Afeef says Fenaka aims to transfer all services to STELCO before Ramadan, with no layoffs planned

Fenaka Managing Director Mohamed Afeef Hussain said Monday that the company hopes to transfer all its services to STELCO before the coming Ramadan, and that no staff reductions will be made at this stage.

In June, Fenaka, the state-owned enterprise with the largest workforce, offered voluntary resignations with a four-month salary package to reduce staff numbers. A total of 107 employees left the company under the scheme before the deadline expired. Then, on the 7th of last month, President Dr Mohamed Muizzu announced that Fenaka would be dissolved and its responsibilities transferred to STELCO.

Afeef told Sun that the work of transferring Fenaka’s services to STELCO is progressing rapidly. He said he expects all Fenaka stations to be handed over by next month.

“I hope to transfer all services under the control of STELCO before the start of next Ramadan and provide reliable and sustainable services to the people,” Afeef said.

He added that when Fenaka’s services are transferred, all assets and employees will also be moved to STELCO. Until each station is formally handed over, existing Fenaka staff will remain in place and continue managing operations on their respective islands. Afeef stressed that no staff reductions are planned as part of the transition.

“During this process there will be no reduction of any employees. The employees will be transferred under the control of STELCO,” he said.

Fenaka is a loss-making company and has faced repeated allegations of corruption in recent years. Successive governments have been accused of hiring large numbers of employees during election periods. Afeef previously stated that Fenaka employs around 8,000 staff.

Fenaka Corporation Limited is a 100 percent government-owned company established during the administration of Dr Mohamed Waheed Hassan Manik to provide basic services to island communities. The company has long been associated with corruption cases. Thousands of employees were added during former President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih’s administration, and an audit report by the Auditor General alleged multiple acts of corruption within Fenaka, including the use of companies owned by senior party officials and sitting MPs.

Fenaka is currently in a state of bankruptcy due to excessive spending and corruption.