Details of the administration’s expenditure of the 2024 National Budget will remain confidential, even to the Supplementary Budget Review Committee assessing the submission worth MVR 5.1 billion, the 20th session of Parliament has decided. The National Budget 2024 had been approved by the previous 19th session of Parliament.
Minister of Finance Minister Moosa Zameer, who presented the supplementary budget which seeks to manage expenditure through to the end of the year, will appear before the review committee on Monday.
Opposition Member of Parliament (MP) Abdul Ghafoor Moosa [Maldivian Democratic Party – MDP], however, proposed that the government share details of how the budget had been utilised so far.
Four MDP MPs, as well as Maldivian Development Alliance (MDA) MP Mohamed Abbas, voted in favour of the proposal.
However, 14 People’s National Congress (PNC) MPs, along with MP and leader of the Jumhooree Party (JP) Qasim Ibrahim, voted for the details to remain confidential. PNC MP Ahmed Azaan Marzooq abstained.
The administration aligned PNC MPs voted to keep details confidential, even as opposition MPs accused them of deceiving the public on how the people’s money was spent.
While presenting the supplementary budget, and amid calls from the MDP that the 2024 National Budget had already been completely depleted, Zameer said MVR 37 billion of the total MVR 49 billion budgeted had been spent as of last month.
It is, however, unclear how the funds were utilised as the Muizzu administration has not released budget related figures since 20 June.