It has been revealed today that out of the lands leased by Housing Development Corporation (HDC) to businesses, more than 1.2 billion rufiyaa in rent is due to HDC, including from large, well-known business companies. HDC has shared a list of unpaid land rent with the Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee.

These lands are leased from Hulhumale, Thilafushi, and Gulhifalhu. The list shows that companies owe millions to HDC. This is rent owed by 18 companies and two individuals. Some of these companies have leased two or three plots of land.

Major companies that owe money to HDC include:

1. Jausa Investment Private Limited
2. HPH Development Private Limited
3. Island Expert Private Limited
4. Hanbo Company Limited
5. Rainbow Mega Developers Private Limited
6. Yacht Tours Maldives
7. Ensis Fisheries Private Limited
8. Amin Construction Private
9. Water Front Hotel and Lesha Private Limited
10. Rainbow Enterprises Limited
11. Huravali Beach Resort Investment Private Limited
12. VAM Company Private Limited
13. Mala High Rising Construction Limited
14. Mega Infra Projects Private Limited
15. Heavy Load Private Limited
16. Jausa Property Development Maldives
17. Litus Maldives Private Limited
18. Amin Buildware Private Limited

Speaking at the Public Accounts Committee, the committee’s Deputy Chair and MP for Eydhafushi constituency, Ahmed Saleem (Redwave Saleem), said that the 1.2 billion rufiyaa owed to HDC by various parties is a loss to the state. Saleem said he is not aware of any efforts by HDC to recover these funds. MP for Baarah constituency, Ibrahim Shujau, has proposed to clarify through HDC what efforts have been made to recover this money. He said it is concerning that large companies have not paid these amounts.

“I want want to highlight that there are actively operating, well-known large companies in the Maldives that have not paid millions in rent. We talk about government companies going bankrupt. Won’t they go bankrupt when large plots of land are leased and rent is not paid?” Shujau said.

The People’s Majlis has today approved to keep the three top officials of the Majlis Secretariat in their positions. A vote was taken on the floor of the Majlis today to see if Fathimath Niusha, the Secretary General of the Majlis, Fathimath Filza, the Counsel General, and Tholhath Hassan, the Sergeant-at-Arms of the Majlis, should be kept in their positions. 79 members voted in favor of keeping Niusha in her position, while no member voted against it.

80 members voted in favor of keeping Filza in her position, while no member voted against it. And 80 members voted in favor of keeping Tholhath in his position, while no member voted against it.

According to Article 16 of the Majlis Regulations, before the end of two terms after the implementation of the Majlis Regulations, unless otherwise decided by the Majlis, people should be appointed to the positions of Secretary General, Counsel General, and Sergeant-at-Arms of the current Majlis.

Ibrahim Falah, Member of Parliament for Inguraidhoo constituency and Leader of the PNC Parliamentary Group, has said that advice from Palestine and Arab countries is needed on the issue of banning entry to the Maldives with Israeli passports. Falah said this while speaking at the Committee on National Security Services regarding the issue of banning Israeli passports. Falah said that banning entry to the Maldives with Israeli passports is a very important amendment. He also noted that Israel is carrying out very strong inhumane and brutal acts of genocide against the Palestinian people.

Falah highlighted the need to get Palestine’s opinion on this matter. He said that if Palestine wants to ban Israeli citizens from coming to the Maldives, it’s necessary to see how much benefit and advantage it would bring to that country, or what satisfaction and happiness it would bring. “In addition to Palestine, we need to seek advice from other Arab countries and relevant authorities of other major countries in the world on this issue. There are also hundreds of Muslims living in Israel. When banning Israeli passports, this is not an issue that can be decided hastily. Therefore, this issue should not be decided without extensive research,” Falah said.

He said that the proposal to ban Israeli passports was also submitted in the previous MDP majority parliament, but no decision was made on it by the time the government ended. He said this was for some reason. Falah said that banning Israeli passports should not be politically damaging to the country. Therefore, there needs to be extensive consultation on this matter.

Saudullah Hilmy, PNC member for Thinadhoo North constituency in the People’s Majlis, has said that the amendment submitted to the People’s Majlis to give the President the power to appoint the chairman of the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) is an amendment to make the institution accountable.

The Independent Institutions Committee has passed a bill submitted to the People’s Majlis by the government to amend the laws of the ACC and the Elections Commission (EC) to give the President the power to appoint the chairpersons of these two commissions.

Debating the committee report today, Saudullah said that when members have the power to elect the chairman of the commissions, sometimes conflicts of interest arise. He also said that he is aware that some other issues also occur.

Saudullah said that under the amendment to the law, the chairpersons of the commissions are being appointed with the approval of the People’s Majlis of the Maldives, and those appointed by the Majlis become the chairpersons. Therefore, he said this is the best way even from a democratic perspective.

“The members of that commission are also appointed by passing through the Majlis. So even if some people try to change it in another way, that’s not something that will change. The people approved by the Majlis are the people approved by the public,” Saudullah said.

