After initially denying that Maldives Customs Service would be allocated 100 flats out of the 4,000 flats of Gedhoruveriyaa Scheme, Minister Haidar has now assured that the agency will receive its quota of flats.
The newly appointed Controller General of Maldives Customs Service Fathimath Dhiyana met with Housing Minister Dr. Ali Haidar Ahmed yesterday over his comments made at the parliament's Petition Committee, which suggested that the 100 flats previously promised for employees of Maldives Customs Service within the 4,000 flats to be issued under the Gedhoruveriyaa [homeowner] scheme of the government will not in fact be allocated to them.
At the petition committee, Minister Haidar said that the current government is investigating the list of the initial 4,000 applicants announced as the recipients of apartments which was opened for applications in 2022 by the former administration. However, these flats do not include the 100 apartments dedicated for Customs, he said.
He went on to say that if there is an agreement between Customs and Fahi Dhiriulhun Corporation (FDC) which is building the flats, then that agreement would be honoured by FDC.
"However, we have not seen anything reserved for Customs employees among these 4,000 flats," he said.
Following these comments, Maldives Customs Service immediately issued a statement refuting Minister Haidar's claims, and explaining the chronology of communications between Customs and the Housing Ministry both during the previous administration and the current administration in relation to the flats in question.
The memo detailed dates of meetings and letter numbers for reference as well as information on communication between the agency and Fahi Dhiriulhun Corporation (FDC).
After publishing the memo, Dhiyana also took the initiative to meet with Minister Haidar and other senior officials of the ministry, expressing her concern over the matter. It has been reported that she sent another memo to various sections of Customs after the meeting as well.
In the second internal memo, she confirmed that Minister Haidar assured that that 100 flat promised to them would be allocated from the Gedhoruveriyaa scheme as previously planned. Additionally, assurance was also given that land would be allocated to build additional apartments for employees of Maldives Customs Service, as per President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu's pledge to guarantee housing for the agency's employees, she wrote.
"As discussions are being held by Customs with relevant agencies, and work is being done to ensure all necessary arrangements," Dhiyana wrote.
Although Minister Haidar's response to Dhiyana was very positive during the meeting, his tone regarding the matter the day before was entirely different.
"When we discussed the matter with Customs, we noticed that Customs did not have much interested in getting flats for their employees among these [apartments]," Haidar told the Petition Committee day before yesterday.
However, Dhiyana's initial memo in response to these comments contrasted the Minister's claims. She highlighted that a meeting was held with the Housing Ministry on 18th March in response to a request by the President's Office to submit the options being considered by Customs following discussions with both Housing Development Corporation (HDC) and the ministry.
"It was agreed to allocate the land needed to build apartments for Customs employees from HDC during the meeting, and that the 100 flats allocated for Customs employees within the Gedhoruveriyaa scheme will proceed without change," the memo explained.
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