MDP criticises govt's 2025 budget, says hikes waste
Amir argued that although the budget is presented under the premise of spending cuts, it actually includes increases in various areas.
The opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) on Thursday criticised the government’s proposed budget for 2025, alleging that it will lead to increased government waste by reducing funds for essential services.
Former Finance Minister Ibrahim Amir addressed these concerns at a news conference, where he described the budget as excessive in its provisions for taxes, spending, and debt.
Amir argued that although the budget is presented under the premise of spending cuts, it actually includes increases in various areas.
“For example, cuts amounting to MVR 3 billion have been proposed for subsidies, the pension fund, and council grants,” Amir said. However, he noted that “an additional MVR 3.8 billion has been allocated for what we consider wasteful spending,” particularly in transportation, ministries, and other government agencies.
The government has presented the budget with an emphasis on reducing the fiscal deficit. Finance Minister Moosa Zameer recently outlined the budget, which totals MVR 56.6 billion, and claimed that the projected deficit of MVR 9.4 billion represents the lowest deficit relative to GDP in recent history. Zameer also forecasted economic growth at 6.4% for the coming year.
The MDP, however, disputes the government’s claims, arguing that the numbers reflect “mathematical fraud.” Amir alleged that some items traditionally counted as expenditures, such as loans and capital injections to state-owned enterprises, are instead being categorized as off-balance sheet items for 2025, creating the appearance of a lower deficit.
Amir further stated that if these changes were consistently applied to previous years’ budgets, deficits would appear lower for those years as well. He pointed out that, under similar adjustments, the deficits for 2022 and 2023 would have been MVR 8.4 billion and MVR 8.8 billion, respectively.
“The government has used this accounting shift to present 2025 as a low-deficit budget, but a true comparison requires adjusting prior years’ budgets in the same way,” Amir stated.
