Media Organisations Raise Concerns Over State-Funded Grant Allocation, Question Fairness and Transparency 

Four leading media organisations have expressed concern over the MVR 28 million state-funded media grant, alleging that the allocation process lacked transparency, fairness, and may have involved conflicts of interest.

The concerns follow the Ministry of Youth Empowerment, Information and Arts’ announcement that 18 registered media outlets would receive funding under the government’s initiative to support independent journalism.

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Orca Media Group, which runs MV Plus, identified three major issues: the funding granted to The Press, the MVR 5.1 million allocated to Sangu Media—reportedly linked to Youth Minister Ibrahim Waheed —and the absence of publicly available selection criteria.

Starcom Solutions, which operates Sauvees Online, questioned the selection of outlets with limited readership and minimal content output, noting that some recipients publish fewer than five stories a day.

The Standard, operated by Dominion Network Pvt Ltd, drew attention to the MVR 1.34 million allocated to The Press, a newspaper reportedly managed by State Minister Ali Shamaan, who was involved in administering the grant. The outlet described the allocation process as unfair and lacking transparency.

Vaguthu criticised the evaluation process, highlighting that some outlets with very low publication frequency were awarded nearly MVR 1 million. The outlet called for future disbursements to take into account factors such as employee numbers, content production, and audience reach.

Both Orca Media Group and Dominion Network Pvt Ltd have called for the immediate suspension of fund disbursements, an independent audit of the allocation process, the formation of an impartial committee without political affiliations, and full public disclosure of evaluation criteria and justifications.

The controversy has reignited debate over media independence in the Maldives, as the government continues implementing the Media and Broadcasting Regulation Law, which has already faced criticism for its potential to limit press freedom.

In addition to this, journalists and media professionals have also voiced criticism over the grant allocation process. Media leaders are urging transparency and accountability to safeguard the credibility of the fund, which was established to promote a diverse and independent press in the Maldives.

The policy, gazetted in August this year, marks the first formal programme in the Maldives to provide financial assistance to registered private media. It was introduced as part of President Dr Mohamed Muizzu’s pledge to allocate a portion of the state budget to support media and journalism.