Ministry of Finance cancels decision to release budget for payment of Committee allowances

The Ministry of Finance has today cancelled its decision to release budget for the payment of Committee allowances to Members of Parliament.

The decision to release budget was made yesterday, and the People’s Majlis administration stated yesterday that it had already begun the process of depositing allowance money at Members’ salary accounts.

However, Ahmed Mohamed, the Secretary General of the People’s Majlis said today that a fax from the Ministry of Finance today informed cancellation of yesterday’s budget form. He said that no reasons were given for the cancellation.

“We received via fax a copy of the budget form sent yesterday, and it was stamped “cancelled”, said Ahmed.

Ahmed confirmed the total of the budget amount released yesterday to be 17 million Rufiyyaa. That is the total needed for back-payment of Committee allowances for the period from January to this month and, and for the remaining months of this year.

The People’s Majlis Standing Committee on Financial Affairs decided in August that MPs whose attendance at Majlis Standing Committees rose above 75% would be entitled to a special allowance of MVR 20,000 per month, over and above their monthly salary of MVR 62,500. The Committee also decided that all MPs would be given allowances from January until August, when the decision was made, as back-pay. In accordance with the decision, every MP would be entitled to a lump sum of MVR 140,000 as allowance for the period from January to August and then would continue to get the allowance every month.

Secretary General Ahmed said that although the process of depositing allowances at the salary accounts of MPs had begun yesterday, no account was settled, and that the process was now put on halt. “We have discontinued the process”, he said.

The Secretary General said that some of the 20 members who had previously informed the Majlis administration of their decision not to take the allowance had later revoked their decisions and decided to take the allowances, although he did not say the names of those MPs.

The Ministry of Finance yesterday decided to release funds for the payment of Committee allowances to MPs, in clear violation of an Interim Order of the Court to withhold the allowances until the matter was judicially resolved, as there is a lawsuit at the Court, filed by a civil servant, against the MPs decision to take the allowance.

Members of the People’s Majlis, by an approved Committee decision, decided to take a monthly allowance in addition to their monthly salary, which is set it MVR 62,500. Add the allowance, and an MP would get an approximately equal, or possibly a bigger, sum as salary and allowance per month than that received by an average civil servant over a whole year.

Criticism and frustration about the decision to collect an amount of remuneration which is deemed by many as “outrageously and madly inappropriate” have been constantly voiced. Many are worried that at a time of economic weakness, the Majlis decision is completely inconsiderate of the national interest and the welfare of the people. The government has, for two years, withheld a portion of the lawful wages of civil servants and also a Majlis-budgeted subsidy for fishermen, giving the reason of financial shortage.