Parliamentarians Jabir, Naseer have not disclosed financial statements

All parliamentarians have disclosed their financial statements except for two; DRP leader and Kaashidhoo MP Abdulla Jabir, and Mulaku MP Ibrahim Naseer.

Parliament’s Standing Orders require all parliamentarians to submit their financial statements, along with that of their spouses and children under the age of 18 years, by August 31 each year. It also requires for financial statements of parliamentarians to be published on the Parliament’s website.

The information was published on the Parliament’s website this Tuesday, and includes financial statements from all parliamentarians, with the exemption of Jabir and Naseer.

The Parliament’s secretariat confirms they failed to submit their financial statements by the deadline.

Article 70 (a) of Parliament’s Standing Orders states that in the event a parliamentarian fails to submit his/her financial statements within the required period, the Parliament’s secretary-general must issue a writing warning instructing the parliamentarian to submit the financial statements within an additional 15-day period.

Parliament’s media director Hassan Ziyau told Sun that Jabir and Naseer have been instructed to submit their financial statements within 15 days.

The Parliament’s Standing Orders state that if a parliamentarian fails to submit financial statements even after he/she is provided additional time, the parliamentarian’s name will be called out by the Speaker, after which he/she will be suspended from attending parliamentary sittings and committee meetings until he/she submits the financial statements. The parliamentarian will also have his/her daily pay docked, starting from when his/her name is called out to until the financial statements are submitted.

The amendment to the Parliament’s Standing Orders making it compulsory for parliamentarians to publicize their financial statements was made during the current 19th parliamentary assembly.