New committee approves three previously rejected ministers
It was passed by a vote of seven out of nine committee members present at the meeting. One voted against.
By
Mohamed Muzayyin Nazim
The government oversight committee of the 20th parliament on Wednesday approved three cabinet ministers who were not approved in the 19th parliament.
After appointing 22 ministers to President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu's first cabinet and sending them to parliament for approval, the MDP, which had majority in the 19th parliament, decided to issue a three-line whip to reject four ministers. However, 19 ministers were ultimately approved by the Parliament while three were not. They were:
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1-
Attorney General - Ahmed Usham
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2-
Housing Minister - Dr Ali Haider Ahmed
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3-
Islamic Minister - Dr Mohammed Shaheem Ali Saeed
Even though the three ministers were not approved, the President re-appointed them to the post and sent their names to Parliament for a second time for approval. However:
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The issue remained unresolved up to the end of the 19th session
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With the start of the new parliament, the matter was referred to the Government Oversight Committee at the session held on Monday
At the meeting of the committee held on Wednesday evening, the Fuvahmulah Central MP said that from the information collected by the committee earlier, it was evident that all the three ministers met the constitutionally stipulated criteria of a cabinet minister. Therefore, he proposed that all the three ministers be allowed to be approved and sent back to the Parliament floor.
The motion was seconded by the Deputy Speaker.
It was passed by a vote of seven out of nine members present at the meeting. One voted against.
