Cabinet review committee meeting cancelled over lack of quorum
Falah said no date has been set for the next meeting of the committee.
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By
Shahudha Mohamed
The meeting of the government oversight committee of parliament scheduled to be held on Saturday to decide on the approval of ministers has been cancelled due to lack of quorum.
After being sworn in on 17th of last month, President Mohamed Muizzu appointed 22 ministers to his cabinet and sent them to parliament for approval.
The committee, which examined the names of the ministers, said on Tuesday:
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All of them have been declared eligible for ministerial posts
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However, the committee passed to vote on each minister separately
Although the approval of the ministers was scheduled for Monday, the Speaker referred the matter back to the committee as the President's Office had not sent the changes to the mandates of the ministries and the committee report was incomplete.
Five days after the matter was referred back to the committee, Saturday's scheduled committee meeting was not conducted either, the chairman of the committee, Maafannu West MP Mohammed Falah confirmed to Atoll Times.
He said the committee meeting could not be conducted due to lack of quorum. Thus:
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Only three members, including the chairman, attended Saturday's meeting; they are Thimarafushi MP Abdullah Riyaz and Thulushoo MP Ibrahim Naseem
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A quorum shall be reached if at least four of the 12 members of the committee are present
Falah said the committee could not proceed not because members of a particular party did not attend the meeting, boycott style. However, the MDP has a majority in the committee. No other MDP members attended Saturday's meeting except the committee chairman Falah.
He added that some members who requested to hold Saturday's committee meeting did not attend the meeting either. They include Mahibadhoo constituency PPM member Ahmed Thorig, he said.
Falah said no date has been set for the next meeting of the committee.
Some members have expressed concern over the delay in the approval of ministers. The sessions will continue until the 28th of this month to decide on the approval of the ministers during the third session of the parliament.
