Parliament endorses Munawwar as central bank governor

Parliament on Tuesday passed the appointment of former finance minister Ahmed Munawwar as the new governor of the central bank.

Following the removal of governor Ali Hashim, President Mohamed Muizzu nominated Munawwar, who is an advisor to the finance minister, as the new governor of Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA) on Tuesday.

Following parliamentary committee's approval on Monday, the parliament on Tuesday asked for a vote on his nomination where 78 MPs approved him.

President Muizzu dismissed central bank governor Ali Hashim after parliament passed a recommendation to remove him from the post last week.

According to the MMA Act, the president can appoint a governor with the advice of parliament.

Parliamentary finance committee was informed for a third day last week that Hashim, who was ill, would not be able to attend the meeting.

Then governor was first given the opportunity to respond to the committee last week.

In a letter to the committee, Hashim said that the government has always been advised on the then situation to avoid an economic disaster and the current situation is because the authorities did not pay attention to the advice and guidance given by the central bank and international financial institutions.

According to the MMA Act, the governor is removed from office by the president in consultation with parliament. According to the rules of the parliament, the committee that will hold the MMA governor accountable is the parliament’s Public Accounts Committee.