Aasandha bills unpaid due to dollar shortage

The National Social Protection Agency (NSPA) has said that bills of foreign hospitals providing Aasandha services worth $400,000 remain unpaid due to shortage of dollars.

Chairman of NSPA Thorig Ali Luthfy said told Sun Online today that requests have been made from government companies to provide dollars, but this problem remains unsolved. He said that they do have sufficient Maldivian Rufiyaa to cover those bills.

“We have Maldivian Rufiyaa, we can’t get dollars. We have been asking government companies to sell dollars; this has been going on for a long time now. How can we pay in dollars if we can’t get dollars?” he said.

Thorig said that despite the unpaid bills, none of those hospitals have suspended Aasandha services yet.

“I always say that our operations depend on the country’s situation and economy. We believe that within this family, meaning all government departments should provide us support to some extent,” he said.

He said that great support is being received from the finance minister in the efforts to obtain dollars, and that previously, the problem was solved with the assistance of Kooddoo Fisheries and MTDC, but these companies are no longer in a situation themselves to be able to provide assistance in this regard.

It has been confirmed to Sun Online that Asiri Hospital in Sri Lanka has suspended Aasandha services due to unpaid bills.