The Parliament today decided to advise President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu to to dismiss Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA) Governor Ali Hashim as recommended by the Public Accounts Committee (PAC).
At today's sitting, 63 MPs voted in favour of dismissal whilst nine MPs voted against it.
The PAC has established that Hashim lacks the capability to perform the duties of the governor and to serve the purposes of the central bank as stated in the MMA law, the report passed to dismiss Hashim from the post stated.
Last week, the committee offered Hashim three opportunities to speak in his defence. However, he could not attend a committee meeting on three consecutive days due to illness. Hashim instead submitted a detailed written response.
MPs Dr. Ahmed Shamheed and Abdul Ghafoor Moosa from the opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), both of whom sit on the committee, did not participate in the vote taken last week to seek Hashim's dismissal. Under the MMA law, the Parliament could advise the President to remove the governor.
In his written response to the committee, Hashim denied any dereliction of duty. The MMA had provided advice to the government, stressed the importance of taking the necessary measures and shared the information needed to avert an economic disaster before it struck, he said.
The basis of the dangerous economic outlook facing the country at present was the failure to listen to the advice and recommendations by the MMA and international financial institutions, Hashim added, noting his willingness to attend and share the information in person at the committee.
Hashim was appointed as MMA governor on September 8, 2019 by then-President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih.
