Some 40 political staff were appointed to the Ministry of Construction and Infrastructure 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 Construction Ministry
- One minister - MVR 58,500
- Four state ministers - MVR 43,500 per person
- Eight deputy ministers - MVR 31,500 per person
- 16 senior political directors - MVR 25,500 per person
- 11 political directors - MVR 20,500 per person
Based on the information, the state spends MVR 1,118,000 a month to pay salaries for the ministry's political staff. This is MVR 13,416,000 a year.
The average salary of a civil servant is about MVR 8,000. Therefore, the amount spent every month on the Construction Ministry's political staff would be enough to pay 139 civil servants.
The amount will exceed MVR 160 million during President Muizzu's five-year term.
The number of political employees did not reach 40 in the first two years of the former government. According to the data released by the Ministry of Housing and Infrastructure during the last government, the ministry had 25 political employees by 2020.
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.
