State company jobs for youth to control them: Nasheed

Parliament Speaker Mohamed Nasheed said on Saturday that state-owned companies employ people, especially the youth, for the sake of controlling them.

Nasheed said this while visiting Thimarafushi as part of his ongoing visit to Thaa Atoll for the MDP primary to be held on 28 December.

Nasheed's speech focused on the issue of non-implementation of rural development projects. He said the issue was coming to light because the government was trying to control the MPs and the people.

Nasheed said some of the projects that have been stalled in the islands have been handed over to companies owned by lawmakers. Even if the work does not go on, the contract is not cancelled for the purpose of controlling the MPs.

"We are giving contracts to companies owned by MPs to build roads or  something else. The MP then is subcontracting the contract and none of them can complete the work. The contracts are not terminated despite no work being done, because they need to control the MPs," Nasheed said.

Nasheed also hit back at president Solih's statement in August that the majority in parliament was in the hands of president Solih. Nasheed describes it as controlling lawmakers.

"I was ashamed that President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih said one day that he had taken control of the majority of the parliament. Then I calculated that day how many contracts [had been given]. How many contracts have been given to the MPs to take control," Nasheed said.

At a press conference held in August, President Solih had said that having the majority of the parliament is very important for someone in power and that he was with the majority in the parliament at that time.

While he said handing over contracts to MPs was done by the government for the purpose of taking control, Nasheed believes that giving jobs to youths in state-owned companies is also the government's effort to control them.

"I don't see any place, which has been leveled and completed. Contracts are given to people who are incompetent, -to gain control. People, youth are being dragged into state-owned companies to gain control," he said.

Nasheed, who is also the president of MDP, said it was not the party's intention to capture and control the people. He said the party always aims to ensure freedom for the people.

"The party has always aimed to liberate, not hold on to the people, and their freedom. The way of life is also to grow. It's not about being obscured. There is no development that we can achieve by controlling," he said.

"Development is what the independent person acquires. To improve his own situation, something he brings from what he produces from his mind."