Deputy Speaker: ACC isn’t functioning, we cannot wait and watch

The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) is failing to fulfill its responsibilities, says Ahmed Nazim, the Deputy Speaker of Parliament, adding that the incumbent People’s National Congress (PNC) administration cannot wait and watch as major acts of corruption go unpunished.

The government has submitted two bills to empower the president to appoint presidents and vice presidents to both the ACC and the Elections Commission (EC).

Speaking during the preliminary debate on Tuesday on the amendment to the Anti-Corruption Commission Act, Nazim, who represents the Dhiggaru constituency, said that such a change is nothing new. He said that the former Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) administration had made similar legislative changes, empowering the president to appoint the head of the Civil Service Commission (CSC).

He said that the CSC acts as a watchdog for some 27,000 civil servants, and that the president of the CSC also gets a seat in the Judicial Service Commission (JSC).

Nazim said that there is therefore no room for criticism against the incumbent administration for its decision to make similar changes.

He also said that the ACC is not functioning as it should.

“Therefore, changing the law so the incumbent administration can change the ACC president is not something that can be criticized. I do not believe theirs is a single Maldivian citizen who believes the Anti-Corruption Commission is functioning as it should, that it is performing as it should, or that it is solving corruption cases,” he said.

Nazim said that the current members of the ACC weren’t professionals.

He expressed displeasure over an alleged lack of measures to stop major acts of corruption. In explanation, Nazim highlighted on the case of Bassam Adeel Jaleel, the embattled former president of the Football Association of Maldives (FAM), who is accused of embezzling millions from the association, some of which he allegedly used to purchase two luxury apartments in Hulhumale’.

Nazim said that the ACC had failed to take any measures to stop the corruption, which the police believe had taken over the course of several years.

He said that the incumbent administration does not want to wait and watch similar acts of corruption go unchecked.

Nazim said the president should therefore have the supreme authority to appoint presidents to both the ACC and the EC.

“We cannot wait and watch acts of corruption go unchecked during this five-year term as well. The people gave us a supermajority [in the Parliament] to make reforms. We do not see acts of corruption being curbed,” he said.

The bill to amend the ACC Act was sponsored by Felidhoo MP Adam Zahir, while the bill to amend the EC Act was sponsored by Kelaa MP Abdulla Shareef.

President and vice presidents of ACC and EC are currently elected with an internal vote taken among members of the respective commissions. And the results of the vote need to be submitted to the president and the Parliament within 28 hours. But with the legislative changes, presidents and vice presidents of the two commissions will be nominated by the country’s president. The nominations will be vetted by the Parliament and will require parliamentary approval. Resignations of presidents and vice presidents of the commissions will also need to be submitted to the country’s president.