Audit on COVID-19 related expenses being conducted by Finance Ministry

The Finance Ministry has revealed that a special audit is being conducted on government expenses related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Speaking at a press conference held by the National Emergency Operations Centre (NEOC) on Saturday, Finance Minister Ibrahim Ameer said an internal audit is being conducted on COVID-19 related expenditure. The ministry has also requested the Privatization Corporatization Board (PCB) to conduct a special audit on the state-owned State Trading Organization (STO) as a large amount of transactions are being carried out through the SOE. The minister added that most orders placed for material and other equipment were placed through STO.

The Maldives government's efforts to curb the rapid spread of the new coronavirus has cost the archipelago over MVR800 million thus far, official figures have shown. Deputy Speaker of the Parliament and Galolhu South MP Eva Abdulla on Saturday proposed to conduct a financial audit on COVID-19 related expenses.