Maldives ruling party moves to replace central bank Governor
Nazim said he had submitted the matter after clarifying the procedures to be followed in such a matter through the Secretary General of Parliament.
By
Mohamed Muzayyin Nazim
The Finance Committee of the Parliament on Monday decided to start the process of recommending the removal of central bank Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA) Governor Ali Hashim from his post.
According to the MMA Act, the Governor can be removed from office by the President in consultation with Parliament. According to the rules of the Parliament, the committee to which the MMA Governor is assigned is the Finance Committee.
Hashim's removal from the post was moved by the Deputy Speaker of the Parliament, Dhiggaru MP Ahmed Nazim at the Finance Committee meeting held on Monday. Nazim also expressed concern that the Governor was not fulfilling his responsibilities.
Moving the matter to the Finance Committee, Nazim said Hashim, who was appointed Governor in October 2019 after serving as Finance Minister in the government of former President Mohammed Nasheed, is not fulfilling his responsibilities and duties assigned to him by law.
The agency's fiscal policy is not being implemented in its most appropriate manner, he said. As such, he said:
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The Governor has urged banks and financial institutions in Maldives to withhold indirect lending to the public and keep their reserves with the MMA. As a result, there has been less money in circulation in the economy, economic activities have stopped and the country's economy has slowed down
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The Governor is not managing the economy well at a time when the government is earning money from the Maldivian market
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The Home Ministry and the police have shared with the parliamentary security services committee that MMA has not complied with the rules recommended to prevent crime
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Since this government took office on November 17, the Governor has not made any practical efforts to advise the government to achieve the main objectives of the MMA Act in the past seven months
Nazim said he was moving the case to recommend to the President to remove Hashim from the post of MMA Governor in order to save the country from a major disaster.
“If the central bank needs to change the direction of the country’s monetary policy at this juncture, it is time to do so [and] it needs fresh, new leadership,” Nazim said in presenting the case.
With the motion supported, Hanimaadhoo MP Abdul Ghafoor Moosa said the issue of removing the governor was not up to the President. That, he noted, is a decision that the committee can make directly.
“Therefore, I believe that this was decided through the party's [PNC] policy,” Ghafoor said.
Nazim said he had submitted the matter after clarifying the procedures to be followed in such a matter through the Secretary General of Parliament Fathimath Niusha. According to the law, the governor should be removed directly by the president, he said.
"There is a precedent set in the Parliament. [It is] the Finance Committee that first has to decide that this is viable. Then we have to inform the Speaker in a letter. Then, the Speaker announces this and refers the matter to this committee ," Nazim said, explaining the process of removing the governor.
Nazim said the governor should be given five days notice to respond to the case. However, the governor is currently on vacation in Singapore, he said.
“The governor is coming back on the 7th of this month and if we pass this on Monday and [the Speaker] announces on Tuesday, we have the opportunity to summon the governor on July 11 and send the report back [to the Parliament] as we decide,” he explained.
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