Parliament Committee Decides to Disclose Staffing Information for Muraidhoo Residence

The Security Services Committee of the Parliament (241 Committee) has reversed its earlier decision and will now disclose staffing details for the Speaker's official residence, Maafannu Muraidhoo. This change comes in response to a request made by Mihaaru News journalist Asima Nizar last July and reportedly follows a direct appeal from President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu.

During the 16:00 meeting, Committee Chairperson Ahmed Saleem (Redwave Saleem) stated that the decision to reveal the details was made at the discretion of the Chairperson. Unlike the morning session, which was held behind closed doors, the afternoon meeting was open to the public. During this meeting, the Committee shared a letter from the Parliament addressing multiple requests for information regarding employee names, designations, and changes in the employment structure at Muraidhoo.

The Parliament's letter indicated that while they sought the Committee's opinion on sharing these details due to potential risks for the Speaker, previous precedents had only permitted the disclosure of employment classifications and salaries. The letter also noted that similar information regarding the President's residence, Muliaage, and the Vice President's residence, Hilaaleege, had not been shared with the public.

In response to this letter, Ibrahim Falah, the Parliamentary Group leader of the ruling People's National Congress (PNC) and MP for Inguraidhoo, proposed disclosing the staffing information during the evening session, a motion seconded by Kelaa MP Abdulla Shareef. Notably, Falah had previously suggested withholding this information during the morning meeting.

The decision to disclose the staffing details of Muraidhoo was approved by all committee members except for Abdul Ghafoor Moosa (Gapo), the MP for Hanimaadhoo constituency from the opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP). Saleem announced that this new decision nullified the earlier one made in the morning.

MP Ghafoor voiced his concerns, arguing that reviewing the morning decision lacked a valid reason and was a violation of the Committee's regulations. However, his objections were not supported by PNC members, with the Chairperson siding with them.

Additionally, a proposal by Maldives National Party (MNP) MP Mohamed Nazim to disclose the information, excluding security-related details and staff names or backgrounds, was rejected.

Currently, the Chief of Staff at Muraidhoo is veteran journalist 'Mundoo' Adam Saleem, and popular Maldivian footballer Ali Ashfaq (Dhagandey) has been appointed as the Director General at the residence.