The Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) has raised concerns over President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu's recent presidential address delivered at the opening of Parliament, stating that it failed to accurately depict the country's current situation.
The MDP made the claim while responding to the presidential statement in Parliament today.
MDP's Parliamentary Group Leader Mohamed Rasheed 'Bigey' Hussain said while the purpose of the presidential statement is to describe the country's current situation, the address delivered by the president lacked crucial insights into the pressing issues confronting the Maldives.
“There was no emphasis on the critical issues facing the country,” Rasheed said.
MP Rasheed noted that the presidential statement had misrepresented the country's economic situation, causing great concern to the parliamentarians. While the economic situation deteriorated due to COVID-19 and the Ukraine war during the MDP government, he noted that instead of clarifying these facts in the presidential address, the President had painted a politically motivated picture of the events.
Highlighting the nation's staggering debt, Rasheed said the President should have shared the government's debt repayment strategy in his presidential statement. Although the former MDP government had developed a plan to repay the public debt in 2025 and 2026, which was submitted to Parliament on July 31 last year and subsequently published, President Muizzu made no mention of the plan in his presidential statement, he noted.
“It is irresponsible for the President to conclude his presidential statement without mentioning that there is a serious plan in place to repay the debt,” Rasheed said.
Noting that one of the biggest national problems facing the Maldives is drugs, Rasheed said the President's presidential statement did not adequately address the issue.
“I was most dismayed when I heard this presidential statement as the President did not mention anything about it [drugs],” Rasheed said.
