President says he interacts with media every week despite gap in press conferences

President Mohamed Muizzu on Monday said he interacts with journalists every week in some form, after being questioned about a two-month gap since his previous open press conference at the President’s Office.

Muizzu made the remarks in response to a question from Dhauru during a press conference held following the ratification of seven bills, including amendments to the Foreign Exchange Act requiring resorts to convert 40 per cent of their monthly foreign currency revenue through local banks.

Questions at Monday’s press conference were restricted to the legislation ratified during the ceremony.

Before asking a question related to the amendments, Dhauru referred to two questions it had raised with the President four months earlier and said it had not received answers from the relevant state institutions.

The questions concerned an alleged MVR 13 million contract awarded by Maldives Transport and Contracting Company (MTCC) for a taxi application without a competitive bidding process, and reports that Maldives Airports Company Limited (MACL) had hired 80 employees on salaries while allowing them to work from home.

Muizzu repeatedly asked the journalist to restrict questions to the legislation ratified on Monday.

When Dhauru referred to the lack of open press conferences as the reason for raising the previous questions, Muizzu disputed the suggestion that he had not been meeting the media.

“That is not accurate either. I meet with journalists every week, you know. A formal press conference may not happen in this hall every week, but not a single week passes without me interacting with some media outlet,” Muizzu said.

“There is no need to look surprised — this is the reality. I meet with journalists every single week.”

In his Presidential Address at the opening of Parliament earlier this year, Muizzu pledged to hold press conferences every Monday, except when prevented by official travel, public holidays or other commitments.

Before Monday, the President’s previous open press conference was held on 29 June.

Muizzu said his schedule over the past two months had prevented him from holding the Monday press conferences at the President’s Office.

“Over the past two months, if you check, most Mondays coincided with events I had to attend or heavy workloads. Otherwise, I would have held a press conference here,” he said.

“Therefore, I am keeping my promise to hold weekly sessions. I spend time every week answering questions from or providing information to some media outlet in one form or another.”

The President’s Office has used several other formats for media engagement, including Nation Chat, produced with state broadcaster Public Service Media (PSM), and Pulse, hosted by Chief Government Spokesperson Mohamed Hussain Shareef.

Under the Pulse format, a media outlet is invited to participate each week. The President’s Office determines the participating outlet and the topics addressed during the programme.

Muizzu maintained on Monday that such interactions constituted weekly engagement with the media despite the absence of a formal press conference each week.