Former Finance Minister Criticises Government’s Economic Management

Former Finance Minister Ibrahim Ameer revealed that the current government hasn’t secured any funding in the past seven months and noted that the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) secured USD 200 million when they took office in 2018, despite needing only USD 150 million.

Ameer asserted that the Maldivian economy is currently in a better state than it was in 2019. He suggested that the primary issue now is the government’s inability to manage the economy effectively.

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https://x.com/MDPSecretariat/status/1807023225517515021

He noted that although many are unaware, forecasts indicate that the Maldivian economy remains stable. He highlighted that when the MDP proposed the budget for 2024, they estimated an economic growth of 5.5 per cent, which has now been adjusted to 4.9 per cent.

Ameer acknowledged that financial difficulties have arisen due to measures taken in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. However, he maintains that the current issues stem from the incumbent government’s failure to manage the economy properly.

“We are being misled in a bid to hide the extent of the Maldives’ economic and financial decline, which is a result of the government’s mistakes and their incompetence in managing the economy and financial affairs over the past seven months,” Ameer stated.

He explained that the MDP government had implemented certain measures during the pandemic, fully aware that debt levels would rise, but they had a plan in place to manage it.

“The plan was created with the expectation of winning the 2023 Presidential Election. Even if we didn’t win, we did not consider that an incompetent group of people would come to office,” he said.

Ameer criticised the current government’s ability to rectify the economic situation, claiming that they lack the necessary competence and are making baseless statements blaming the previous MDP government.