Wednesday
30th Oct 2024
Dhivehi Edition
President Solih. Photo: President's Office
The Government of Maldives has refused to disclose the number of individuals appointed to political positions.
On July 18, Dhiyares had petitioned the President’s Office to reveal the number of individuals appointed to political positions under the Right to Information Act.
The Office issued a response on Tuesday, which denied the request.
“The request filed is not mandated under clause 115(f) of the Constitution,” the letter said.
However, any and all information that does not fit into the exemptions must be released, as per Right to Information Act. As such, information on politically appointed individuals is not part of the exemptions.
The Government’s continued appointment of political positions has come under fire.
Some have pointed out the utter hypocrisy in MDP having more political positions, while they criticized the previous administration for appointing political positions.
Opposition leader former President Abdullah Yameen has claimed that this administration has hired over 1,000 individuals to political positions. He has claimed that during his administration there were only 689 political appointees.
Disclosures issued have shown this administration has offered extravagant pay packages to such individuals, in spite of having zero experience in their appointed fields.