President warns against politically driven price hikes
The government has directed State Trading Organisation (STO) to begin bulk imports and sales of fruits and vegetables.
President Mohamed Muizzu on Friday accused some businesses of deliberately raising the prices of goods for political purposes and said such practices would no longer be permitted.
Speaking in V. Felidhoo, the President said recent increases in the prices of fruits, including oranges and apples, were the result of deliberate actions by some traders. According to the Maldives Bureau of Statistics (MBS), fruit prices rose by 6 percent in August compared to July.
In response, the government has directed State Trading Organisation (STO) to begin bulk imports and sales of fruits and vegetables.
Muizzu said amendments to the law requiring the tourism sector to exchange a certain amount of dollars at official bank rates have improved access to foreign currency for imports. He noted that this should have led to lower prices for imported goods.
However, he said some traders used the shortage of dollars as a justification to raise prices, despite having access to foreign currency through banks.
“Some people are doing things to deliberately harm the people for political purposes. We will not turn a blind eye to them,” he said.
The President assured that measures taken through STO would prevent politically motivated price hikes in the future. “There will be no more price increases for political purposes. There will be no opportunity to increase the prices of fruits and vegetables. I assure you,” he said.
In addition to food imports, Muizzu said the government had allowed private businesses to reduce the cost of eyeglasses by establishing services at Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital (IGMH).
