Democrats presidential candidate Ilyas Labeeb has pledged to exempt resorts in the north and south from the tourism sector goods and services tax (T-GST).
After campaigning in Kulhudhuffushi City in the north last week, Ilyas traveled to Addu city in the southernmost atoll on Saturday evening.
Speaking at a rally in Feydhoo last night, Ilyas - who represents Addu’s Hulhudhoo constituency in parliament - accused the government of neglecting the development of the northern and southern cities of Kulhudhuffushi and Addu.
Speaker Mohamed Nasheed, who also participated in the rally, and Ilyas spoke about formulating policies under a Democrats administration to facilitate economic activity in the north and south.
“We will cut T-GST for the first three years after the [resorts] are developed and operated. And we will cut 50 percent of T-GST for a further seven years. We’re talking about a total of 10 years,” Ilyas said.
“The purpose is to do tourism business in these regions.”
Ilyas also pledged last night to reduce airfare for tourists who travel to domestic airports and bring ticket prices down to what locals are charged.
Former President Nasheed said at the rally that he prioritized the development of Kulhudhuffushi and Addu during his administration because it would be the most beneficial for the whole population.
The policies included in the Maldivian Democratic Party’s (MDP) previous manifestos were intended to develop the north and south and to create a large enough population in order to alleviate congestion in the Male’ region, Nasheed said.
Ilyas also said that the public in Kulhudhuffushi and Addu do not believe that any work has been done to develop the cities.
“There was no care or attention. For this reason, many people who worked to bring MDP to power are unhappy and angry with the party and the government,” he said.
Kulhudhuffushi and Addu are MDP strongholds and the party swept all the seats from both constituencies in the parliamentary elections.
The MDP lost some seats in Addu in the council election but took all the seats in the Kulhudhuffushi city council.
However, after the formation of The Democrats, all of the Kulhudhuffushi city council members left the MDP and joined the new party.
