The Maldives has failed to get USD 33.7 million from the World Bank’s sustainable development financing policy, Hulhumale' South MP Ahmed Shamheed said today (January 6).

In a post on social media X, Shamheed said the government failed to get the money because of its failing fiscal policy and debt management policy.

“There are reports that USD 33.7 million (MVR 519 million) under the World Bank's Sustainable Development Financing Policy has been lost,” he said.

Shamheed said that if such a thing happened in another country, the parliament would currently be debating to take a no-confidence vote against the minister.

The Muizzu administration passed a record budget of MVR 64 billion for its third year. MVR 12.9 billion is allocated for debt repayment in the state budget for 2026.

In April, USD 600 million (MVR 9.2 billion) is due in debt. The USD 500 million (MVR 7.7 billion) sukuk is due to be paid on April 8. The USD 100 million (MVR 1.5 billion) bond is due April 26.

The World Bank estimates that more than USD 1 billion will be spent on debt repayment this year, including the debt owed by some state owned enterprises (SOEs).

Financing of MVR 26.2 billion is required to cover budget expenditures including debt repayment and deficit.

The government's reliance on the domestic market to meet its expenditure has increased by MVR 19 billion in two years, according to the Finance Ministry.

Adhadhu understands that the government is in talks to take out a USD 300 million loan to pay off debts this year and cover costs.