The Maldives avoided a situation similar to the economic crisis faced by Sri Lanka because the government fulfilled its responsibility and implemented good policies, president Ibrahim Mohamed Solih has said.
Speaking at a ceremony to open a newly-established powerhouse and Fenaka office in Bilehdhoo island, Solih said the island was among the first to fall prey to covid and that the people of Bilehdhoo had suffered extreme hardship.
As the island is dependent on grouper fisheries, the government provided assistance to alleviate the difficult situation faced by fishermen because of lockdowns, he noted.
"We disbursed about MVR 9.5 million to this island's fishermen, business people and workers in various fields," Solih said.
While providing the assistance was difficult for the government, the purpose was to ensure that the people could live "comfortably" during the crisis, he said.
It was burdensome for the government, but it was necessary at such a juncture for the government to take on the responsibility and the burden, and to act in a manner that won't cause difficulties.
Taking the example of neighbouring Sri Lanka, Solih said the Maldives has avoided crisis because of such decisions.
"A Lankan minister said at the time that the biggest mistake they made was stopping infrastructure work that had started. 'The entire island came to a halt, jobs were lost, businesses stopped,'" he said, citing a nephew of former Sri Lankan president Gotabaya Rajapaksa.
He also noted the prolonged closure of Sri Lanka's borders to tourists.
"In contrast, the Maldives is where we are today because of decisions taken then," Solih claimed.
The leaders of Seychelles also posed questions about the measures taken to control covid and the Maldives showed an example to other countries, he said.
[Seychelles] was looking at how the Maldives acted. [They said] 'we looked at each step taken by the Maldives and we did the same. Because we saw that it was the best course of action.'
Solih further said things happened that way because of the advice from everyone involved.
"Policies should be determined after seeking the opinion and counsel of everyone involved in it," he stated.
He said that although there were differences of opinion, gathering everyone's opinion and counsel made it easier to take the necessary action.
Bilehdhoo was the fourth stop in the president's two-day tour of Faafu atoll. As the final stop, the president visited Feeali in the late afternoon on Sunday.
