Parliament committee raises concerns over police catering graft
Nazim said the contract is valued at MVR 35 million per year and emphasised the need to review and reduce unnecessary spending
The Finance Committee of the Parliament on Monday raised concerns over the awarding of a catering services contract to the Maldives Police Service through the Police Cooperative Society (POLCO), citing potential corruption.
During a committee meeting, members discussed the tender board’s approval of a five-year catering contract granted to POLCO. POLCO subsequently subcontracted the service to a separate company named Polket for a 10-year term.
Committee members questioned the structure of the agreement, suggesting that it was deliberately arranged to outlast the current administration and potentially benefit other parties under a future government.
Deputy Speaker Ahmed Nazim, who also represents Dhiggaru constituency, stated that while the Ministry of Finance authorised a five-year contract in 2018, a police officer proceeded to sign a 10-year agreement with Polket. He added that the original five-year contract documents had since been destroyed.
Nazim said the contract is valued at MVR 35 million per year and emphasised the need to review and reduce unnecessary spending in the police budget. He also criticised the practice of unquestioned internal approvals within security forces.
“One officer tells another ‘yes, sir’ and that is considered sufficient for execution. This does not comply with the procedures laid out in the Public Finance Act and financial regulations,” Nazim said.
Committee Chairperson, Eydhafushi MP Ahmed Saleem recommended that the matter be referred to the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) and raised with the relevant authorities.
“This would be an abuse of positional influence,” Saleem stated.
Nazim further suggested that cooperative societies established within other government institutions should also be reviewed, expressing concern over their operations.
“The affairs of cooperative societies cannot be ignored,” he added.
The committee began reviewing POLCO’s operations after the Auditor General highlighted issues with a housing project involving the construction of 300 flats in Hulhumale, where costs increased by between MVR 240 million and MVR 354.7 million.
The ACC is also investigating alleged fraud in connection with the same project.
