Ruling party welcomes President’s financial policy

The ruling People’s National Congress (PNC) on Wednesday has welcomed President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu’s bold steps to curtail state expenditure.

On Wednesday, President Muizzu had announced the decision for pay cuts for himself, parliament lawmakers and political appointees.

In a show of respect to the president’s decision, Parliament Speaker Abdul Raheem Abdulla had also announced his decision to accept a 50 percent reduction on his remuneration as well.

In a statement PNC issued on Wednesday evening, the party said the president’s decision was brave and responsible for the country’s prospects.

With the financial woes of the Maldives at an alarming level, the current ruling party places serious allegations on the former government led by the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) for being responsible for it.

In PNC’s statement, the party said that the state’s expenditure skyrocketed in the past 2-3 years, that stretched the deficit gap even wider than before. The ruling party also alleged that the former government turned a blind eye of multiple warnings from various global financial agencies for prompt reform action.

The party further highlighted the increasing budget deficit and mismanagement of cashflow as the recurrent expenditure was not maintained within the income.

Though the former government did not act upon the warnings from global agencies, PNC said reform efforts were launched under President Muizzu’s administration.

“This is a responsible and bold step taken by the Maldives head of state to ensure financial sustainability. A politically challenging, but a much-needed decision for the sake of the nation,” the statement read.

On the other hand, the opposition, MDP alleges the government’s decision for the pay cut from senior government positions was not motivated by good intentions.