Parliamentarian Abdul Ghafoor Moosa has stated that the development projects being conducted by state-owned enterprises (SOEs) cannot be stopped. The parliamentarian from the main ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) made the remark while debating a resolution on creating laws to regulate and monitor SOEs.
During the debate, Parliamentarian Abdul Ghafoor said many of the government’s development projects are conducted by SOEs and that it was absurd that some parliamentarians are attempting to create laws against SOEs after expressing no such concern for the past four years. He also highlighted the services provided by SOEs such as high-speed ferry services, as well as electricity, water supply, and sewerage services, and said that these services are needed by the public and therefore cannot be stopped.
Parliamentarians who supported the resolution claimed that there was a high level of corruption involved in the inner workings of SOEs, and said that state funds are wasted due to the creation of multiple state-owned companies for similar purposes. The resolution, proposed by Parliamentarian Ilyas Labeeb, states that SOEs have been diverted from their objectives given to them during their inception, which hinders economic growth and sustainable development. It also states that the increasing conflict within SOEs prevents the establishment of a disciplined company structure. Therefore, Parliamentarian Ilyas proposed to formulate laws to strengthen the regulation and monitoring of SOEs.