The amount taken home as salaries and allowances by three suspended deputy ministers, without doing any work since January, has crossed MVR 500,000.
Deputy Ministers at the Youth Ministry, Malsha Shareef, Mariyam Shiuna and Mahzoom Maajid, were suspended on January 7 for insulting Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on social media. President's Office Communications Minister Ibrahim Khaleel said they were suspended for an investigation.
Under the Right to Information Act, Adhadhu has requested the reason for their suspension, the amount provided to them as salaries and allowance till March 27 and whether any further action has been taken against them.
The ministry responded to the RTI request three months later on July 2. According to the response, the total amount paid as salary to each deputy minister from January to March was MVR 94,500. That amounts to MVR 31,500 per month.
Adding up the salaries of the three months that followed since March, each deputy minister has received MVR 189,000 during the suspension period. According to the figures, Shiuna, Malsha and Mahzoom received a total of MVR 567,000 in salaries and allowances without doing any work.
The Youth Ministry said the three deputies were suspended for violating the code of conduct. The ministry added that the decision was made by the President's Office and the matter was still being investigated by the office.
After the mockery of India by senior government officials, Indian social media activists, Bollywood stars and other celebrities launched a strong campaign to boycott the Maldives.
Tourist arrivals have been declining as a consequence.
Former Finance Minister Ibrahim Ameer said the Maldives' tourism faced a loss of MVR 2 billion due to the language and policies of President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu and the three deputy ministers.
The number of Indian tourists who visited the Maldives as of June this year was 47,000 fewer than the same period last year, Ameer said. As a result, MVR 450 million was lost in tax revenue.
“And the tourism industry overall faced a loss of MVR 2.3 billion,” Ameer said.
