Ameer says MDP won't honour questionable project deals

Former Finance Minister Ibrahim Ameer said on Thursday that the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) will not accept certain contracts for development projects that he claims were signed without proper planning.

Ameer made the remarks in response to several projects mentioned in the presidential address delivered in parliament Thursday morning. He alleged that many of the announced projects, including housing initiatives, were undertaken without adequate planning.

He further accused the government of corruption, stating that its intention was to raise funds by implementing high-cost projects.

"I was told by a businessman that even projects valued at MVR 10 million are being contracted for MVR 70 million. These contracts will not be honoured by an MDP government. We will not accept them," he said.

Ameer also claimed that the government was engaging contractors under a contractor-finance model, with agreements to begin payments only after four years. He stated that an MDP-led government would not accept such contracts.

"They will secure contracts from China and other places, with payments deferred for four years. I advise investors that our government will take office next, and we will not honour these contracts," he said.

He pointed to the Finance Ministry's announcement seeking contractors for housing projects as evidence that the government had no proper plan.

"The contractor must determine the financing independently. The government has no plan, and there is no funding in the budget," he said.

He also criticised the government's allocation for housing projects, arguing that the budget was insufficient despite being described as a housing-focused budget. He provided figures for previous years:

Ameer further stated that the government's five-year strategic action plan had not been completed within its first year. He questioned the feasibility of a 20-year development master plan, arguing that those unable to implement a five-year plan within one year could not be expected to develop a long-term strategy.