No resort will be allowed to operate without paying rent: Adheeb

Minister of tourism Ahmed Adheeb has said that from now on, no resort will be allowed to operate without paying rent.

Speaking on DhiTV Khabaruthereyn program last night, Adheeb said that when the present government took over, it had become the norm for resorts to operate without paying rent, and that 12 resorts owed money to the government as rent.

“When we took over the government, it had become the norm over the past three years for resorts to operate without paying rent. There were 12 resorts operating in this manner. I am telling you now, as long as I am Tourism Minister, no group will be allowed to continue in this manner,” he said.

He said that this happened because the former government had been negligent and did not give due attention to this matter and because Maldives Inland Revenue Authority (MIRA) was given the responsibility of collecting only tax. He said that tax and rent are two different things that have to be paid to the government, and that from now on, no party will be allowed to enjoy benefits of operating resorts in Maldives without paying due rent and tax to the government.

Adheeb said that a 30-day notice will be given to resorts that have not paid rent to the government as per the agreement, and that if a resort fails to pay rent for at least one quarter during the notice period, the government will terminate the agreement and take over the resort.

The minister said that notices have been sent to all resorts that had fallen behind with their rent payments, but no decisions have been made in relation to these resorts yet.

“Action has been taken against all 12 resortswhich have been operating over the past three years without paying rent, except for two. Decisions on the remaining two resorts will be made on Wednesday,” Adheeb said.

He said that he did not want to take the matters to court, and that if the resorts fail to make payments after being sent notices, the agreements made with them will be terminated.

“I do not want to go to court to get this money. MIRA has already filed several cases to court. The cases are still pending. What happens is, when we approach them about rent, they say that the matter is ongoing in court, and that they will pay the money to the government after a decision is made by the court. We can’t wait around for that. We won’t wait for the court process to be over when it comes to obtaining these funds owed to the government,” he said.

Adheeb said that the government’s priority at the moment is to improve the state’s cash flow position, and that the entire country’s economy is dependent on the income from tourism industry.

“The government’s priority at the moment is improving the state’s cash flow. A major part of the economy is based on the 23,000 beds in the tourism sector. So the fact that the state fails to receive funds from people who operate resorts, who receive large sums as revenue, is a serious problem,” he said.

He said that everyone should work according to laws and regulations, and that the government is not driven by any personal interests when it takes over resorts that have failed to pay rent. He said that he is closely monitoring the activities within the tourism industry, and that great cooperation is being received in this regard from Finance Minister Abdullah Jihad.