Committee to complete budget assessment by 1 December

The ad hoc committee formed to assess the Projected State Budget for 2015 has decided to complete its assessment by 1 December 2014.

The motion to complete the assessment by 1 December was proposed by Maduvvari MP Mohamed Ameeth, seconded by Vilufushi MP Riyaz Rasheed, and passed with 12 votes. Parliamentary group members of opposition party, Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), did not participate in this vote.

MDP parliamentary group proposed to complete the assessment by 5 December. Since the aforementioned motion by the parliamentary group of the ruling party, Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM), was passed, MDP’s motion was not put forward for voting.

At today’s meeting, MDP parliamentary group members also criticised the MVR 24.3 billion Projected State Budget for 2015, which was submitted to the parliament by the government yesterday.

Maradhoo MP Ibrahim Shareef requested that officials from relevant government offices and independent institutions be summoned to the committee, to find out how the projects included in the budget would benefit the public.

Chairperson of the Budget Committee Ahmed Nihan Hussain Manik said that relevant officials will be summoned once the committee begins its assessment.

The Budget Committee is formed by merging the Public Accounts Committee and the Economic Affairs Committee, and consists of 24 MPs.

The committee is made up of ten PPM members, eight Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) members, three Jumhooree Party (JP) members, and three MDA members.