Projects will pick up when parliament approves revenue bills: President

President Abdulla Yameen has said that development projects for the islands will begin at a good pace once parliament passes the revenue generation bills proposed by the government.

President made the statement while speaking to the press before leaving on a Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) campaign trip for the Local Council Elections, to the atolls today.

He said that PPM has today submitted a request to the Speaker of the Parliament seeking to hold an extraordinary sitting next week.

“We were able to submit the request with 26 signature today, required during parliament recess. Projects in the atolls will start quickly once the parliament passes revenue generating bills next week,” President Yameen said.

Ruling PPM has asked the parliament to amend the Tourism Act to continue collecting the bed tax that was ceased starting January 2014. The party has also asked for an amendment to the Goods and Services Tax Act.

According to regulation, the Speaker is required to hold a sitting within 14 days of receiving a request for an extraordinary sitting. Parliament went into a two-month recess starting 30 January and is scheduled to reconvene in March 2014 for its final session, which will end on 30 April 2014.