Muizzu's office concerned over project extensions
No state institution or employee can act otherwise in a matter that should benefit the state, Firzul said.
By
Aishath Fareeha Abdulla
The office of the president-elect on Wednesday expressed concern over the government’s decision to give another six months to complete the PSIP projects.
The economic council on Tuesday decided to extend the contract period for companies to complete government projects by up to six months.
According to a circular signed by finance minister Ibrahim Ameer and issued on Tuesday, the economic council decided to do so for projects awarded within two main periods. These include:
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Projects awarded after the declaration of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020; to ease the difficulties faced by contractors
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Projects signed before May 30, 2013; projects already underway
At a press conference held by the office of the president-elect on Wednesday, spokesperson Mohamed Firzul expressed concern over the delay of the projects, saying that the economic council did not have the authority to grant project extensions.
“The powers of the council in relation to development projects are to take necessary steps to implement development policies of various government departments and to examine and resolve difficulties encountered in wheeling development projects...,” he said.
Firzul said the finance ministry does not have the power to extend the contracts.
"Under normal circumstances, the provisions of the Public Finance Act will have to be dealt with in accordance with the provisions of the rules. Only a person authorised by the rules to do it has the power to do so," he said.
"I would like to point out that this circular of the ministry of finance was issued on November 7, 2023, and this date is not on par with the above mentioned situation."
Firzul noted that there is no situation where the Public Finance Act or parts of the law can be exempted now.
Firzul added:
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There are certain provisions in the Public Finance Act to extend the duration of PSIP projects
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The regulation states that projects can be extended only after each project is reviewed individually before granting permission for an extension
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It must also be ensured that the extension is not due to the negligence of the contractor
No state institution or employee can act otherwise in a matter that should benefit the state, he said.
The health emergency declared in the wake of the pandemic was lifted last year, and due to the consequences, the interim spokesperson said there had been sufficient opportunity in recent times to pursue extensions of overdue projects in line with state fiscal rules.
“In the circular, the extension includes projects signed before May 2023. We believe that agreements signed from 14 March 2022 to 30 May 2023 should be adjusted to the difficulties encountered during Covid-19, taking into account adequate space availability," he said.
Firzul said that considering that there were difficulties unknown at the time of signing of the agreements, the extension of the deadline would be to act otherwise in a matter that would benefit the state.
Firzul further said:
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The Penal Code states that it is an offence to act in a manner that detracts from a benefit to the state
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Eight days before the start of a new presidential term, it is worrying that a 'blanket' decision has been announced that applies to everyone
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This could be harmful to the state and everything legally possible will be done to prevent such things.
