Some 39 political staff were appointed to the Ministry of Fisheries and Ocean Resources by May 2 after President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu assumed office last year, the ministry has revealed.

Under the Right to Information (RTI) law, Adhadhu requested information about political appointees at the ministry from November 17, 2023 to May 1, 2024.

The ministry provided details about the political staff appointed during that period.

Number of political posts and remuneration at the Fisheries Ministry:

One minister - MVR 58,500

Two state ministers - MVR 43,500 per person

Twelve deputy ministers - MVR 31,500 per person

13 senior political directors - MVR 25,500 per person

11 political directors - MVR 20,500 per person

Based on the information, the state spends MVR 1,080,500 a month to pay salaries for the ministry's political staff. This is MVR 12,966,000 a year.

The average salary of a civil servant is about MVR 8,000. Therefore, the amount spent every month on the Fisheries Ministry's political staff would be enough to pay 135 civil servants.

The amount will exceed MVR 64 million during President Muizzu's five-year term.

The current government assumed office with a pledge to limit political appointees to no more than 700. However, information gathered from various sources shows that the figure is close to 2,000.

Some ministries have been responding to RTI requests and disclosing the number of political posts, but the total number cannot be confirmed as all the ministries have not been complying with the RTI requests.