Public Accounts Committee Approves Salary Revision for Chief Justice to Match Majlis Speaker

The Public Accounts Committee of the People’s Majlis has unanimously approved a salary revision for the Chief Justice, introducing an additional special allowance to bring his remuneration package in line with that of the Speaker of Parliament.

The measure, moved by ruling People’s National Congress (PNC) MP for Fonadhoo Consitutuency, Mohamed Mamdooh, adjusts the statutory pay structure determined by parliament.

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Chief Justice Abdul Ghanee Mohamed currently receives a total monthly remuneration of MVR 91,000. 

Under the approved motion, a special monthly allowance of MVR 4,125 will be introduced, raising his gross monthly remuneration to MVR 95,125.

Mamdooh stated that the revision was necessary to restore pay parity across the heads of the three branches of state following recent pay restructuring for parliamentary leadership. The motion was carried unanimously by all committee members present.

The decision comes shortly after the committee endorsed revisions raising the Speaker’s effective take-home pay to MVR 95,125 and increasing vehicle allowances for cabinet ministers.

Documents submitted to the committee highlighted that the Speaker had previously been receiving MVR 73,125 per month, less than the Deputy Speaker’s MVR 91,000 and the MVR 82,500 drawn by regular parliamentarians. 

That imbalance arose because the Speaker does not sit on standing committees, which award allowances of up to MVR 20,000 depending on attendance thresholds. 

To rectify the gap, the committee instituted a fixed MVR 22,000 allowance for the Speaker, prompting the subsequent matching adjustment for the judiciary’s top official.

The committee’s move follows a contentious floor session yesturday, when the People’s Majlis rejected an emergency motion protesting proposed salary and allowance hikes amid mounting public criticism over official spending during an ongoing economic downturn.

The emergency motion, tabled by opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) MP Mauroof Zakir, called for an immediate floor debate on the Public Accounts Committee’s initial decision to hike senior executive and legislative pay, including the new MVR 22,000 monthly allowance for Speaker Abdul Raheem Abdulla.

However, Speaker Abdul Raheem dismissed the motion without putting it to a vote, ruling that under parliamentary standing orders, an emergency motion cannot anticipate debate on an issue scheduled to come before the floor through regular committee reports.

“Because the motion submitted by the member fails to satisfy that requirement as outlined in the parliamentary standing orders, it cannot be accepted,” the Speaker said.

The rejected motion argued that raising senior state remuneration was indefensible when public spending has outpaced state revenue by MVR 4.5 billion this year, and while the Ministry of Finance has instructed the Privatization and Corporatization Board (PCB) to cut state-owned enterprise staff numbers by 33 per cent to rein in public debt. 

It also noted that long-standing pay harmonisation grievances for civil servants, healthcare workers, and teachers remain unresolved.

The ruling drew sharp condemnation from opposition lawmakers. Speaking on the chamber floor, Galolhu South MP Meekail Naseem questioned the ruling party’s legislative priorities, stating that advancing ministerial and leadership pay increases was unconscionable while ordinary citizens face severe shortages of essential medicines across the country.