Govt targets 15-day settlement of SME dues, says finance minister

Finance Minister Moosa Zameer said on Thursday night that the government aims to settle outstanding payments owed to local small and medium enterprises (SMEs) within 15 days.

Speaking on state media programme Raajje Miadhu, Minister Zameer said delays in settling payments for goods and services supplied to the government and state-owned enterprises have posed challenges for SMEs. He said addressing payment delays remains a priority for the Ministry of Finance and Planning.

The minister said the government intends to disburse pending payments to SMEs within a 15-day period as part of efforts to ease cash flow constraints faced by businesses.

He said that during the past year, the government settled MVR 6.3 billion in outstanding bills owed to local businesses. In addition, MVR 1.5 billion in payments to foreign businesses were cleared by the finance ministry.

Minister Zameer also said MVR 882 million in long-standing bills owed by state-owned enterprises to various businesses have been settled. He added that a total of MVR 1.3 billion owed to businesses has been paid so far, while MVR 791 million remained outstanding as of 21 December.

The minister noted that President Mohamed Muizzu has designated the next two years, starting from 2026, for the implementation of measures aimed at supporting the development of SMEs.

As part of this approach, the government revised its procurement policy on Wednesday to give priority to SMEs in awarding contracts valued below MVR 5 million.