Opposition says Presidential address "lies and deceit"
According to Rasheed, some of the things the President said about housing are things the MDP government had started doing.
By
Mohamed Muzayyin Nazim
The main opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) has responded to President Mohammed Muizzu's presidential address to mark the beginning of the Parliament this year, saying it was full of lies and deception.
As the opposition party, MDP Parliamentary Group (PG) Leader, Alifushi MP Mohammed Rasheed Hussain responded on Monday to the Presidential address given on the 6th of this month.
"The presidential address to the Parliament describing the situation of the country should be a statement made to this Parliament without concealing the facts of the problems faced by the country," said MDP PG leader Rasheed responding to President Muizzu's first presidential address in parliament since assuming office in November last year.
"However, with regret [and] concern, the recent presidential address did not describe the situation in the country honestly. He deceived the people about the situation in the country”.
In his response, he first highlighted the President's remarks on the economic situation in Maldives. The President also spoke about the economic situation based on "completely false information" to "deceive the parliament and the people," he said.
“This government even came to power by cheating the people,” Rasheed said.
On the economic situation, Rasheed spoke about the last five years under his MDP government. He said:
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The economic situation deteriorated with the challenges posed by Covid-19; however, with wise measures taken, the economy has grown rapidly over the past three years
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Maldives set an example for other countries by increasing the capacity of health services many times over; income support for those who lost their jobs and kept businesses from going bankrupt
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Even during those difficult times, economic activities were not brought to a complete halt, government projects were implemented without interruption and Maldives continued without any lack in availability of food staples/medicine/fuel; tourism was also restored and the country's economy was quickly restored
“However, the President has made the crisis of Covid-19 non-existent and raised the issue of the fragile situation facing the country with the intention of political deflection,” he said.
“The work we have done by taking debt is a lot of development that will change the economy of Maldives. The loans were taken because there was absolute certainty that it would be repaid”.
Housing: He called for the handover of flats given by the previous government
Housing is one of the biggest problems facing Maldives, he said, adding that it is not only a problem in Male. He noted that it is a very sensitive issue in all parts of the country. He also mentioned some of the initiatives taken by the MDP government to solve the problem. He said:
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A total of 24,200 housing units were in various stages of construction when the government changed
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Of these, 12,222 units are being implemented in collaboration with the Housing Development Corporation (HDC) and the Fahi Dhiriulhun Corporation (FDC)
"The presidential address made it very clear that he would hand over the flats and lands decided by the previous government to the people. With almost 100 days in office, the people have no assurance that he will do it," he said.
"He has done everything to put the people in more despair”.
Rasheed called on Muizzu not to prolong such a sensitive issue. He also called on the government not to "muddle it up by passing the buck through multiple state agencies”.
According to Rasheed, some of the things the President said about housing are things the MDP government had started doing. These include issuing soft loans for housing, creating a portal for housing and reducing the rent of army and police flats, he said.
In addition, the efforts described in the Presidential address on the health sector were initiated by the previous government as well, he said.
There are also many things that should be mentioned in the presidential statement but are not there, Rasheed said. According to him:
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No mention of social security policies
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There is no mention of drugs and crime in the statement
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There is no mention of higher education in the presidential statement
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He did not mention other problems in the running of the state
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If there are Indian troops, the number is not mentioned in the presidential statement either
"Such white lies can no longer deceive the people. Once bitten, twice shy," the PG leader said, concluding his half-hour reply”.
"I request you to consider these issues in the upcoming parliamentary elections. My eternal hope is that Allah will make this country prosperous and peaceful. May we be rid of lies and deceit."
