Fact check: Political staff exceed 700 with record number of appointments

4 ޖުލައި 2024 - 12:35 0

Photo depicting burden on state finances from the government's political posts. -- Photo: Imdhadh/ Adhadhu

Fact check: Political staff exceed 700 with record number of appointments

4 ޖުލައި 2024 - 12:35 0

A limit of 700 for political appointees pledged before the government came to power was reached a few months after President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu took the oath of office, a tally based on information compiled by Adhadhu from various sources has confirmed.

The government has not publicly disclosed the number of employees in political posts to date.

On May 24, Adhadhu sent right to information (RTI) requests to the President's Office and all government ministries to find out the figure.

In the RTIs, Adhadhu sought information about political staff at ministries starting from November 17, 2023 to May 1, 2024. Of the ministries in President Muizzu's cabinet, 13 ministries provided the information. The President's Office and the remaining ministries did not respond to the RTIs.

Due to the non-compliance with the RTIs, information about political posts was gathered from the President's Office website and the social media accounts of the ministries.

39 ministers or officials at ministerial rank

Salary - MVR 58,500
Monthly expenditure on salaries - MVR 2,281,500
Yearly expenditure on salaries - MVR 27,378,000

These officials include President's Office Ministers and Commissioners of various agencies.

85 state ministers

Salary - MVR 43,500
Monthly expenditure on salaries - MVR 3,697,500
Yearly expenditure on salaries - MVR 44,370,000

This does not include state ministers sacked by the government for various reasons.

180 deputy ministers

Salary - MVR 31,500
Monthly expenditure on salaries - MVR 5,670,000
Yearly expenditure on salaries - MVR 68,040,000

174 senior political directors

Salary - MVR 25,500
Monthly expenditure on salaries - MVR 4,437,000
Yearly expenditure on salaries - MVR 53,244,000

95 political directors

Salary - MVR 20,500
Monthly expenditure on salaries - MVR 1,947,500
Yearly expenditure on salaries - MVR 23,370,000

Along with 13 assistant political directors, 98 youth associates and 22 personal assistants to ministers in addition to these posts, there are a total of 705 political staff in the government, information gathered by Adhadhu showed.

As this information has not been updated since the end of last year, many more political appointments are expected to have been made since then at the President's Office and the nine ministries that did disclose information. The number of senior political directors, political directors and assistant political directors at those nine ministries is not known.

Adhadhu tallied these figures without including the unconfirmed appointments; administrative staff at the President's Office, presidential residence and vice presidential residence; staff at embassies and foreign missions; employees appointed to health centres and hospitals in the atolls; and political staff of various institutions on islands.

Based on this information alone, the government spends MVR 20 million a month on political staff. The figure is expected to exceed MVR 30 million if undisclosed appointees at the President's Office and the nine ministries are counted.

There were 1,063 political appointees in the previous government, information disclosed at the time showed. There were 808 political staff in the preceding administration of former President Abdulla Yameen.

Therefore, if the undisclosed information is counted in the tally, President Muizzu's government would have the record number of political staff in the Maldives to date.

Despite the dismissal of political staff, the impact is difficult to assess with the real figure unknown. The government has not disclosed this information even once despite a legal obligation to do so.