Even as the Mohamed Muizzu administration has continued refusing to disclose the total number of its political appointees, the President’s Office has once again chosen not to disclose information on the 228 appointees dismissed by the administration in line with cost-cutting measures.
On 15 October, President Mohamed Muizzu ordered the dismissal of 228 political employees within 15 days with a view to cutting spending under the administration’s economic reform programme. This included seven state ministers, 43 deputy ministers, 109 senior political directors, and 69 political directors.
Under the Right to Information (RTI) Act, a private individual, Afrah Ismail, requested that the President’s Office provide the names, designations, salaries, and agency of employment of the 228 individuals.
However, the President’s Office refused to provided the information, citing personal confidentiality.
While disclosing names would involve revealing information of a personal nature and naming the agencies of employment or similar details could lead to the exposure of personal details, such information could not be provided, the President’s Office stated in its reply.
Although the Muizzu administration took office with the promise of limiting political appointments to 700 or below, the President has, since taking office on 17 November 2023, reportedly made more than 2,000 such appointments.
The administration is yet to make the total number of political appointees a matter of public record.