Mohamed Aslam, who served several ministerial positions in former President Mohamed Nasheed’s cabinet, has given his unwavering guarantee that there were not acts of corruption in leasing out islands during the Nasheed administration.

Aslam made these statements in a talk-show on RaajjeTV, answering a question over the state auditors’ recent claim that the Nasheed administration had leased 17 islands for development without first putting forth the projects for bidding. 

Further stressing the administration’s transparency, Aslam said that it had established the National Planning Council, which included both members of government and experts in various fields, and that all projects were approved by the council before being announced for bidding.

Aslam added that the council had also accepted a number of proposals, which were all individually reviewed by its members, who would make a decision on whether or not they are to be approved. 

“By no means was it done in secret, it was something that was heavily publicized, where would all those proposals come from if it was not announced for bidding? There was absolutely no corruption there” he said. 

In addition to this, he had also spoken of the value the Nasheed administration placed on corporate social responsibility, and deliberately ensured that those whose proposals were approved contributed to the livelihoods of the residents near the islands. 

“Those that were given the projects would have to establish their resources and machineries in these areas, and we would also price these projects based on calculations of the land’s worth, measured in hectares” Aslam further said. 

Aslam, who has been a longstanding member of the opposition Maldivian Democratic Party, said the Auditor General’s accusations are an attempt to distract the public from the state’s failure to investigate and prosecute those responsible for an embezzlement case involving the state-operated Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Company (MMPRC) and former Vice President Ahmed Adheeb. 

While the MMPRC filed a case to recover a sum of MVR 164 million from a company with strong ties to President Abdulla Yameen’s then deputy, he insists that the corruption did no go beyond the vice president’s office.