The Finance Ministry has said it does not keep separate records of the salaries and allowances of political appointees, even though the Ministry is responsible for managing state spending.
The issue came up after Aik Ahmed Easa, a member of the opposition MDP’s legal team and a former Finance Ministry employee, submitted a Right to Information (RTI) request on March 31. He asked for details on the number of political appointees and the total amount spent on their salaries and allowances.
In its reply, the Finance Ministry said this information is kept by the offices where appointees work, not by the Ministry itself. When Aik asked for a revision, the Ministry’s Revision Committee refused to change the response. This led him to file a complaint with the Information Commissioner’s Office (iCOM).
At an online hearing on Sunday, Information Commissioner Ahid Rasheed questioned the Ministry about its position. A Finance Ministry legal assistant repeated that the Ministry does not keep records of political appointees separately. However, when asked why the Ministry had previously shared details of its own appointees, the official asked for more time to answer. Ahid then ordered the Ministry to respond in writing within two days.
The controversy comes as President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu faces criticism for failing to keep his campaign promise to limit political appointees to 700. The opposition MDP claims the real number is between 2,000 and 3,000. They argue that the rising cost of salaries and allowances shows the figure is much higher than what the government says.
According to Finance Ministry data, the state spent MVR 4.3 billion on salaries by September 4 this year—up from MVR 4.03 billion during the same period last year. Spending on allowances also rose to MVR 3.84 billion, compared to MVR 3.64 billion last year.
The Maldives is already under heavy debt, with the World Bank and IMF warning the government to reduce spending to avoid serious financial risks. The Finance Ministry’s claim of being “unaware” of political appointee salary details has now raised more questions about transparency in Muizzu’s administration.
