Azim rejects claims of land given to family firms
The allegations concern land reportedly allocated to a company connected to Azim’s relative, Attorney General Ahmed Usham.
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Malé Mayor Adam Azim on Thursday denied allegations that he allocated land to companies linked to his family, stating that the Secretary General (SG) is responsible for implementing agreements.
The allegations concern land reportedly allocated to a company connected to Azim’s relative, Attorney General Ahmed Usham. The matter was raised after six plots issued by Villimale’ were not included in last month’s public list of released land. Councillor Nahula Ali presented the details at an official council session.
The allegations include:
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Land allocated to Vinorva Maldives of Villimale’, linked to Usham, to build a women’s business market. Nahula claims the allocation was made this year without a bid.
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A separate claim that 6,000 sqft on the eastern beach side were given free of charge in exchange for the above plot.
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Unpaid rent for 1,117 sqft allocated to a company linked to Azim for buggy parking in the Villimale’ Industrial Area. The buggy agreement has been cancelled.
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Allocation of 2,530 sqft in the Carnival area free of charge to Usham’s family company, Vasmeer Holding.
At the council meeting, Nahula alleged that these allocations breached established procedures.
Azim, rejecting the claims, told Atoll Times that the allegations arise because he has identified issues within the council during his tenure and is working to address them. He said land agreements are not issued by him and that contract execution is handled by the SG.
“There will be no land agreements given to anyone during my tenure. The SG implements the contracts. If the contents are in order, he will proceed,” Azim said.
He added that any employee who claims to have been instructed to hand over land must also explain their claim and provide evidence.
“The SG [Abdul Muhaimin Naseer] said yesterday that he acted according to the rules. He said he did not do anything unlawful. I do not look at whether it concerns my family. I look only at the contractors,” he said.
Responding to questions about unpaid rent involving a family-linked company, Azim said the matter would be dealt with according to existing rules.
He stated that a mayor cannot issue verbal instructions to influence rent-related decisions. “Everywhere I go, I stop verbal instructions. The way to stop it is to pass proper rules,” he said.
Azim added that the SG has stated he acted within regulations and that if there are concerns, the Auditor General’s Office should review the matter through an audit. Azim said he has written to the Audit Office and Parliament requesting expedited action.
Addressing claims by Nahula about the accuracy of the land list, Azim accused her of attempting to destroy evidence by damaging official council documents.
He said available footage shows state documents being destroyed and replaced with another document. Any concerns, he said, should be reported to the relevant authorities.
Azim also stated:
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Theft and corruption will not be allowed under his oversight, and the land list was made public due to lack of access.
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Public disclosure by elected and appointed officials is necessary.
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Challenges will continue, and the public should note that the land register was released.
“There is no agreement I made. I can see that those who made the agreements are unsettled because things may unfold,” Azim said.
