Noomadi compensation from Muizzu's fault, Fayyaz says
Fayyaz said the Noomadi agreement was cancelled when President Muizzu was the Housing Minister and he testified against the state in the Singapore arbitration.
By
Aishath Fareeha Abdulla
Maldives Democratic Party (MDP) Chairperson Fayyaz Ismail has said on Tuesday evening that the compensation that had to be paid to the Noomadi company which was carrying out projects in the Maldives was a trouble gifted by president Mohamed Muizzu.
Addressing the nation on the occasion of Independence Day last Friday, President Muizzu said that MVR 2.5 billion had been paid in compensation to various parties during the MDP government.
Noomadi was awarded water, sewerage and housing projects during the Nasheed regime.
Speaking at a panel discussion held at the MDP office on Tuesday, Fayyaz said that it was because of President Muizzu, who was the then Housing Minister, that the state had to pay such a huge compensation to the company, for cancelling the Noomadi agreement.
Fayyaz said the state had to cancel the contracts with various companies and pay compensation because of the very unwise and irresponsible behaviour in 2012 or 2013 to 2018.
Fayyaz, who was Economic Minister in the last MDP government, said the government had unfairly cancelled the agreement with Noomadi back then and had to pay another large sum to Nexbiz for cancelling that agreement, after selling the border control system.
He listed:
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USD 18 million (MVR 300 million) in compensation for the cancellation of the agreement with Nexbiz
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Noomadi was paid USD 55 million (MVR 900 million) in compensation
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USD 20 million (MVR 350 million) was paid after the cancellation of the lease on the Fushidhiggaru lagoon
Fayyaz said the Noomadi agreement was cancelled when President Muizzu was the housing minister and he testified against the state in the Singapore arbitration.
"He was saying that [the agreement] was cancelled illegally... I don't know how the amount 2.5 billion came about. Of that, 900 million was paid to Noomadi, for sure, which is a problem our current president gifted us," he said.
"First of all, he terminated [the agreement] wrong. On top of that, he didn't need to go to arbitration and say that we, the government, had made a mistake when it was he who did it”.
Fayyaz said of the MVR 2.5 billion paid to companies as compensation during the MDP government, MVR 1.5 billion was paid for felonies committed during the previous two governments before MDP came to power in 2018”.
