World opposes dismissing governor, MDP says
Hashim was removed from the post by a vote of 63 out of 72 members present in the parliament on Monday.
The Maldives Democratic Party (MDP) Parliamentary Group (PG) has said that the entire world will oppose the replacement of the Governor of the central bank Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA).
The party's PG said this at a press conference held at the parliament building on Wednesday.
MMA Governor Ali Hashim is very clearly known to the governors of many countries in the world, MDP PG Leader Ibrahim Nazil said, and that the whole world will oppose his removal.
"What circumstances, why, how did he wrong MMA to dismiss him? What was the reason for his dismissal?" He raised the question.
Nazil further noted that:
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Over the past five years, the Governor has given all the necessary cooperation to the government and has done everything required to be done under the MMA Act
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Even then, some people called for the governor to be removed from office; however, the then MDP government believed that the change was not the solution
Noting that the process of removing Ali Hashim from the post was “a dark time in the history of Maldivian monetary life”, Nazil said he was being removed because the government wanted something else.
Nazil also noted that the governor has cooperated with the contents of the letter sent by the finance ministry, despite this government’s claim that he did not cooperate and that he has no role to play in overcoming the current state of the country.
Hanimaadhoo MP Abdul Ghafoor Moosa also said that this is not the right time to change the MMA Governor.
"We don't see where things are improving at all. We don't see any relief being brought to the budget," he said.
Abdul Ghafoor added that there are many other steps that can be taken before the government reduces costs such as the reduction in the price of fish. As such, he noted:
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There are close to 2,000 political positions; that is not what the country needs at all in this situation
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Some MVR 150 million is added monthly to pay the salaries of the posts; that is one of the reasons why the government's recurrent expenditure is so high
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The current financial situation cannot be overcome unless such government spending is reduced
"Then they take everything to parliament and say this was done by the previous government. The people brought in a new government because the previous government did wrong. So now they don't have to keep blaming the previous government," he said.
Hashim's removal from the post of Governor was moved by the Public Accounts Committee of Parliament. It was moved on the grounds that Hashim had neglected to fulfil his responsibilities to the country as Governor of the central bank.
Ali Hashim was given the opportunity to appear before the committee three times to respond to the claims made against him. However, he excused himself every time saying he was unwell and responded in writing.
In his letter to parliament, Hashim said he has always advised governments to strengthen their finances. However, he said the governments did not listen to the advice of the MMA, which was what actually led to the situation that the country is in today, he said.
That said, many PNC members who spoke during the Parliament debate on the governor’s impeachment said the governor had fully cooperated in a lot of fiscal decisions taken by the previous government. They also said that the Governor has neglected to implement a strong fiscal policy and take steps to maintain the value of the Maldivian Rufiyaa.
Hashim was removed from the post by a vote of 63 out of 72 members present in the parliament on Monday. The President has sent the name of former Finance Minister Ahmed Munawwar, who is current Advisor to the Finance Minister, to Parliament for the post of MMA Governor.
