The number of political posts has exceeded an estimated 1,500, former President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih said last night, blaming political appointments for rising government expenditure.
Speaking at a rally for Ifham Hussain, who is contesting on the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) ticket for the Maafannu Uthuru constituency in the upcoming parliamentary elections, Solih said the government's actions do not match the statements of senior officials about the state of the economy.
While President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu was alleged to have inherited a bankrupted government, the actions of the past four months could be seen clearly, Solih said. Former President Abdulla Yameen has also started talking about this now, he noted, referring to criticism over political appointments and stalled projects.
Solih said the government has halted 1,700 projects and spent an additional MVR 300 million over the past three months compared to the same period last year.
"Who is this money spent for?" Solih questioned.
What is clear is that political posts have increased to the point where appointees do not have desks and chairs, he said.
"What we estimate now - it can only be known when they provide the information - is that more than 1,500 political posts have now been created. If not, they wouldn't have to spend MVR 100 million, MVR 150 million a month on recurrent expenditure, on salaries," Solih said.
"Extreme waste, extreme waste. What would happen if the projects halted now are to restart? They would have to spend double again. Again it is your money that would be spent."
If the current government wins a majority of the People's Majlis, "this country will fall into an unexpectedly difficult and bleak situation," Solih said.
