Committee to inquire about Health Minister's false statements

The Parliament's Committee on Member's privileges and ethics has been forwarded the issue of Health Minister Abdulla Ameen of providing false information to the parliament.

Minister Ameen is accused of lying to the parliament regarding the procurement of ventilators to the Maldives.

Ameen has stepped aside from his duties as the Minister after a report by the Auditor-General's Office based on the compliance of expenditure by the Health Ministry revealed several instances of misconduct and possible corruption.

The Audit Report into the Health Ministry's spending revealed that the Ministry had awarded a contract to source 75 ventilators to Dubai based Executors General Trading under the pretext that it was recommended by the WHO. Minister Ameen had stated so in press conferences and even in a letter to the parliament. \

WHO complying with the Audit Office, had refuted this completely, stating that contact information was all that was shared by the organization and that it had made no such recommendations.

In today's parliament session, Nasheed said that it was evident from the statements of the Auditor General Hassan Ziyath in the parliament yesterday as well as the audit report, that Minister Ameen was untruthful in making the statements in the letter to the parliament. 

"I can see that the Minister is in violation of parliament ethics, based on the audit report and the statements by the Auditor General in the Parliament's Public Accounts Committee yesterday, after the Minister had stated so [to the parliament]" said Nasheed. 

Nasheed then forwarded the matter to the parliament's Ethics Committee to be reviewed.