Gov’t Maintains 10 Percent Salary Cut for Political Appointees, Says Finance Minister

Finance Minister Moosa Zameer has confirmed that the government implemented a 10 percent salary reduction for political appointees last year and has no plans to increase those salaries in the future.

The remarks were made during a press conference yesterday amid ongoing government efforts to reduce state expenditure and restructure public institutions.

President Dr Mohamed Muizzu had previously pledged to limit the number of political appointees to 700. However, current figures are reported to have risen into the thousands. Following recent political developments, the administration has initiated structural reforms, including plans to downsize the cabinet and review political positions in an effort to reduce government liabilities.

Last Monday, the President announced that political staff would be streamlined based on performance, although no official target has yet been disclosed regarding the number of expected layoffs. The announcement followed a directive issued by the Ministry of Finance to the Privatisation and Corporatisation Board (PCB) instructing state-owned enterprises to reduce their workforce by 33 percent.

Zameer stated that the PCB is currently overseeing the implementation of staff reductions across state-owned companies. He also noted that expenditure on political appointees accounts for 0.9 percent of total government spending.

According to the minister, the salaries of political staff make up to 3.9 percent of the state’s overall monthly payroll expenditure.

Zameer further stated that political salaries were excluded from the recent pay harmonisation process that resulted in salary increases for employees in other sectors. He confirmed that the 10 percent salary reduction for political appointees has remained in effect since January 2025 as part of the government’s fiscal measures.

The government has not yet disclosed the exact number of active political appointees. However, Zameer said details relating to ongoing staff reductions would be released once the process is finalised.

The President has also stated that future recruitment for state-owned enterprises must be conducted through public announcements rather than political appointments. At the same time, he maintained that the authority granted under Article 115 of the Constitution to appoint staff to ministries remains in place, adding that such appointments would only be made when necessary and based on qualifications and experience.