Government authorities not cooperating on Nexbiz issue, Parliament informs President

The Parliament has informed the President via a letter, that the relevant government authorities are not cooperating with the Parliament on the issue of Nexbiz Border Control System project, which has been accused on involving corruption.

The Parliament Office said that the Parliament Public Accounts Committee had informed the President of several issues noted by the Committee in relation to the issue of Nexbiz.

It said that cooperation did not exist to any extent between the relevant government authorities in relation to the Border Control System project, and that Finance Ministry had informed the Public Accounts Committee that to this day, it had not received a copy of the agreement signed with Malaysia’s Nexbiz Company.

The Parliament said that even though Finance Ministry had not received a copy of the agreement, it had refused to share any information it had received in relation to the Border Control System project.

The Parliament informed the President that the agreement, which allows tax reliefs, was signed with complete disregard to the fact that allowing tax reliefs is within the jurisdiction of the Parliament; and that no efforts have been made by any government office to allow the tax reliefs.

Meanwhile, the Anti-Corruption Commission has halted the Boarder Control System project on two occasions in the past.

The Attorney General has also said that the validity of the agreement is questionable, and that the government may not be able to make the necessary payments for the project.

According to the agreement, Nexbiz will receive $2 from every foreign passenger departing from Maldives, and $15 from every visa card produced for a period of 22 years.