunkering services, delays in commencing practical work on the Maldives Economic Gateway, as well as delays in commencing operations of the Maldives International Financial Centre and Maldives Development Bank.
The motion further alleges that when summoned to parliament, Saeed skirts providing direct answers to questions, and instead opts for unrelated, political rhetoric.
It adds that instead of empowering private businesses or protecting their rights, Saeed has acted in such a way that SOEs are encroaching into the domain of private businesses, causing direct loss to private businesses and individuals.
While the main objective of the Special Economic Zone Act is to reduce Maldives' economy's dependence on tourism, Saeed is responsible for amending the Act in a manner that poses loss to the State and introducing the concept of townships, the motion continues.
It goes on to allege that regions in Maldives were being handed over to foreigners in a manner that undermines State authority, with significant tax exemptions being granted to regional leaders. This, the motion states, would lead to the loss of State territories, and pose risks that the State will miss out on a significant portion of revenue it could otherwise have secured.
The no-confidence motion also speaks of the Maldives Pearl Residence scheme, a program which allows long-term residence by investment for foreigners in townships.
While the no-confidence motion takes issue with this, MDP Chairperson, former President Mohamed Nasheed, has recently endorsed the program, stating it will prove beneficial to the Maldives.
The motion, however, argues that the program would facilitate money laundering and tax avoidance, and poses a risk to Maldives' sovereignty. It claims that bypassing parliament on major decisions such as this exceeds the minister's legal powers.
