Parliament greenlights salary cuts for ministers who fail to declare finances

A constitutional amendment submitted by the main opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) seeking to dock the salaries of cabinet ministers who fail to submit their financial declarations on time was accepted into the Parliament on Tuesday with bipartisan support.

The bill, submitted earlier this week by North Galolhu MP Mohamed Ibrahim (Kudu), was accepted into the Parliament for consideration with a unanimous vote of 59 on Tuesday.

The greenlight came without any debate due to lack of parliamentarians who wished to debate on the legislature, and the bill received bipartisan support, as lawmakers from both the MDP and the ruling People’s National Congress (PNC) voted in favor of reviewing the bill.

Kudu’s bill seeks to amend Article 138 of the Constitution, which stipulates that cabinet ministers must submit their financial declarations, detailing their personal assets, income, wealth, business interests and debt, to the Auditor General’s Office on an annual basis.

The proposed amendments introduce deadlines for disclosure of financial declarations as well as a penalty for failure to submit it on time.

The amendments stipulate that cabinet ministers must submit financial declarations verified by a licensed auditor to both the Auditor General’s Office and the Parliament.

It sets the deadline at maximum 90 days from the date on which they take office.

It also prescribes a penalty for failure to meet the deadline with daily salary deductions until the declaration is submitted.

The proposed amendments also stipulate that newly appointed cabinet ministers must also submit financial declarations verified by a licensed auditor within 90 days of taking office.

It also stipulates that the financial declarations must be publicized by the Auditor General’s Office.