Parliament rejects emergency motion against salary increases for Speaker, ministers
Speaker announced that the motion could not be accepted because it failed to satisfy the requirements for an emergency motion.
Parliament on Monday rejected an emergency motion opposing increases to the salaries and allowances of the Speaker of Parliament, cabinet ministers and island councillors, ruling that the motion did not meet the procedural requirements for an emergency debate.
The motion was submitted by Kendhoo MP Mauroof Zakir of the opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), who sought a parliamentary debate on the Finance Committee's decision to increase remuneration for senior government officials.
Speaker of Parliament Abdul Raheem Abdulla announced that the motion could not be accepted because it failed to satisfy the requirements for an emergency motion under Parliament's standing orders.
The rules stipulate that an emergency motion cannot be submitted merely to express views on a matter already scheduled for consideration by Parliament.
The Finance Committee approved the proposed salary and allowance increases last week, including a MVR 22,000 allowance for the Speaker, bringing the total monthly remuneration for the position to MVR 95,125.
The committee also decided to increase the vehicle allowance for cabinet ministers to MVR 17,000, raising their total monthly salary and allowances from MVR 58,500 to MVR 75,500.
Island councillors would receive an additional MVR 5,000 service allowance under the proposed changes.
Although the emergency motion was rejected, MPs will have an opportunity to debate the Finance Committee's decision before Parliament votes on whether to approve it.
In his motion, Mauroof argued that increasing the remuneration of senior officials was unjustified while concerns remained over salaries and pay harmonisation for employees in the education and healthcare sectors.
He said the decision was unfair at a time when adequate salaries had not been established for workers in those sectors and several issues arising from pay harmonisation remained unresolved.
The motion also noted that Parliament had yet to reach a decision on a resolution submitted on 16 June last year concerning problems associated with pay harmonisation.
Mauroof further referred to instructions reportedly issued by the Ministry of Finance to the Privatisation and Corporatisation Board (PCB) to reduce the number of employees at state-owned enterprises by 33% as part of efforts to lower operating costs and strengthen expenditure controls.
He argued that increasing salaries for senior officials was unacceptable when the government had introduced measures to reduce public spending that affected ordinary citizens.
The motion also raised concerns about the country's economic situation, stating that government expenditure had exceeded revenue by MVR 4.5 billion so far this year, while public debt continued to increase.
Mauroof said Parliament had a constitutional responsibility to scrutinise the exercise of executive power and hold the government accountable.
The rejection comes amid opposition criticism of the proposed salary increases, with 12 MDP MPs previously issuing a joint statement calling for the Finance Committee's decision to be reversed.
The lawmakers have urged the government to prioritise public needs and reduce expenditure rather than increase remuneration for senior officials.
