Some 32 political staff were appointed to the Ministry of Education 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 on May 2 information about political appointees at the ministry from November 17, 2023 to May 1, 2024.

The ministry first replied to the request on May 9 saying that the information was available on the President’s Office website.

However, since information about political appointees is not up to date on the President’s Office website, which only lists officials above the rank of deputy minister, Adhadhu sought a review of the ministry’s response. A case was filed with the Information Commissioner’s Office of Maldives (ICOM) after the ministry failed to respond to the request.

After a hearing in the case was scheduled for July 18, the ministry gave a second response.

Citing Article 31(1) of the RTI law, the ministry said it could not disclose the requested information. The provision referred to by the ministry states that offices have the discretion of non-disclosure if revealing the information would “obstruct the result-based planning policy of government in a manner that achieves the goal.”

However, the ICOM ordered the ministry to provide the information. At the hearing, an information officer for the ministry said the initial responses were not intended to withhold information.

Number of political posts and remuneration at the Education Ministry

• One minister - MVR 58,500
• Six state ministers - MVR 43,500 per person
• 13 deputy ministers - MVR 31,500 per person
• 9 senior political directors - MVR 25,500 per person
• 3 political directors - MVR 20,500 per person

Based on the information, the state spends more than MVR 1 million a month to pay salaries for the ministry's political staff. This is MVR 12.2 million a year and MVR 61.2 million for five years.

The current government assumed office with a pledge to limit political appointees to no more than 700. However, information gathered by Adhadhu shows there are 799 political employees in 18 ministries. With the information from the Education Ministry, the number has climbed to 831.

Political employees include those at the President's Office, Muleeaage and Hilaaleege. However, the President's Office has repeatedly refused to reveal the total number of political appointees.

Although the government has broken its promise, leading figures of the ruling People's National Congress on July 31 hinted that more political employees will be hired in the coming days.