The Malé City Council hired several consultants for work normally done by employees in state offices, spending more than MVR 10 million on their contracts, it has been revealed.
Under the right to information law, Adhadhu requested details of the people who worked as consultants in the Malé City Council between May 17, 2021 to November 30, 2023 along with the nature of their work and their monthly remuneration.
During the period, the Mayor who headed the city council was Dr. Mohamed Muizzu, who assumed the presidency on November 17, 2023.
Disclosing the requested information, the city council provided the names of the consultants, nature of work, monthly expenditure and the dates of entry and expiry of the employment agreements.
Information disclosed by the city council.
However, details of the work were not disclosed. Only the area of consultancy was provided, which included work normally assigned to employees on low pay in state offices.
The city council spent MVR 10,078,500 a year on the consultants, according to the disclosed information. Some contracts have now expired and some of the consultants have since been appointed to various posts in President Muizzu's administration.
The city council spent MVR 18,000 a month on the lowest-paid consultant. The highest cost for assigning work was MVR 45,000.
According to the information sheet provided by the city council, an agreement was made in November 2023 with a consultant hired for public relations work. But the agreement was said to have ended in October 2023 and the total value was calculated based on a one-year contract period.
City council's English documentation
- Contractor: Kings Consulting Pvt Ltd
- Work: Information dissemination, writing English language documents for the city council's purposes (no further details of work)
- Date of assignment: January 25, 2022
- End of contract period: November 30, 2023
- Monthly fee: MVR 25,000
- Contract value: MVR 561,000
According to its website, the company is partly owned by Mohamed Hussain Shareef (Mundhu), who was appointed by President Muizzu's administration as an Ambassador-at-Large at the ministerial rank.
The company's shareholders are Mundhu and Ibrahim Mohamed, Adhadhu learned from the Economic Ministry's business registry.
Mundhu presented with letter of appointment for Ambassador-at-Large. -- Photo: President's Office
State Minister for Social and Family Development Aminath Hussain Shareef also works at the company, according to the website.
The company was formed on October 17, 2021, three months and nine days before the city council work was awarded. The contract has since ended but Mundhu is still listed as a shareholder of the company in the Economic Ministry's official registry.
Two people as urban consultants
- Contractor: Dr. Ali Haidar and Mariyam Juhaina Sodiq
- Work: Urban planning consultancy (no further details of work)
- Date of assignment: May 15, 2022 and October 20, 2021
- End of contract period: May 14, 2023 and October 19, 2023
- Monthly fee: MVR 30,000 and MVR 35,000
- Contract value: MVR 360,000 and MVR 840,000
Dr. Haidar became Minister of Housing, Land and Urban Development in the cabinet formed by the President on November 17.
Juhaina contested for the Mulah constituency in the 2019 parliamentary elections. She also worked as deputy registrar of the Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM).
ICT consultancy
- Contractor: Hussain Zeenee
- Work: Information communications technology consultancy (no further details of work)
- Date of assignment: August 22, 2021
- End of contract period: September 20, 2023
- Monthly fee: MVR 37,000
- Contract value: MVR 937,500
After President Muizzu assumed office, he was appointed on November 29 as Deputy Minister at the Ministry of Homeland Security and Technology.
Consultancy on land matters
- Contractor: Abdulla Abdul Hakeem
- Work: Rules needed for Vital and Land Building section, and concerning land (no further details of work)
- Date of assignment: March 1, 2023
- End of contract period: February 28, 2025
- Monthly fee: MVR 45,000
- Contract value: MVR 1,080,000
Management consultancy
- Contractor: Hassan Zareer
- Work: (no further details of work)
- Date of assignment: August 22, 2021
- End of contract period: August 21, 2024
- Monthly fee: MVR 35,000
- Contract value: MVR 1,260,000
In the change brought to the Privatization and Corporatization Board (PCB) by the current government, President Muizzu appointed him to the board on November 23.
Financial consultancy
- Contractor: Mohamed Shahid
- Work: (no further details of work)
- Date of assignment: September 1, 2021
- End of contract period: August 31, 2024
- Monthly fee: MVR 30,000
- Contract value: MVR 1,080,000
Photography for city council
- Contractor: Elize Ali Mohamed
- Work: Photography service for city council's events, meetings and Athamana magazine (no further details of work)
- Date of assignment: August 1, 2022
- End of contract period: July 31, 2023
- Monthly fee: MVR 25,000
- Contract value: MVR 300,000
Drafting of reports and 'various documents'
- Contractor: GSeven Holdings
- Work: Preparing reports and leaflets and writing various documents (no further details of work)
- Date of assignment: February 1, 2022
- End of contract period: January 31, 2025
- Monthly fee: MVR 18,000
- Contract value: MVR 648,000
The Economic Ministry's business portal shows that the company's shareholders were Zulaiha Ibrahim (appointed: April 29, 2019) and Ali Naseer (appointed: November 19, 2023).
Adhadhu further learned from Zulaiha's LinkedIn profile that she has been working as a state attorney at the Attorney General's Office since April 2017.
Planning and carrying out media and public relations work
- Contractor: Ahmed Fazal Hussain
- Work: Planning and carrying out Malé City Council's media and public relations work (no further details of work)
- Date of assignment: November 1, 2023
- End of contract period: October 31, 2023
- Monthly fee: MVR 35,000
- Contract value: MVR 420,000
As the dates do not match in the information sheet provided by the city council, the calculation was made on the basis of a one-year contract period.
Administrative consultancy
- Contractor: Aminath Nasiha
- Work: (no further details of work)
- Date of assignment: October 10, 2021
- End of contract period: October 9, 2024
- Monthly fee: MVR 19,500
- Contract value: MVR 702,000
Road project consultancy
- Contractor: Ahmed Mamdhooh
- Work: (no further details of work)
- Date of assignment: October 6, 2021
- End of contract period: October 5, 2024
- Monthly fee: MVR 37,500
- Contract value: MVR 1,350,000
Civil engineering consultancy
- Contractor: Mohamed Dilshan Abdulla
- Work: (no further details of work)
- Date of assignment: July 18, 2022
- End of contract period: July 17, 2023
- Monthly fee: MVR 45,000
- Contract value: MVR 540,000
He was appointed on November 21 as a State Minister by the current government at the Ministry of Housing, Land and Urban Development.
