Finance Minister notifies to reduce salary of CEO of MPL

Minister of Finance Abdullah Jihad has notified the Chairman of Maldives Ports Limited (MPL) to reduce the salary of MVR 132,000 of the Chief Executive Officer of MPL.

In a letter sent to Chairman of MPL Hassan Shah on 3 March 2013, Finance Minister Jihad asked to re-send the decision to change the salary of the CEO the Board of Directors of the company, and to reinstate the CEO’s salary to the amount that was being given earlier.

The letter did not state the CEO’s previous salary.

In the letter, Finance Minister Jihad also advised MPL to obtain the ministry’s permission prior to making changes to the salary structure of its Board of Directors, the allowance of the Chairman of its Board of Directors, and the salary of its CEO in the future.

A letter was also sent by the finance minister to former Chairman of MPL Abdul Matheen Ahmed on 13 February, requesting details of the policy and procedures applied when the salary of the CEO was increased earlier this year.

The post of CEO of MPL was held by Mahdhy Imad when the company’s Board of Directors increased the salary of its CEO to MVR 132,000.

After the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) had commenced an investigation into this increase in salary, Mahdhy Imad was transferred to the post of Deputy Minister of Transport.

Mahdhy Imad was replaced as CEO of MPL by former Permanent Secretary of the Transport Ministry Mohamed Latheef, by President Waheed.

Latheef, since he was appointed to the post of CEO of MPL, has received the increased amount as salary. However, a copy of a salary slip obtained by Sun Online shows that the basic salary of the CEO is MVR 80,000 and his allowance is MVR 22,000.

Chairman of MPL Shah told Sun Online that he had received the finance minister’s letter, and the issued had been discussed by the Board of Directors.

“The CEO is included in Board of Directors this issue is discussed. We can’t do this if he participates. But if he’s not there, the Board of Director’s meetings fail to meet the quorum requirement. That’s why we haven’t been able to do this,” he said.

He said that a decision regarding the salary to be given to the CEO can only be decided after discussion by the Board of Directors.