Author: Mohamed Reehaan
The Maldives President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu has urged his cabinet ministers and relevant state actors to expedite ongoing developmental projects across the Maldives in a transparent manner, while providing regular updates about these initiatives the public. The current administration led by Muizzu faces heavy criticism over its relative sluggishness in launching infrastructure development projects across the country as was promised during the presidential campaigning. During his campaign run, the incumbent head of state had assured social housing will remain as top focus; with the intention of permanently solving housing issues in the Greater Male’ region. During a cabinet meeting session…
The Maldives President has expressed hopes to bring down the US dollar exchange rate at the regular and black market to the bank rate of MVR 15.42 before the end of 2027. He said this during a podcast in which he assured the exchange rate issues will be solved during his administration while highlighting the requirement for extra steps in resolving the issue. The Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA) has already taken steps by implementing a foreign currency exchange regulation that mandates tourist resorts to exchange USD 500 per tourist or 20% of the total monthly earnings with local commercial banks.…
The Earth Day-designated Google Doodle features an uninhabited island of the Maldives – Sh. Eriyadhoo. The doodle features seven different geographical locations from across the world. The Maldivian island, naturally in the shape of the English letter “G” takes up the first spot to replace the letter on the main search engine page to form the word ‘Google’ along with five other geographical locations that are in the shape of the remaining letters. For the letter O features the high-altitude alpine landscapes in the Hautes-Alpes department of the French Alps for the first ‘O’ and Quebec’s rugged Côte-Nord for the…
The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has filed a request with the Prosecutor General’s Office (PGO) to press charges against one former Housing Development Corporation (HDC) employee for fraud. The individual had reportedly attempted to fraudulently make sale of a land plot from Hulhumale’, for which they had duplicitously collected over MVR 500,000 from a private buyer. ACC is seeking to press charges against one Futhiha Shakir, a Male’ City resident, who had been the Estate Officer of HDC. She is facing charges of abuse of power for illicit profiteering. According to the Commission, Shakir had duped a prospective buyer back in…
The change in US tariff rates does not pose any losses for the Maldives, says the Minister of Economic Development Mohamed Saeed. The Trump Administration has announced its stringent tariff hikes on imports; with a massive percentile bump Chinese products that make their way into the States. Earlier, the Trump Administration announced it would be bumping tariffs on Chinese imports up to 145% – a move that has been significantly criticized by the opposition and other industry experts, who all opine this could trigger a tariff war between the two economic giants. China had since retaliated with a 125% tariff…
The Privatization and Corporatization Board (PCB) on Monday, April 21, 2025 announced a new policy that seeks to relax the hiring criteria for Chief Financial Officers (CFOs) and Chief Internal Auditors (CIOs) of state-owned enterprises (SOEs). The move aims to enhance more opportunities for local professionals educated and looking for career opportunities in those fields. PCB said this new policy reflects a set guideline for hiring and firing CFOs and CIOs to state-owned enterprises, and to address the challenges these corporations face in hiring professionals for the designations. It also added that the ‘minimum requirement’ policy aims to encourage more…
Dhiraagu announces a grand chance to win MVR 60,000 for its pre-paid customers simply by recharging their numbers. Customers who either ‘Reload’ or activate data add-ons worth more than MVR 300 per week will be eligible to win MVR 10,000 through a lucky drawn , Dhiraagu added. Additionally, for every recharges above MVR 20 will receive up to 1TB of data allowances and highlighted the promotion is a golden opportunity for customers to make the most out of these extensive data packages. The promotion which is currently active will run until the end of May 2025, Dhiraagu adds, and noted…
The Ministry of Transport and Civil Aviation has reported that the government has launched efforts for legal recourse and claiming damages to the state related to reef damages caused by vessels. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) – the primary authority in environmental preservation in the Maldives – levies a fine of MVR 5,900 per five cubic meters, and a fine of MVR 12,600 if it exceeds this. While the authority has been dealing with 51 of such cases, the Maldives government is owed MVR 5 billion in damages by multiple different entities. Many of whom have refused citing various excuses.…
The Maldives Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has submitted a request to the Prosecutor General’s Office (PGO) to press charges against former Fenaka Corporation employees for embezzlement. ACC made the request to PGO to press charges against three ex-employees earlier on April 10, 2025. All three individuals are alleged to have embezzled petty cash issued to Fenaka Corporation’s Addu City, Hithadhoo Central Power Station (CPS) project. The charges are being brought against former Deputy Director of Projects Department, Ahmed Sathish Saeed; former Senior Engineer of Projects Department, Mohamed Aasidh; and one Supervisor stationed at Addu’s CPS. The former employees will be facing…
Housing Development Corporation (HDC) on Tuesday, has announced the appointment of its newest board member, Ibrahim Tha’am Mohamed. Privatization and Corporatization Board (PCB), the watchdog authority of all state-owned enterprises (SOEs) in the Maldives, confirmed Tha’am’s appointment effective Tuesday onward. Prior to his appointment to HDC’s board, he had been the State Minister of Construction, Housing, and Infrastructure. Tha’am is also the replacement of Mohamed Waheed, who was removed from the board earlier on April 6, 2025. HDC did not specify a reason for this dismissal. The board of HDC consists of 10 members. Earlier on December 19, 2024 all…