Shamah appointed as Minister of State for Fisheries and Ocean Resources

CEO and Managing Director of Maldives Industrial Fisheries Company Ltd (MIFCO), Ahmed Shamah Rasheed, who had been dismissed from his position, has been appointed as the Minister of State for Fisheries and Ocean Resources today.

Privatization and Corporatization Board (PCB) dismissed Shamah last evening while he was abroad on an official visit of the Ministry of Fisheries and Ocean Resources.

Shamah has confirmed to Mihaaru News that he has received his letter of appointment from the President's Office.

According to Shamah, he was dismissed from his post at his own request to change his place of work.

Earlier in March, Shamah had been suspended due to the PCB conducting investigations into complaints that they had received regarding corporate governance issues.

Allegations against Shamah

- Use of company resources and facilities for private and political reasons

- Unjustly stripping duties from permanent staff of company, threatening dismissal, lowering positions and pay of permanent staff against the Employment Act, transferring staff to other departments and regional offices against the Employment Act

- Hiring people with familial relations to the CEO to posts against hiring policies and pay structure, even when such actions are not included in the budget

- Hiring individuals to posts under the guise of 'head hunting', against governance polices and employ regulations, and with no job announcements made

- Creation of posts at the company without PCB authorization and appointing persons to these posts

- Hiring unqualified persons as department heads, against set policies

- Disregarding the company's delegation matrix and appointing unrelated staff to run the company when the CEO is travelling on official trips. Additionally, having unrelated staff accompany him on such trips

- Appointing people with connections to the CEO to the company's Bid Committee against best practices

- Allowing non-staff members of the company free access to its premises against security procedures

- Bringing family members to the company offices for non-official reasons

- CEO travelling aboard with no regard to the company's financial status, travelling via business class, and taking along employees unrelated to the work in question on such trips

- Threatening to dissolve the company's internal audit department, and obstructing the department's work

Shamah, however, has denied these allegations. After PCB conducted its investigations, the suspension was lifted, and Shamah had returned to work.