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Economic Minister Mohamed Saeed

The Parliament’s General Committee has decided to give Economic Minister Mohamed Saeed one hour to respond to a no-confidence motion filed against him.

The decision was made during a committee meeting today after PNC MP for Feydhoo constituency Ibrahim Didi proposed giving the Minister an hour to present his response.

The committee also approved a separate one-hour period for MPs to debate the motion. Members present at the meeting unanimously supported both proposals.

The no-confidence motion was submitted by 13 MDP MPs and raises several concerns about the Minister’s handling of the country’s economy and his responsibilities as a government official.

Among the issues highlighted in the motion is the continued rise of the US dollar’s black-market value and the resulting increase in the prices of goods. The MPs also raised concerns about the management of state assets and public funds.

The motion further accuses Saeed of failing to remain sufficiently accountable to Parliament and of not doing enough to protect private businesses.

The MDP MPs also questioned amendments made to the Special Economic Zone (SEZ) law, claiming that the changes could create risks to the country’s sovereignty.

Several major economic projects announced by the government were also mentioned in the motion. The MPs argued that some of these initiatives have failed to make meaningful progress.

These include plans to generate $400 million in revenue from bunkering services, the Maldives Economic Gateway project, Development Bank services and the Maldives International Financial Centre.

The motion also claims that when Saeed was previously summoned to Parliament, he failed to provide direct answers to questions from MPs and instead focused on political issues unrelated to the questions.

Another concern raised was the involvement of state-owned companies in ordinary commercial activities. The MPs alleged that this has weakened the position of private businesses and left some companies and individuals struggling to compete.

Saeed will now have an opportunity to respond to the allegations before Parliament proceeds with further consideration of the no-confidence motion.