PCB: Fenaka MD Afeef’s dismissal linked to merger plan

The decision to dismiss Mohamed Afeef Hussain from his role as managing director of Fenaka Corporation is linked to merge it into State Electric Company (STELCO) confirms the Privatization and Corporatization Board (PCB).

Afeef was dismissed from the state utility company on Wednesday.

The move came after President Dr. Mohmed Muizzu announced on September 7 the decision to merge Fenaka into STELCO – a move he said was part of his administration’s cost cutting measures.

However, the PCB had not specified a reason when it announced Afeef’s dismissal on Wednesday.

PCB’s president Mohamed Nizar confirmed to Sun on Thursday that the move was linked to the merger plan.

Nizar said that STELCO has already taken over some of Fenaka’s operations.

He added that the merger of Road Development Corporation (RDC) into the Maldives Transport and Contracting Company (MTCC) is also in progress.

When asked when he expects the mergers to be completed, Nizar said he was unable to provide an exact date as both Fenaka and RDC have nationwide operations.

Afeef was appointed as Fenaka’s managing director on April 27, making him the third person appointed to lead the company during President Muizzu’s administration.

On Wednesday, the PCB also dismissed Ibrahim Nazeem from his role as managing director of RDC, and appointed MTCC’s managing director Ahmed Saudee as the company’s acting managing director.

Fenaka is a 100-percent state-owned utility company established in 2012 by caretaker president Dr. Mohamed Waheed Hassan Manik.

The company is heavily in debt, and has been plagued with allegations of corruption throughout different Maldivian administrations.

A special audit report publicized by the Auditor General’s Office (AGO) last year flagged MVR 2.2 billion in financial irregularities by Fenaka between 2021 and 2023.

Meanwhile, the RDC, established during former president Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom’s administration, had also been plagued for years with similar allegations of corruption.