Yameen: Muizzu Introduced Resort Dollar Exchange Rule Due to Economic Mismanagement

Former President Abdulla Yameen has claimed that the Muizzu administration’s decision to require resorts to exchange 40 per cent of their foreign currency earnings stems from economic mismanagement, arguing that previous governments did not need to impose similar measures.

Speaking at the front office meeting hosted by the People’s National Front (PNF), Yameen also rejected claims by government officials that President Dr Mohamed Muizzu has successfully managed the Maldives’ national debt.

Yameen criticised statements by senior People’s National Congress (PNC) officials portraying Muizzu as the first president with the courage to require tourism businesses to exchange foreign currency at the official rate in the public interest.

He described such claims as lacking economic analysis, saying previous presidents had also governed during periods of economic difficulty without forcing resorts to exchange all of their US dollar earnings.

According to Yameen, earlier administrations were able to manage the country’s debt and meet foreign currency obligations without imposing a requirement for tourism businesses to surrender their foreign exchange earnings.

Yameen also pointed to dissatisfaction within the tourism industry over the current requirement for resorts to exchange 40 per cent of their foreign currency.

He argued that the tourism sector is central to the Maldivian economy and claimed that the policy has contributed to growing opposition to the Muizzu administration among tourism businesses.

Yameen further argued that the government had introduced the measure despite relatively high foreign currency inflows during the previous year. He said the decision therefore reflected what he characterised as mismanagement of the economy.