Economic Minister Saeed Rebuts Opposition No-Confidence Motion as Majlis Opens Debate

Three months after its initial submission, the People’s Majlis today debated a no-confidence motion against Minister of Economic Development and Trade Mohamed Saeed, who defended the government’s fiscal stewardship by pointing to nearly USD 2 billion in foreign exchange allocations.

The motion was formally submitted on 1 August with the backing of 13 parliamentarians from the main opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP). Introduced on the floor by Kendhoo MP Mauroof Zakir, the filing charges the minister with constitutional dereliction, neglect of parliamentary accountability, and economic mismanagement that has aggravated a persistent foreign currency crunch and pushed parallel market exchange rates above MVR 21.

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The opposition also accused the minister of misusing public funds on foreign investor symposiums amidst tight fiscal conditions, and highlighted MVR 6.56 million expended by March of last year on the proposed Development Bank of Maldives while operations remain inactive.

Taking the floor under a one-hour allocation granted by the Majlis General Purpose Committee, Saeed firmly rejected the opposition’s allegations. While noting that the Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA) holds statutory authority over exchange rate policy, he presented detailed disbursement data to argue that foreign currency liquidity has improved markedly under President Dr Mohamed Muizzu’s administration.

Saeed stated that while the previous MDP administration released USD 1.75 billion at the official pegged rate between 2021 and 17 November 2023, the current administration has disbursed USD 1.94 billion across a comparable three-year timeframe.

“In 2024 alone, USD 483.53 million was disbursed at the official rate of MVR 15.42,” Saeed told the chamber. “Looking then to 2025, USD 733.82 million was issued for commercial telegraphic transfers, students overseas, and outbound medical travellers. To date in 2026, USD 718.53 million has been released, bringing the total under this government to over USD 1.94 billion. This reflects an 80 per cent overall increase.”

The minister attributed the foreign exchange supply to state regulatory reforms, including mandates requiring tourism resorts to convert a prescribed quota of foreign currency revenue through domestic banks, a requirement initially pegged at 20 per cent and later raised to 40 per cent. He maintained that these interventions prevented sovereign insolvency amid broader geopolitical challenges.

Addressing commodity inflation and clearance bottlenecks, Saeed pointed to capacity constraints at the Malé Commercial Harbour, stating that the current government is actively upgrading port infrastructure where predecessor administrations had failed to act. He added that the administration has expanded national reserves for essential food commodities to cushion against supply disruptions stemming from Middle East tensions.

During the debate, lawmakers representing the ruling People’s National Congress (PNC), which commands a decisive parliamentary supermajority were allocated 38 minutes, while the sponsoring MDP minority received nine minutes.

The motion marks the second time this parliamentary term that the opposition has moved to dismiss a cabinet minister, following an unsuccessful attempt against former Transport Minister Mohamed Ameen that was defeated by the ruling majority.