MPs call on governor Hashim to drop out like US president Biden

Ruling People’s National Congress (PNC) parliament members said on Monday that the best course of action now would be for Governor Ali Hashim to resign on his own and move to one side.

Members were speaking on the report of the Public Accounts Committee of the Parliament on the decision to recommend to the President to remove Governor Ali Hashim from office for not fulfilling his responsibilities as Governor.

Speaking on the report, many PNC members said the best way is for the governor to resign by himself.

PNC parliamentary group leader Ibrahim Falah said he supported the decision to recommend the removal of the governor and believed the committee would take such a decision after careful consideration.

The Governor's responsibility is to conduct continuous research on how to develop and implement the country's fiscal policies and to provide the most important advice and guidance to the government.

"The Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee, Gasim Ibrahim, is the most knowledgeable person in such matters in this country, he has proven himself in his own business in practice. Being the Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee, he is leading the way in saying that the Governor is not qualified for the position. The Governor himself agrees. Let's take an example from the world; let's look at the beautiful example made by the US President Joe Biden. He realised he is 81 years old now and not capable of running for another term,” Falah said.

Criticising the Governor's repeated failure to appear before the Public Accounts Committee, Falah said the parliament should see whether the Governor himself believes that he is not able to fulfil his responsibilities, and is demonstrating this.

“He himself actually admitted in front of the people that this is not do-able for him [by not appearing at the committee], so I support the decision of the Public Accounts Committee,” he said.

Noting that it does not matter to President Dr Muizzu who is the governor, he said the President and Maldives need a good and sincere governor.

He also accused the governor of being involved in the MDP government's actions in plunging the country's economy into a poor state.

"The governor himself has said that he has made many recommendations to the former government in the last two years to not print money. My question is that if the government does not follow his recommendations, why didn't the governor resign? By staying his course and keeping his post, he has shown compliance in what the former government did”.

Mahibadhoo MP Mohammed Thorig also said the Governor should take responsibility for the current financial situation of the state. The responsibility should be taken by Hashim as well as the MDP government, Thorig said.

The people will question why the situation in Maldives has reached the point of removing the central bank’s Governor, he said. Noting how the previous government had printed over MVR 7.6 billion, he said it was all done with the Governor’s endorsement.

"The MMA's expenditure accountability law requires the debit [debt] ratio to be maintained at 60%. Even when that figure reached 120%, the MMA governor was still walking his slow gait, keeping quiet," Thorig said.

"The government [then] did not act as he asked. Then he must step aside. Where are the ethics, where are the principles? When the Maldivian state went down the path of bankruptcy, the governor did not take any responsibility, just sent letters to the Public Accounts Committee saying it's advisable to cut costs”.

After writing such advice, Thorig said, the MMA still released large amounts of money to the then government.

Speaking on the matter, Baarah MP Ibrahim Shujau said the Governor should take responsibility for the state of the country's economy today.

"The letter sent to the Public Accounts Committee says that the Governor has advised. If the President does not act on the advice, he should be removed from office. This is showing loyalty to the country," Shujau said.

Shuja also accused the state of locking down people in their homes and looting the nation when the country's economic situation deteriorated during the COVID period. 

“We are accusing the governor of playing the most important role and encouraging it, otherwise he would have appeared,” Shujau said.

He said the Governor's absence at the Public Accounts Committee showed that he had no sincerity for the country.

"He did not even answer Gasim's call. This shows that the governor's intention in bringing a country to this point was to destroy the country," he said.

Noting again that the Governor is not fulfilling his responsibilities, he said the rules required under fiscal policy and monetary policy have not been made.

"Why should he be kept? He should not be kept, Honourable Speaker. This is something that should be done for the future of the country. This should be celebrated as a national day," Shujau said.

Opposing the PNC members' argument, the MDP MPs said the governor should not be held responsible for the economic situation in the country.

"What I understand from the words of many members speaking in this Parliament is that the governor is to blame for everything. That is not the case," Hanimaadhoo MP Abdul Ghafoor Moosa said in defence of the Governor.

The previous government printed money to overcome the COVID-19 situation and there was no other option, he said.

“We made this country the first country to overcome COVID situation. That's how it happened. Printing money, making laws and enforcing the laws and all are not the Governor’s job,” Ghafoor said.

He said the MMA would obey if the Parliament decided not to print money. The MMA operates under a law made by the Parliament.

“So I just wonder if it is fair for us to talk about the Governor’s responsibility for everything that happened,” he said.

He said there was no problem in the economy when the government changed hands and tourism was bringing in revenue at an unprecedented level.

"All economic indicators were good, tourism grew. Honourable Speaker, however, the changes in the economy today are not the responsibility of previous governments," Ghafoor said.

He added that there is no economic problem in Maldives and that the only problem now is the government's rising expenditure.

MDP Parliamentary Group Leader Hithadhoo South Constituency Member Ibrahim Nazil said the government could not manage the budget.

"They didn't know how to manage it, they didn't know where to start or where to finish. They didn't know, so they’re just taking it out on somebody else. Can the problems be solved when we change the governor of the MMA and bring in another governor?"

Nazil accused the government of not knowing how to manage money. He also praised the way the previous government managed the economy during the pandemic.

There is no one with the President who can manage the country's economy with sincerity for him, he said.

"The president needs to think and do it differently. The truth is that the president doesn't have people who can do it, the president has to do it. I think it is very clear to the president now that he doesnt have such loyalty and sincerity around him. So the president now has the opportunity to change the people who are close to him and bring in people who will be loyal to him, and he is the only one who can do it via the President's Office," Nazil said at the end of his speech.

A large majority of the Parliament on Monday passed the resolution recommending the removal of the Governor.