Firing employees including political staff as a cost-cutting measure would be the last resort, Finance Minister Dr. Mohamed Shafeeq has said.
The minister said this in response to a question from Adhadhu about the government's measures to reduce state expenditure. Efforts are underway to cut costs at government ministries and state-owned enterprises (SOEs), he said.
"It's not specifically reducing staff. Those are the last things, right. Either way, that's related to families. Instead, we're [cutting costs by] identifying areas of waste," the minister said about rumours of plans to sack political staff.
Despite President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu saying that the number of political staff in this government would not exceed 700, rumours have spread about the figure far exceeding the limit. The government has refused to disclose the total number of political staff amid speculation about plans to dismiss many of the appointees.
In addition, the government is making plans to reform Aasandha, subsidies and SOEs under its cost-cutting policy, the Finance Minister said. The minister repeatedly implied that reducing employees would not be a solution.
Despite Shafeeq's remarks, the state's financial records show that the government's expenditure on development projects declined during the first five months of this year compared to the same period last year. Expenditure on paying salaries increased significantly during that same period.
The wage bill grew by MVR 614 million. Last year, MVR 4.8 billion was spent on salaries during the first five months. The state's wage bill rose to MVR 5.4 billion during the same period this year.
