Committee recommends Tourism Minister retake oath

Parliament’s Government Oversight Committee has made the decision to recommend that the new Tourism Minister Dr. Abdulla Mausoom retake his oath of office.

The committee made recommendation after the motion to approve Dr. Mausoom’s appointment was rejected by the parliamentary floor on Tuesday, citing that he had not resigned from his position as managing director of a private company when he had taken his oath.

The committee convened to deliberate over the issue on Wednesday. Some of the committee members who spoke during the meeting said it didn’t pose a serious issue, but that Dr. Mausoom could retake his oath to ease the doubts.

“This highlights a procedural issue. But based on procedures in practice, this wasn’t wrong. But it might be best if this is remedied in a way we all can agree on, if there is a conflict in opinion.  I support the suggestion that we recommend the government to retake his oath,” said Manadhoo MP Ahmed Haroon.

Dhangethi MP Colonel (Retired) Mohamed Nazim, who like Dr. Mausoom is a member of JP, said the new Tourism Minister shouldn’t be made to retake his oath.

Nazim said that the issue didn’t involve intentional deception, and that it was understandable that there be a delay in resigning from the managerial position in light of the COVID-19 situation.

He said that Dr. Mausoom hadn’t done anything wrong, and that it wasn’t that serious an issue.

“In this situation with COVID, this [resigning] isn’t done through paper, but through email. So it may take some time for him to remove himself. Mausoom executed his responsibilities during this time correctly. Based on set precedence, I don’t believe he should need to retake his oath,” said Nazim, a former Defense Minister.

Nazim proposed that Dr. Mausoom not be made to retake his oath, and that motion be resubmitted to the parliamentary floor for a vote

Meanwhile, PNC deputy leader, Maduvvari MP Adam Shareef Umar said that the issue arose due to negligence from the President’s Office.

He said that the government be made to understand the implications of the error, so that such a mistake isn’t repeated.

Dhidhdhoo MP Abdulla Waheed, a MDP member, proposed recommending that Dr. Mausoom retake his oath. The proposal passed with a majority vote of committee members.

The committee’s recommendation will be voted on at the parliamentary floor. Whether Dr. Mausoom will be made to retake his oath or not will depend on that vote.