The President’s Office has withheld crucial details about the 228 political appointees allegedly dismissed from their positions, under the government’s claim that it was part of a “strategy” to curb government expenditure.
The incumbent administration of President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu repeatedly campaigned that “there will be nothing to hide” during his rule. However, it has failed to disclose how many currently hold political positions in the administration, even after repeated inquiries from journalists.
On October 15, Muizzu took to social media platform ‘X’, announcing that he has instructed to remove 228 political appointees from various government ministries as a direct measure to cut down government expenditure, under the Economic Reform Agenda.
In response to this announcement, some social media users suggested that the dismissals implied that those affected were hired without a clear purpose.
Later, in a post on X, the Chief Spokesperson for the President's Office revealed that political staff had been dismissed as the president had instructed.
However, no details about the dismissed individuals have been disclosed to date.
The President's Office refused to disclose information about those dismissed from political positions in response to a request submitted by Ahmed Afrah Ismail on 15 October 2024 under the Right to Information Act.
In response to Afrah's request, the President's Office stated that as part of the government's Economic Reform Agenda, to reduce state expenditure, 228 employees had been dismissed from their positions by 31 October 2024, as part of measures being taken to reduce political staff working in various government ministries.
The President’s Office’ response noted that among the information requested included the names of political staff that are deemed personal information, and that if the names of the ministries where they worked are disclosed, it is believed that their personal information may be revealed. The office informed him that the information about the names of these employees and the names of those ministries is not information that can be released under the Right to Information Act.
Muizzu earlier asserted that there would not be more than 700 political employees in his administration.
Although the government has not disclosed the number of political positions, some ministries have appointed so many people to political positions that there are not enough desks and chairs for them to sit. It has also been reported that some individuals have no work to do and only come to the office to clock in and then head out immediately.
