SDF bill thrown out: Pres Muizzu slams opposition

The first bill from the government's first 100 days legislative agenda was rejected by the Parliament due to lack of sincerity of the opposition members, President Mohammed Muizzu said on Tuesday evening.

None of the ruling party’s members were present when the Sovereign Development Fund (SDF) Bill was voted on in Parliament on Tuesday. Members of the opposition MDP and Democrats were present but did not participate in the vote.

Only two members took part in the vote on the SDF bill. One member voted for and the other against. Deputy Speaker Saleem, who presided over the meeting, described it as an extraordinary event in the history of the parliament.

"I would like to point out that this bill was moved by the government. I have been repeatedly saying that there will be a vote at this time on Tuesday. We can see from the floor that no member of the government has attended," Saleem said, voting against accepting the bill himself, breaking the tie.

Speaking at the opening of a campaign booth of the ruling coalition’s Holhudhoo candidate Abdul Sattar Mohammed in the upcoming parliamentary elections, President Muizzu said he wanted to pass a special law for the SDF because it was crucial to set the course for the economic development of Maldives.

"Their (MDP) government has scrambled this fund. They have emptied the money out. We have brought it back on track. We have changed it in the right direction. We changed it the way the people want”.

The President said the fund was thus changed and a bill was sent to the parliament to protect the fund as he had promised, but MDP had scrapped it for no reason.

"What is the reason? There is no reason. It's there for everyone to see -how it was done. Then why elect people with this mindset for the next five years?"

The President said the people would be harmed by electing people to parliament who work against the government and its planned projects.

Regarding the Sovereign Development Fund, the President added:

The SDF was established by the government of President Abdullah Yameen to save the country from a default situation.

The SDF was originally launched as a dollar-denominated fund, but with the Covid-19 crisis, it is now entirely in Maldivian Rufiyaa as of December 30, 2020. The dollars in the fund have been converted into Rufiyaa .

Kelaa MP Ibrahim Shareef and Maafannu Central MP Ibrahim Rasheed were the two members who had participated in the vote on the SDF bill on Tuesday.

"There are 80 members in the Parliament. The number of members present is 28. The number of members who voted in favour is 1. The number of members who voted against is 1," the Deputy Speaker announced.

"I don't think such a vote had ever occurred in the history of this Parliament”.