MVR 882m spent on Parliament, including MVR 13m on meals

Information released by the Parliament shows that over MVR 882 million has been spent on the incumbent parliamentary assembly – which was sworn in, in 2019.

Parliamentarians are entitled to a huge monthly salary and additional incentives.

According to information provided by the Parliament in response to a request filed by Sun under the Right to Information (RTI), MVR 882,160,153 has been spent on the current parliamentary assembly so far.

This includes MVR 200,991,000 in salaries, MVR 188,160,000 in allowances, and MVR 13,211,442 on meals - an average of MVR 2.6 million per year.

The highest spending was on salaries and allowances, with MVR 601,282,796, followed by administrative expenses, with MVR 146,341,502.

The third highest spending went to procuring capital assets, with MVR 46,358,060.

The total spending stands at over MVR 882 million, with an annual average of over MVR 176 million.

The yearly breakdown of spending shows that over MVR 192 million was spent in 2019, and over MVR 169 million in 2020. Between 2021 and 2022 – the spending stood between MVR 160 million and MVR 163 million. But in 2023, the spending rose to above MVR 195 million.

Despite the already high spending on the Parliament, the legislative body recently passed amendments to increase the monthly pay of parliamentarians from MVR 82,500 to MVR 100,000.