Government spokesperson Heena Waleed today insisted that the number of political appointees would be disclosed but declined to mention a specific date.
In response to a question from Adhadhu, Heena said "information regarding political appointees is not confidential information." She added that the "information will be disclosed."
Although Heena claimed that information regarding political appointees is not confidential information, the details are not available from any government authorities. Meanwhile, the government has declined to provide the details to the Parliament as well.
The current government assumed office with a pledge to limit political appointees to no more than 700. 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.
However, information gathered from various sources shows that the figure is close to 2,000.
As a result, some political employees spend their time in cafes and restaurants near the ministries during office hours.
Some ministries do not have desks and chairs for political appointees to work, sources confirmed to Adhadhu.
The opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) filed a motion without notice last Wednesday to debate the non-disclosure of the number of political appointees. But the motion did not pass as the supermajority of the ruling People's National Congress (PNC) did not wish to debate the issue.
Meanwhile, Finance Minister Dr. Mohamed Shafeeq declined to share the information when questioned during a meeting of the Public Accounts Committee.
