Asset declarations of President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu, Vice President Hussain Mohamed Latheef, ministers and top government officials have not been made public as pledged more than two months into the new administration.
The government previously said President Muizzu intends to publicly disclose the financial statements. This was said during a press conference held two days after the President assumed office by President's Office Undersecretary Mohamed Firuzul.
However, 66 days later, the asset declarations have yet to be published on the President's Office website.
Top President's Office officials at a ceremony held to mark National Unity Day on December 26, 2023. -- Photo: President's Office
The President's Office has not responded to Adhadhu's question about a date for the asset disclosure of top officials.
During former President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih's administration, his asset declaration along with those of Vice President Faisal Naseem, ministers and all top officials at the President's Office were disclosed on January 10, 2019, 55 days after assuming office. Records show that the statements were published on that date.
Months later, asset declarations of that government's state ministers and deputy ministers were published on the President's Office website. The statements were then published once a year.
During the campaign, President Muizzu said he was working to form "a clean government that doesn't hide anything."
"I won't leave anything to be hidden in any government office. I won't let the public or journalists be unable to learn something," President Muizzu said at a rally in Laamu Gan on September 25 during the presidential election campaign.
While the current administration's cabinet consists of 22 ministers, the President's Office website shows that there are seven people as senior ministers and ministers at the office as well as 11 people at ministerial rank. Two individuals were appointed as advisors.
There are 83 state ministers and eight people appointed to other posts at the same rank. While 157 people have been appointed as deputy ministers so far, nine people have been appointed to President's Office posts at the deputy minister rank.
In January 2022, Galolhu Uthuru MP Eva Abdulla in collaboration with Transparency Maldives submitted a bill that would make it mandatory to publicly disclose asset declarations but the legislation has been parked since then.
The "bill on disclosure of financial and other interests" was accepted with the votes of 58 MPs and sent to the Public Accounts Committee for review. But no work on the bill has been done since March 7, 2022.
The bill laid out procedures for asset declarations and specified the legal powers of enforcement agencies. Two-year prison terms and fines of up to MVR 500,000 were proposed for incomplete or false information, failure to submit before the deadline, and violations of orders by verification authorities.
