The government's political appointees are preparing to travel to the atolls using the state budget to assess the progress of projects and pledges as part of the campaign for the upcoming local council elections.
President Mohamed Muizzu formed a cabinet with 20 ministries, including the Attorney General.
Senior officials of some ministries said three political appointees have been selected from each ministry to travel to the islands. This puts the total number of political appointees travelling to islands at 60.
"They will begin the trips soon," a senior official said on condition of anonymity.
Recently, Muizzu has also increased his official visits to the islands. A large government delegation, including ministers, accompanies him on these trips.
"Project updates are provided during the President's trips. Updates on projects and pledges can be accessed without travelling to the islands in these [technologically advanced] times," an official said.
"This is being done directly for the campaign."
Meanwhile, many of the government projects have been handed over to state-owned enterprises (SOEs) due to the worsening financial situation in the country.
Maldives Airports Company Limited (MACL) is building fitness and recreation centres on 63 islands at a cost of MVR 327 million.
But it is unclear whether this is a Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) project or a government-funded project.
The project to build council offices on 55 islands was awarded to RCC on a contractor finance basis. But the national bank, Bank of Maldives (BML), has reportedly issued a USD 29.2 million loan to RCC after the government provided a guarantee. The total cost of the project is MVR 631 million.
BML is also spending on the project to open ATMs in all the islands.
