HDC’s expenditure on staff increased by MVR 44M in 2024

The 2024 audit report of the Housing Development Corporation (HDC) has revealed that the company’s employee-related expenditure increased by MVR 44 million compared to the previous year.

According to the 2024 HDC audit report released by the Auditor General’s Office last Thursday, the Corporation’s total spending on employees reached MVR 500 million. This compares with MVR 455 million spent on staff-related expenses in 2023.

Expenditure on basic salaries increased from MVR 137 million in 2023 to MVR 157 million in 2024, marking a rise of MVR 20 million. Spending on allowances and bonuses also increased by MVR 8.3 million, reaching MVR 301 million during the year.

The combined expenditure on salaries, allowances, and bonuses rose by MVR 28.5 million, representing a 6.61 percent increase.

HDC, which provides health insurance coverage for its employees, also recorded a substantial increase in healthcare-related expenditure in 2024. Spending under this category rose to MVR 18.8 million, compared with MVR 3.06 million in 2023, reflecting an increase of approximately MVR 15 million.

Other employee-related expenses included:

Pension Fund: MVR 9.8 million
Travel and Visas: MVR 3.77 million

Despite the increase in employee-related costs, HDC, which manages Hulhumalé and oversees several major development projects, generated total revenue of MVR 3.54 billion in 2024. The corporation recorded a net profit of MVR 2.01 billion, a slight decline from the MVR 2.04 billion profit recorded in the previous year.

The audit report further showed that HDC’s debt increased from MVR 11.7 billion in 2023 to MVR 12.4 billion in 2024.

Concerns have continued to grow over the increase in staffing levels at HDC and other State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) in relation to their operational requirements.

On April 18, the Ministry of Finance instructed SOEs to reduce their workforce by 33 percent as part of broader measures aimed at lowering operational expenses and improving financial management.

Following the directive, the Privatization and Corporatization Board (PCB) issued a circular to government companies last Sunday, instructing them to complete the workforce reduction process within three months from the date of the circular.

Prior to the directive, several SOEs, including Fenaka Corporation and HDC, had already introduced voluntary redundancy schemes to encourage employees to resign.

In April, then-Finance Minister Moosa Zameer stated that the combined workforce of all state-owned enterprises was estimated to be approximately 42,000 employees.