The government should stop spending and suspend infrastructure development until the Rufiyaa appreciates, the opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) Chairperson Mohamed Nasheed said today.
Nasheed said in a post on X that the government should only spend on basic things at the moment.
"It is not good for the government to spend on anything except basic services until the dollar issue is solved. All work should be stopped," Nasheed said.
Nasheed said the government should give up the unfinished works in the islands and hand them over to the councils.
“The council can do it on a cross-subsidy basis,” he said.
The dollar rose to a record high last week. Currently, a dollar is available at MVR 21.25 in the capital. The dollar has appreciated this year due to record debt repayments, wasteful spending, lack of new investment and the government's inability to obtain loans.
Meanwhile, the government's foreign exchange reserves and usable reserves fell sharply. The decline in reserves was due to an increase in the amount of dollars needed for TT support.
