Shujau: Current administration ‘ruined’ in these three years by debt inherited from predecessor

Ruling People's National Congress (PNC)’s vice president, Baarah MP Ibrahim Shujau, on Monday, stated the current administration has been "ruined" in these three years by the burden of repaying loans inherited from the previous administration.

Speaking during the debate on the proposed state budget for next year, Shujaau said the former Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) administration had spent approximately MVR 200 billion as the state budget.

"What was the result? Zero. It was theft," Shujaau asserted.

Criticizing the previous administration, Shujaau described the budget preparation under Solih’s administration as having been carried out "recklessly and without concern."

He further noted that increased state expenditure had inevitably resulted in a larger budget. Shujaau said subsidies had risen to MVR 3.75 billion due to the conflict that erupted in the Middle East late last February. He claimed that without the war, this year's budget would have recorded a surplus.

"MDP’s potential presidential candidate Fayyaz Ismail predicted that this nation would go bankrupt by April 2026. Honorable Speaker, how calculated and deliberate must their planning have been for them to know the exact timing of such a bankruptcy? Did it happen? No, it did not," Shujaau said, referring to the loan repayments made in April.

"Honorable Speaker, we have been devastated over these three years by the obligation to settle loans taken [by the previous government] that provided no real benefit to the citizens."

Concluding his remarks, Shujaau emphasized that the proposed budget for the coming year offers hope for the future.