Male’ Fish Market leased below did price in Muizzu’s mayorship

The company that operated the Malé Fish Market was awarded the lease at a rental rate lower than the amount fixed by the Malé City Council’s bid committee during the period when President Mohamed Muizzu was serving as Mayor.

The contract with the operator has since expired, and the council has decided not to extend it after it was found that the property had been leased below the agreed rate.

According to Mayor Adam Azim, the bid committee had set the rental price at MVR 130,000, but another committee later reduced it to MVR 70,000.

“The bid committee decided on MVR 130,000. That decision was later changed by another committee. I am obtaining legal advice, as this should not be possible,” Azim said during last week’s council meeting.

He added that further documents regarding the lease have come to light. “There are a lot of problems with this contract,” Azim said, noting that details will be presented to the council as they are discovered.

Azim also said that the market’s electricity bill, totalling more than MVR 400,000, has not been paid.

The mayor has proposed reopening the lease through a new bidding process.