The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has forwarded a case against Male’ City Mayor Sifa Muhammad requesting the Prosecutor General to raise corruption charges against the mayor.
The graft watchdog forwarded the case to the PG regarding the development of a public park in the coastal area of capital Male’. ACC said the project comprises of the development of two toilet stalls, three huts, three entrance canopies and the renovation of a lifeguard tower as well as the development and installation of a garden bridge. Out of these components, the construction of the toilet stalls were handed over to local construction company, Amin Construction without the necessary paperwork, and did not undergo a transparent and competitive bid process, said ACC. Although three quotations were obtained for the work and presented to the bid committee, the work was handed over to Amin Construction without informing the committee or council members, said ACC.
While a Sri Lankan company sent a letter addressed to Mayor Sifa offering to finance the construction of the toilet stalls, it did not set a condition to hire a specific contractor for the work, ACC further noted. The project was contracted to Amin Construction without an agreement, and the details of the work assigned are unclear, said ACC. The mayor sent a total of three memos to the Bid Committee requesting to select a contractor, out of which one was sent on a date after the work had already been assigned to AMIN, ACC further noted. After the commission began probing the case, the council made an announcement in December 2019, seeking contractors for the remaining work. However, the contracts were not awarded to any parties, said ACC.
ACC said the mayor’s acts imply that she had tried to obtain undue benefits for Amin Construction, and requested the Prosecutor General to raise corruption charges.
