The government's cost-cutting policy has lost direction and the government will present another MVR 7 billion supplementary budget this year, former Finance Minister Ibrahim Ameer has warned.
Speaking at a press conference by the opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), Ameer said the government decided to implement a cost-cutting policy but actions were not in line with the policy.
"The budget says MVR 7.7 billion can be saved. But, we see that by the end of January, there was no intention of reducing expenditure, the number of political appointees and new hires in companies is increasing. There is no way this MVR 7.7 billion can be saved. If the government goes in this direction, they will not have options to finance and will propose an MVR 7 billion supplementary budget again this year," he stated.
Referring to President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu's recent announcement that subsidy cuts will not be implemented this year, Ameer expressed concern as this decision goes against the subsidy reform plan under the state budget for 2025.
"I believe that the 2025 deficit will be higher than the deficit estimated in the budget passed for the year. I call on the government to take corrective measures. But the government does not seem to have the capacity," he said.
In 2024, the parliament approved a MVR 5 billion supplementary budget after running out of finances. The Finance Ministry estimates that the deficit in 2024 was around MVR 18.4 billion.
