Former Finance Minister Ibrahim Ameer has said that the root cause of Maldives' current financial crisis is relying on expected revenues.
In response to a question at a press conference held by the opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) today, Ameer said the government has not taken any measures to reduce costs and the international community would look into it. He questioned whether any foreign parties would provide financial assistance to Maldives as long as cost-cutting measures were not implemented.
"Without any reforms, hiring as many employees as they want for political purposes, paying them as much as they want, after saying companies have been mismanaged and then hiring even more staff to those companies. Everyone is watching this. International parties are watching," he said.
Ameer also alleged the government makes decisions based on the response they get at negotiations to raise money. The government "does not understand" the diplomatic responses, he said
"The state's fiscal policy and financial affairs cannot be shaped that way. This is what will happen if we leave the affairs of this country to depend on the expected revenue of MVR 16 billion," he said.
However, he said the government has now realized that things are not going well.
At today's press conference, Ameer also accused the government of trying to influence the Bank of Maldives (BML). He said credit rating agencies such as Fitch and Moody's are likely to downgrade Maldives' credit ranking soon.
His comments come as the Privatization and Corporatization Board (PCB) sent a letter to dismiss the bank's Deputy CEO Aishath Nooruddin. But the bank's statutes do not allow dismissal through a letter.
The BML board has since blocked dollar transactions with Rufiyaa cards and reduced the limit of previously issued credit cards to USD 100.
