Saturday
27th Apr 2024
Dhivehi Edition
MP Ahmed Saleem, Deputy Speaker of Parliament. | Photo: People’s Parliament
The ACC has announced that among a total of 4,000 flat recipients, many people who do not meet the requirements have still been included in the list.
Two days after the end of President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih’s presidency, the government announced the permanent list of 4,000 flat recipients.
The ACC then examined the list of those who were declared eligible for the flats and checked whether it was compiled in accordance with the rules of the previous government's landlord scheme. The study found that 58 percent of those on the list submitted ineligible applications.
The MDP members questioned the integrity of the ACC and made serious accusations against the commission in the debate on the emergency motion moved by Galolhu North MP Eva Abdullah.
The Deputy Speaker of Parliament and Hoarafushi Constituency Member Ahmed Saleem questioned the intention of the commission. He said the commission had the full power to order the administrative process of allocating the flats to stop if there was an allegation of corruption.
“If [the ACC] had good intentions, the ACC had quite a good opportunity under the law to know how to rectify any corruption-inducing issues it noticed during the administrative process of allocating the flats. However, it has not done so,” he said.
He added that the ACC is currently evaluating the forms, which is not part of its mandate. It is a task that should be done by the Housing Ministry, he said, adding that the commission's mandate and duties have been confused.
Hulhumalé MP Ali Niyaz has lashed out at the ACC, describing the decisions taken by the ACC as being taken by the government for political purposes.
He alleged that after the ACC investigation, it initially decided that the previous government had acted correctly in allocating the flats, but later the present government met the commissioner in secret and asked him to change the decision.
He further accused the ACC of trying to influence the upcoming parliamentary elections for political purposes to facilitate the allocation of flats to individuals who could be swayed to voting for the ruling coalition.
The ACC has said that it investigated all the applications that received enough points to qualify for 4,000 flats.
Following the findings of the commission's investigation, the current government said it had no intention of canceling the list of flat recipients following the commission's decision.