Thursday
19th Dec 2024
Dhivehi Edition
MP Saleem.
MP Ahmed Saleem (Eydhafushi), minority leader of the Citizen’s Majlis, has called for the State to allocate funds for next year’s budget to reduce the rent of the Hiyaa flats.
During the debate in the Majlis over the proposed budget for 2022, MP Saleem said that the government’s handing over of the Hiyaa flats without any furnishing was “an insult to the citizens”. He said that the families who moved into the Hiyaa flats are in a lot of discomfort.
MP Saleem said that work was still underway in the sixteen 25-storey towers. He said that this was not an insult to former President Yameen or any other political leader, but rather to the citizens.
MP Saleem said that the proposed budget contained a lot of high expenses. He said that money could be saved to grant a sum of MVR 100,000 for every family who moved into the Hiyaa flats.
He pointed out that government officials were taking expensive trips abroad with large entourages. He said that reducing the rent of the Hiyaa flats would cost about MVR 160 million, and he asked what reason there was to not follow through.
MP Saleem said that President Solih and other government officials should reduce the costs the State incurs from their visits abroad. He mentioned that Caliph Omar, when he travelled from Medina to receive the keys of Jerusalem, was accompanied by only one other person.
MP Saleem also said that, with all due respect, the increasing cost of providing security for Speaker Nasheed should also be reduced.