Some 195 political staff were appointed to the Sports Ministry by May 1 after President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu assumed office last year, the ministry has revealed.
Under the Right to Information (RTI) law, Adhadhu requested information about political appointees at the ministry from November 17, 2023 to May 1, 2024.
The ministry provided details about the political staff appointed during that period.
Number of political posts and remuneration at the Sports Ministry
- One minister - MVR 58,500
- Sports Commissioner - MVR 58,500
- Minister's personal assistant - MVR 15,000
- Three state ministers - MVR 43,500
- 16 deputy ministers - MVR 31,500
- 38 senior political directors - MVR 25,500
- 25 political directors - MVR 20,500
- 12 assistant political directors - MVR 18,000
- 98 youth associates - MVR 13,000
Based on the information, the state spends MVR 3,738,000 a month to pay salaries for the ministry's political staff. This is MVR 44,856,000 a year.
The amount will exceed MVR 224 million during President Muizzu's five-year term.
The average salary of a civil servant is about MVR 8,000. Therefore, the amount spent every month on the Sports Ministry's political staff would be enough to pay 467 civil servants.
The current government assumed office with a pledge to limit political appointees to no more than 700. However, information gathered from various sources shows that the figure is close to 2,000.
Some ministries have been responding to RTI requests and disclosing the number of political posts, but the total number cannot be confirmed as all the ministries have not been complying with the RTI requests.
