By Enyichukwu Enemanna
At least 225 political appointees in Maldives, including ministers have been relieved of their duties in a bid to reduce the cost of governance in the cash-strapped Indian Ocean country, office of the President, Mohamed Muizzu announced on Tuesday.
“This significant reduction in political appointments aligns with the president’s broader efforts to streamline government operations and ensure more efficient use of public funds,” a statement from Muizzu’s office said.
Those affected in the mass sack include those appointed by president Muizzu who came to power last year, a decision that comes as the small country struggles to stave off a debt crisis.
Among those sacked were seven state ministers, 43 deputy ministers and 178 political directors.
Heritage Times HT reports that the luxury tourist destination country had last month said its financial troubles are “temporary” has no plans to seek an International Monetary Fund bailout after warnings of a possible sovereign default.
The country known for its upscale resorts and celebrity visitors, was pressing ahead with tax hikes to meet its debt servicing obligations.
It was not clear what functions that those who were sacked performed in the tiny nation of about half a million people.
The statement did not say how many more political appointees remained in the administration but added that the mass reduction of staff would save the country about $370,000 a month, apparently in salaries.
China and India are the two largest bilateral lenders to the Maldives, made up of 1,192 coral islands scattered across the equator.
China has pledged more funding since last year’s victory by Muizzu, who thanked Beijing for its “selfless assistance” for development funds.
Muizzu was welcomed in New Delhi this month by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who rolled out financial support to bolster Male’s struggling economy.
Official data showed the Maldives’ foreign debt at $3.37 billion in the first quarter of this year, amounting to around 45 percent of gross domestic product.
