For the past year, President Mohamed Muizzu’s administration has sold Maldivians a simple narrative:
“We inherited a broken economy. We are fixing it.”
But the latest findings from the Auditor General, the World Bank, and official state records paint a very different picture — one where the government’s own policies, political hiring sprees, and financial mismanagement have pushed the Maldives further into economic danger than at any point in recent memory.
The numbers tell a story that political slogans cannot hide.
A Historic Deficit — Created Under Muizzu, Not Inherited
According to the Auditor General’s Review of Budget Position 2024, the Maldives hit its worst-ever budget deficit last year:
- MVR 15.5 billion deficit
- 14% of GDP
- Worse than during COVID
- Worse than any period in recent history
If this is what “reform” looks like under Muizzu, Maldivians should be terrified.
Despite claiming fiscal responsibility, the government continues to overspend its approved budget and requires supplementary budgets every single year. Promises of “fiscal discipline” are repeated for media soundbites, yet never implemented.
World Bank: Government Cash Ran Out in 2024
Muizzu officials claim they “inherited unpaid bills.”
The World Bank says otherwise.
“Unavailability of finance led to a reduction in capital spending and accumulation of arrears.”
The government ran out of cash in 2024. Not in 2023. Not because of the previous administration. Contractors were not paid on time. Projects stalled. Arrears began piling up within the same fiscal year due to cash-flow shortages — not because someone else left unpaid bills.
The “MVR 9 Billion” Myth: A Political Lie Exposed
In early 2025, senior officials went on state media claiming that the new government had inherited:
- USD 583 million
- ≈ MVR 9 billion
- In “unpaid bills from the previous administration”
This number, for anyone who knows public finance, was absurd.
Historically, Maldives’ year-end payables range between MVR 1–3 billion. A sudden jump to MVR 9 billion would be a historic financial crisis — one impossible to hide.
But the 2023 Audited Consolidated Financial Statements, certified by the Auditor General, provide the real figure:
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Official audited payables at end of 2023: MVR 3.12 billion
Not 9 billion.
Not 7 billion.
Not “hundreds of millions of dollars.
Just MVR 3.12 billion — the only legally verified number. Unless Muizzu’s government produces creditor lists, due dates, and verification documents, their claim remains nothing more than political theatre.
The Real Surge in Arrears Happened in 2024 — Under Muizzu
The Auditor General’s 2024 Budget Position Audit confirms:
- Payables surged from MVR 3.19 billion (2023)
- To nearly MVR 6 billion (2024)
- An 88% increase in a single year
This aligns perfectly with the World Bank’s findings: the government created arrears in 2024 because it could not pay its bills on time.
SOEs Become Political Job Factories: 4,300 New Hires in One Year
If the government is broke, why is it expanding the payroll like never before?
The PCB Annual Report reveals:
- SOE employees in 2023: 34,659
- SOE employees in 2024: 38,969
An explosion of 4,300+ new hires in one year — the equivalent of:
- 360 recruits per month
- 18 new political hires every working day
This is not governance. This is job-packing for political loyalty financed by public debt.
Billions on Salaries, Zero on Development
Here is where the tragedy becomes farcical:
- MDP (5 years): MVR 47.1 billion in salaries
- PNC (3 years): MVR 43.3 billion in salaries
Yet under Muizzu, the Maldives sees fewer development projects than at any time in the past decade.The government has money for political jobs. But no money to pay contractors. No money for development. No money for students abroad. No money to maintain basic services. This is fiscal insanity masquerading as leadership.
Violations of Public Finance Law Are Mounting
The Public Finance Act, Constitution, and Public Finance Regulations clearly state:
- No commitments can be made without funds
- No spending beyond Parliament’s approved budget
- All liabilities must be documented
- All arrears must be reported annually
Yet the 2024 audit shows:
- Overspending beyond authorized limits
- Commitments made without funds
- Rising unpaid bills
- Delayed obligations
- Weak recording of liabilities
These are not “technical issues.” These are legal violations that increase the risk of corruption, hidden debt, and misreported financial obligations.
A Government Addicted to Illusion, Not Accountability
President Muizzu’s government operates on optics, propaganda, and inflated numbers.
But economic reality is not forgiving.
You can lie on TV.
You can manipulate talking points.
You can blame the previous government forever.
But you cannot lie to auditors.
You cannot lie to the World Bank.
You cannot lie to the IMF.
And you cannot lie to Maldivians forever.
The fiscal illusion is breaking.
And when it collapses completely, the cost will be paid by every Maldivian — through higher taxes, weaker public services, reduced subsidies, and a generation of debt.
The Path Forward Requires Honesty — Something This Government Lacks
If the administration truly wants to fix the economy, it must:
- Stop hiring politically into SOEs
- Freeze recurrent expenditure
- Restore development financing
- Publish full arrears lists
- Follow the Public Finance Act
- Use SAP data transparently
- Implement IMF-backed reforms
- Stop misleading the public
But honesty and discipline are not this government’s strengths.
What we have instead is a government in denial — one that blames others while spending recklessly and overseeing the sharpest rise in arrears and deficits in our modern history.
The Maldives is not suffering because of inherited problems. It is suffering because of current decisions.
- Largest deficit ever
- Rising arrears
- Liquidity crisis
- Exploding SOE payroll
- Decline in capital spending
- Zero development progress
- Violations of fiscal law
And unless the government changes course immediately — or is replaced — the consequences will be felt long after Muizzu’s political project collapses.
