The ruling People's National Congress (PNC) MPs are praising President Mohamed Muizzu during the debate of the proposed state budget for 2026 - a budget which lacks details, proper statistics and accountability.
Some MPs said their hopes on the budget and development depend on faith, prayers and the sincerity of the President.
While the government claims to know how to solve problems and how to raise money, things are going from bad to worse. MPs continue to use the previous government as an excuse. But more than MVR 100 billion has been spent in two years under Muizzu despite the suspension of projects.
Muizzu made a record by visiting all the islands of the country. But none of his pledges have been fulfilled. With the government's failure to carry out projects, Muizzu sees the Maldives Airports Company Limited (MACL) and Bank of Maldives (BML) as the chickens that lay golden eggs. Some projects have been initiated through these two companies.
PNC MPs have been responding to the criticisms of the opposition MPs. The readers can decide whether they are praising Muizzu and ridiculing him.
Maafushi MP Hussain Riza said that although some details are missing from the budget, it is a sign of a promising budget because Muizzu is carrying out some projects.
"So, for a hopeful budget, the people of the constituency must have faith and pray. By the grace of Allah, good things will come. Sometimes it's a blessing when some things don't exist," Riza said.
"The President does not just fulfil pledges. He's doing what the people need at the moment. even if it is not a pledge."
Before the Muizzu administration, the budget book included details of projects for specific islands. This allowed the MPs to hold the government accountable for failing to carry out projects.
Previous governments did not follow the budget word-for-word and sometimes failed to deliver promised projects. But the inclusion of details gave the people the right to hold the government accountable.
Under Muizzu, there are no details in the budget. The proposed state budget for 2026 has a total budgeted amount for each constituency. But Dhidhdhoo MP Mohamed Latheef sees a very detailed picture from the budget book.
"I thought there would be no land reclamation and my airport in the budget. But there is land reclamation and airport in the budget. I thought there would be no hospital. I thought there would be no international football stadium in this budget. But the Finance Ministry has included the stadium in the budget," Latheef stated.
But this was a blatant lie. Latheef's argument was based entirely on loyalty to Muizzu rather than rational thinking. Or, it was to ridicule Muizzu.
“Different people will see the budget differently,” Speaker Abdul Raheem Abdulla said in response to a point of order taken by Velidhoo MP Mohamed Abbas, following Latheef's remarks.
These are the words of the people's representatives. The budget is a document that should clearly explain what will be delivered to the people and the details of government expenditures. Although it has been done in that manner for the past generations, Muizzu, who claims to be on the side of the people, has kept this information a secret from the people. But these things do not concern PNC MPs.
