Member of Parliament for Kulhudhuffushi North Constituency Abdul Ghafoor Moosa has claimed that the Government of Maldives took a loan of MVR 800 million from Bank of Maldives (BML).

The MP made the statement in Wednesday’s Parliament session, where he said the Government had taken a loan of MVR 800 million from the bank to pay the salaries of Civil Servants. This, he said was discussed in the sitting of the Parliament Committee on Financial Affairs.

None of the members of the said Committee, who hail from the ruling coalition, had denied this statement.

However, ruling coalition member Feydhoo Constituency MP Ibrahim Didi and member of the Financial Affairs Committee said this loan was used to pay back the loans taken under previous administrations.

MP Ghafoor said the entire budget for the year was a colossal one of MVR 27 billion, which included salaries, expenses and earnings. Ghafoor said it was deeply concerning that the state had no funds, given the number of projects to boost earnings.

‘The Government passed a budget of MVR 27 billion this year, it includes revenue options. Where is the money? The budget does not mention a loan of MVR 800 million from BML. No projects go as planned. But the funds in the budget is exhausted. Where is the money?’ he said.

He further said the Government had planned to take another US$ 200 million, with the Government providing sovereign guarantees. This, he said was not mentioned in the budget either.