More than MVR 100,000 spent per month catering for MPs

Speaker of the parliament and former president Mohamed Nasheed has stated that around MVR 100,000 was being spent per month on the catering services provided to the parliament members.

Speaker Nasheed stated so after announcing that he had received a letter from a member of the public asking to clarify the expenditure on the food and beverages provided to the MPs. The speaker stated that approximately MVR 159.88 was being spent per MP on food and beverages every working day of the parliament.

While there are 87 MPs a total of 13,909.56 will be spent per day for the food and beverages of MPs and while parliamentary sessions are held three days a week on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, the total spent on food and beverages of MPs will rise to MVR 166,914.72 per month. 

Speaker Nasheed also stated that a small portion of the food was shared with the employees of the parliament and MPs will receive a somewhat lesser portion of the food than the statistics would suggest.

He also stated that a solution can be brought forward from the parliament if MPs and Maldivians did not believe that food should be provided for MPs. Speaker Nasheed stated that he had researched how the process of catering for MPs was carried out since 1932 for today's session.

Catering services for the parliament are carried out by assigning the task to a private company through a bidding process. The caterers have not been disclosed by the parliament. There has been some criticism directed at the parliament by members of the public on social media due to the free catering services endowed on MPs.