The World Bank has expressed concern over the Ministry of Finance’s failure to publish the state’s Weekly Fiscal Development reports.
In its “Maldives Development Update: Seeking Stability in Turbulent Times” report, the World Bank noted that the Mohamed Muizzu administration last published the reports on 20 June.
“Since 20 June, the authorities have not released the fiscal statistics due to ongoing reconciliation work, leading to transparency concerns on the overall economic situation,” the World Bank report said.
The Finance Ministry has not released the report for 113 days. While Moosa Zameer—previously Foreign Minister—took over the portfolio of Finance Minister following the resignation of previous Minister, Mohamed Shafeeq, there has still been no progress on the publication of the weekly reports.
The most recent update to the Weekly Fiscal Developments section of the Ministry of Finance still reads that “The next issue of the weekly fiscal updates will be published during the fourth week of July 2024, as reconciliation works are underway.”
Many observers, including critics and the administration’s main opposition, the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), have expressed concern over the statements no longer being made public—citing transparency concerns as a source of uncertainty and loss of confidence in the country’s economic status.
