President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu delivered a strong message tonight to the heads of state-owned companies, stating that if he receives information about any of the appointees in various government ministries and companies engaging in activities that facilitate corruption, he will take immediate action and will not tolerate corruption.
In a message written tonight in the WhatsApp group of state-owned company executives, the President said that if anyone does anything for anyone against regulations or principles, or commits an act of corruption, action will be taken. “If any person does anything for anyone against regulations or principles, or commits an act of corruption, or gives an opportunity for it to happen, or facilitates anything unfairly for anyone, or if I receive any such information, I will take the necessary action,” said President Dr. Muizzu.
He said that corruption will not be tolerated. He stated that zero tolerance will be implemented in its true meaning. The President said this while the police have started a criminal investigation into the case of allegedly giving plots of land in Hulhumale to undeserving people under the “Binveriyaa” scheme. The police have already questioned six suspects in this case. While the police are giving special priority to investigating the land issue, the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has also now entered into the matter.
As this issue has surfaced, HDC’s Managing Director Ibrahim Fazul Rasheed and all board members have been suspended. However, Ahmed Nasif (DD), who was recently appointed as the Chairman of HDC, has not been suspended. Several senior management officials of HDC have also been suspended indefinitely in this case. These include Chief Financial Officer Abdullah Faiz, Chief Business Officer and Head of Media Department Ahmed Yamin, IT Consultant Abdullah Shuhoodh, and Real Estate Deputy Director Ahmed Aiman. These are all close associates of Fazul.
The “Binveriyaa” scheme issue escalated when a land registry was made for Mohamed Fazeel Rasheed, the Deputy Managing Director of MWSC and brother of HDC’s Managing Director Ibrahim Fazul Rasheed, despite being deemed ineligible for the scheme. Fazeel has already built a boundary wall around the plot. The wall is currently about four feet high.
Fazul said that the land issue was noticed when applications for permission to build boundary walls were submitted to HDC, and when these registries were sent to the Housing Ministry for verification. He also said that HDC has not given land to anyone unjustly and that the Ministry of Housing handles matters such as handing over registries and giving land. President Dr. Muizzu continues to assure that he will not give any opportunity for corruption.
A statement he made as President-elect at a gathering to thank the Maldivian people for the victory in the presidential election still resonates in our ears today.
“We will take the lead in taking necessary action against those who engage in corrupt practices. We came to the people with the target of establishing a clean government by reducing such practices within the government system. That was a promise I made. To establish a clean government. God willing, we will have the spirit of establishing a clean government among us. We will work with that determination. God willing, the people will see a transparent government that doesn’t hide anything and doesn’t hesitate to be accountable. We will show that by doing it, God willing. Isn’t this what the people wanted? So, a transparent, open government will be established,” the President said.
President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu, who took office on November 17, 2023, continues to repeat this message. The assurance he gave was that he would run the government without corruption. And if it is proven that any party in his government engages in such activities, the President said that necessary legal action will be taken against those parties without hesitation.