Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Welfare employs 53 political appointees

The Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Welfare has also been revealed to employ a large number of political appointees.

Information obtained by Sun under the Right to Information Act shows the ministry employs 53 political appointees.

They are:

• Minister: 1
• State minister: 3
• Deputy minister: 6
• Senior political director: 29
• Political director: 14

The ministry did not provide any details regarding the specific job mandates for these political appointees.

It is estimated that the state spends around MVR 1.3 million monthly on the salaries of these 53 political appointees.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Welfare was allocated a budget of MVR 81.3 million this year. Information released by the Ministry of Finance shows MVR 21.8 million has been spent as of March 26.