Minister of Finance and Development Planning, Moosa Zameer, has announced that the government aims to ensure payments to small businesses are settled within a 15-day period.
Speaking on PSM News’ “Raajje Miadhu” program, Minister Zameer highlighted that one of the most significant challenges facing the revenue streams of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) is the prolonged delay in receiving payments for goods and services provided to the government and State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs).
The Minister stated that the government’s policy is to find a permanent solution to this issue by consistently settling outstanding invoices to the fullest extent permitted by cash flow. He emphasized that the specific target is to process payments for local small businesses within 15 days.
Minister Zameer further noted that extensive efforts were made over the past year to provide financial relief to SMEs. In this regard, the government settled MVR 6.3 billion in invoices from local businesses last year. Additionally, the Ministry of Finance alone processed MVR 1.5 billion in payments for foreign vendors.
Furthermore, in line with the President’s pledge to address long-standing “legacy” debts, the Minister pointed out that MVR 882 million was disbursed to SOEs last year specifically to settle overdue invoices. He added that these long-outstanding payments were made after verifying the validity of the invoices and following the advice of the Auditor General.
The Minister also revealed that MVR 1.3 billion has already been paid out for goods and services provided to the state. As of the 21st of this month, the outstanding balance owed to private local businesses stands at approximately MVR 791 million.
“Alongside this, we are working to clear the government’s domestic debts. However, these are ongoing businesses, and new liabilities will naturally arise. I believe the President is prioritizing this to ensure efficient wealth distribution by empowering and developing small and medium enterprises,” Minister Zameer said.
The Minister concluded by stating that the collaborative efforts between the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade and the Ministry of Finance will financially empower SMEs. He expressed confidence that these initiatives would make this year a landmark year for the growth of small and medium enterprises in the Maldives.
