Dhonbileh Haleem calls for impeachment of ‘many ministers’

Bilehdhoo MP Ahmed Haleem (Dhonbileh), on Monday, said that many of the government ministers were incompetent and needed to be impeached and replaced with new ministers as soon as possible.

At the virtual parliamentary sitting on Monday afternoon, Haleem said that while the current government itself was one which had integrity, many of the ministers were incapable.

He said he found it be one of the biggest issues facing the government.

“I find one of the biggest challenges facing us today to be is that, the current government is honest, but we don’t believe that those in ministries, those heading ministries, are competent,” said Haleem.

He said that Maldives needed to disband the ruling coalition, impeach incumbent ministers, and appoint new ministers in order to overcome the COVID-19 pandemic crisis as soon as possible.

“I believe that we need to overhaul government ministries as soon as possible so we can overcome the COVID crisis as soon as possible. We need to impeach a large number of ministers and [appoint] completely new ones. Maldives has some highly capable people. We have highly capable people, people with experience,” said Haleem.

He specifically named Home Minister Sheikh Imran Abdulla as someone who needed to be impeached “as soon as possible”.

“I believe that it is especially important to overhaul the Home Ministry at this time. I therefore find that it is crucial that we take a no-confidence vote and oust Imran Abdulla as soon as possible and appoint a capable Home Minister,” said Haleem.

Haleem also criticized the way the government is disseminating information regarding the COVID-19 situation in Maldives.

He said that while Heads of Governments and Health Ministers appeared for press conferences in other countries, “two doctors and a young boy called Mabrouq” appeared on press conferences in Maldives.

Parliament Speaker, former President Mohamed Nasheed also criticized the government over its handling of the pandemic crisis – specifically its policy regarding allowing people stranded in Male’ due to the lockdown to return to their home islands. Nasheed said that he was at the end of his patience regarding the issue, and warned that the Parliament may need to respond with action.