State owes MVR 586 million to various contractors

The Ministry of Finance has revealed that the state owes MVR 586 million to various companies and individuals to whom state-owned enterprises had outsourced their projects.

During the proceedings of the Parliament Committee on Economic Affairs on Wednesday, after presenting the Finance Ministry’s annual report, the MP for Maavashu constituency questioned the officials about the government’s impending payments.

The ministry officials stated that the government had MVR 568 million in payables, which included MVR 35 million that had been pending for over a month.

The officials asserted that the ministry attempts to settle payables within 14 to 20 days of service. They said that payment settlement is highly dependent on the cash flow status at each point .

The Finance Ministry revealed that the MVR 568 million was inclusive of payments owed by state owned enterprises and involved payables to small and medium enterprises as well.

The delays in being compensated for projects outsourced by the state has been a great cause of worry for many local businesses. When questioned about the government’s ideas for a solution to this problem, Spokesperson for the President Office, Miuvaan Mohamed had refused to offer a response.