Saudullah said that even if the amendment is passed, the current members of the commissions will remain in their positions. He said that the amendment will come into effect when their terms end. Therefore, he said this is not about making changes to the commissions immediately. He said it’s an amendment brought to make them accountable in the future.

Ahmed Nazim, Deputy Speaker of the People’s Majlis and PNC member for Dhiggaru constituency, said today that the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) is not investigating corruption cases at the required speed. The Independent Institutions Committee has passed a bill submitted to the People’s Majlis by the government to amend the laws of the ACC and the Elections Commission (EC) to give the President the power to appoint the chairpersons of these two commissions. Debating the committee report today, Nazim said that the ACC bears the greatest responsibility for resolving corruption issues given how deeply rooted corruption is in the Maldives.

“I was involved in the work of the first ACC established after the constitution came into effect. The commissions that came after haven’t done that work. So this effort is to get the commission’s work up and running again,” Nazim said. Noting that a lot of work has been done to eliminate corruption since this government came to power, Nazim said that efforts to eliminate corruption in uniformed institutions are particularly notable.

“Recently, some corruption cases in Corrections have been investigated and sent to court. Even now, the Auditor General is conducting an audit within the Police. Customs affairs are also being closely monitored. So the commissions need to be put in order to put these things in order. And the change of chairman and vice chairman is being done in the same way as in all commissions,” Nazim said. Nazim said that the ACC is not working at the speed required to investigate corruption cases.

Customs has seized a total of 1.518 kilograms of narcotics that were being attempted to be smuggled into the Maldives by sea. Previously, a boat believed to be a Sri Lankan fishing vessel was intercepted off the coast of HDh. Makunudhoo and taken to HDh. Kulhudhuffushi harbor under Coast Guard custody last night. When the boat was searched this morning, a large quantity of drugs was found.

344 kg of methamphetamine and 124.6 kg of cocaine were found inside that boat. Five Sri Lankan men have been arrested in connection with this case. Regarding the additional drug shipment found today, Customs said that these items were seized during the inspection of a sea freight shipment brought to Male Commercial Harbor, when suspicious substances were found and further inspection was conducted.

Customs said that when they suspected that drugs were hidden in this sea freight shipment that was inspected today, upon further examination, they seized packets containing substances suspected to be narcotics hidden among the goods in this shipment. Customs also said that when they analyzed these hidden substances in the first stage, they tested positive for methamphetamine, a type of narcotic. The total weight of these substances is 1.518 kilograms. The street value of these substances is estimated to be over three million Maldivian rufiyaa.

President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu has expressed gratitude to law enforcement agencies for their hard work in the field of narcotics, following the seizure of 468.6 kg of drugs worth one billion rufiyaa from a Sri Lankan fishing vessel intercepted in Maldivian waters. The boat, believed to be a Sri Lankan fishing vessel, was stopped off the coast of HDh. Makunudhoo and taken to HDh. Kulhudhuffushi harbor under Coast Guard custody last night. When the boat was searched this morning, a large quantity of drugs was found. At the time, there were five Sri Lankan men on board the vessel.

344 kg of methamphetamine and 124.6 kg of cocaine were found inside the boat. In a post related to this operation, President Muizzu said that at some point today, Maldivian security services had seized 468.6 kg of narcotics from Maldivian waters. He added that while the street value of these substances is approximately one billion Maldivian rufiyaa, completely eradicating drugs from the Maldives is one of the top priorities.

“I would like to acknowledge and thank the law enforcement agencies for their hard work in this area,” the President said.

Attorney General Ahmed Usham has stated that a public referendum will be held to decide on changing the start date of the presidential term to November 11. In an interview given to PSM News on the occasion of the government’s first anniversary, he said that President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu wants to set November 11 as the date for the change of presidential term, as it has been traditionally done in the Maldives.

Usham said that this change cannot be made without amending the constitution, and according to the constitution, a public referendum must be held if the term of government is to be changed. Usham said that the constitution states that a presidential term is five years, and even if one day is reduced from that term, the legally valid way is to amend the constitution through a public referendum. Therefore, a public referendum will be held to amend the constitution for this purpose, and if the public approves, the presidential term will begin on November 11 in 2028, Usham said.

In the 2013 presidential election, former President Abdullah Yameen was sworn in on November 17. Since then, every term has begun on November 17. The date for the start of the presidential term changed when the Supreme Court annulled the first round of the 2013 presidential election, resulting in the inability to elect a new president by November 11 of that year.

Attorney General Ahmed Usham has assured that this government will not make any agreements that harm the state. Speaking on the state media PSM’s “Week 52” program, Usham said that after this government came to power, many agreements were reviewed and many changes were made. Usham said that ensuring agreements are made in a way that does not harm the state has been a priority since he took office.

In this regard, Usham also said that he is now certain that agreements are being made in a way that does not compromise the sovereign power of the Maldivian state and does not harm the state, in accordance with the advice of President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu. Usham has also assured that the issues seen in previous agreements will not be present in the agreements made with various parties over the past year.