Cabinet approval delayed; unlikely this year
The committee chairman, Falaah, could not be reached for comment.
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By
Mohamed Muzayyin Nazim
The approval of the ministers of the government of President Mohamed Muizzu has been delayed in the Parliamentary Committee.
The Government Oversight Committee of the Parliament has prepared a report on the issue of approval of ministers. The chair referred the matter back to the committee on Monday last week. Thus:
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The committee first decided to ask the Parliament to vote on the approval of each minister separately. Although all of them met the ministerial requirements, the committee did not decide whether to approve them
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The MDP MP for Thulhaadhoo constituency Hisaan raised a point of order and said that according to the rules of the Parliament, when the committee sends its report to the Parliament, it must decide on the matter in two ways; it is whether or not to approve of the ministers
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Hisaan also took up the issue of the government not sending the changes in the mandate of the ministers to parliament for approval. Hisaan advocated that while approving ministers, their mandate should also be clear; on the same day, the government sent the mandate to parliament
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The Speaker of the Parliament, Mohammed Aslam, who presided over the session, decided to send the report back to the committee for completion. Therefore, a decision on the approval of the ministers was scheduled for Monday's session but the vote was not taken
A week has passed since the matter was referred to the committee. Therefore, it is questionable whether a decision will be taken on the approval of the ministers before the term is extended.
The session of Parliament was scheduled to end on Monday, but the Speaker has moved to extend the session until Thursday as a decision has not been taken on the issue of approval of ministers.
Since Monday, the committee has scheduled only one meeting on the issue. The meeting, scheduled for 9 a.m. last Saturday, was canceled due to a lack of quorum. Thus:
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The opposition MDP has a majority in the committee, which consists of eight members. Only the committee chairman, Maafannu West MP Mohammed Falaah, appeared on behalf of the party
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Besides Falaah, the ruling main party, PNC’s, Thulusdhoo constituency MP Ibrahim Naseem and the ruling coalition's MNP Vice-President, Thimarafushi constituency MP Abdullah Riyaz were the only members to attend
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PPM MP Ahmed Thorig and the other MDP and Democrats members of the committee did not attend the meeting
After Saturday, the committee has not yet scheduled a meeting. The session has been lengthened until Thursday, when the committee's report must be completed at the latest by Sunday if the Parliament is to vote on the issue by Monday. According to the rules of procedure of the parliament, the committee must be given three days after completing a report.
The committee has not yet scheduled a meeting on Monday and is not expected to decide on the issue again this year. Then the parliament will open for next year and sessions will start in February.
The committee chairman, Falaah, could not be reached for comment.
