Govt slams ex-STO chief's 'political, unsubstantiated' criticism

Government on Wednesday hit back at Hussain Amr's criticism of the government, saying that the statement issued by the former Managing Director of STO on Tuesday was "politically motivated" and "without any substance".

Amr, who belongs to the Fikuregge Dhirun faction of MDP president Mohamed Nasheed, was openly participating in the activities of the faction after the party's presidential primaries, prompting the government to remove him as managing director of STO late last month. 

In his first public remarks since his sacking, Amr took to Twitter to share a three-page statement explaining the reasons for not supporting President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih for a second term.

Amr's statement was most critical of the government's economic policies.

When asked about Amr's statement, presidential spokesperson Miuvan Mohamed told Atoll Times on Wednesday that the decline in economic conditions was not due to the policies of the government. That situation, he said, was driven by the Covid pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine war.

"It's not because of what the government did, but the economic situation as a whole. The actions taken by the government due to this situation are being recognised and welcomed by foreign organisations such as IMF," Miuvan said.

"What Amr has said is politically motivated. There is no substance to it."

Miuvan pointed out that one of the biggest problems in the global economic crisis was rising oil prices, which led to higher commodity prices.

"Amr was the MD of STO. Why couldn't he get fuel cheaper than that?," Miuvan said.

Miuvan also denied Amr's statement that the government tried to raise funds from foreign financial institutions for budgetary support to meet state expenses. He said STO had never tried to get foreign aid.

In a separate tweet on Tuesday, Amr said that STO's efforts to build a flour factory in the Maldives have not been successful because the President's Office did not want to build it in HDh. Kulhudhuffushi. However, Miuvaan denied this as well.

"It is directly the decision of the President's Office to build the flour factory. It's not the STO's decision. The President's Office decided to set up the factory in Kulhudhuffushi," said Miuvan, noting that the work was already underway.