The government has uncovered a major discrepancy in the State’s budget, revealing that more than MVR 2 billion in spending has gone unaccounted for within the Finance Ministry’s system. At a press conference today, Finance Minister Moosa Zameer assured the public that those responsible for this negligence will be identified, and action will be taken.
The issue came to light earlier this year when former Finance Minister Shafeeq halted the release of the Weekly Fiscal Report, a key document used to track government spending. Concerns were raised when it was discovered that financial records did not match, with several billion Maldivian Rufiyaa missing from the system.
Minister Zameer, addressing the media at the President’s Office, explained that by mid-2023, the discrepancies became undeniable. "We realized that about MVR 1.5 to 2 billion granted by international financial institutions for projects with foreign aid had been wrongly entered into this year's records," he stated.
This led to a situation where MVR 2.5 billion worth of bills that should have been posted in the previous two years were instead recorded in the 2023 budget. The result? This year’s budget was overwhelmed by expenses meant for previous years, with the issue now being scrutinized by the Auditor General’s Office.
Adding to the confusion, another MVR 3 billion posted in 2023 was disbursed this year, leading to further complications in the accounting system. Minister Zameer reassured the public that the Finance Ministry is working closely with the Auditor General to determine how best to move forward.
Attorney General Ahmed Usham echoed the seriousness of the situation, warning that retroactively including unaccounted expenses from previous years into the current budget would violate constitutional law. "Expenditure must match the budget approved by the parliament for a specific year," Usham said. He added that spending outside of these allocations is a breach of the Public Finance Act and goes against the Constitution.
The Attorney General further revealed that this problem had persisted since 2020, resulting in numerous State expenses being improperly recorded. "We will look into their actions and take action against them," Usham said. "Many wrongs have been committed in overseeing State expenses. We will not take this lightly."
Both the Attorney General and the Finance Minister vowed that reforms would be made to prevent similar mistakes from happening in the future. Usham stated that legal amendments would be proposed to ensure stricter enforcement of budgetary regulations.
With the government facing mounting pressure to address the missing billions, Minister Zameer promised that the Weekly Fiscal Report would soon resume once they had received guidance from the Auditor General on how to proceed. As investigations continue, the government is determined to hold those responsible accountable and restore public trust in the country’s financial management.
