Parliamentary Committee on Public Accounts has approved a motion to cut salaries of senior state officials for a period of two months.
As per the motion, the pay cuts will apply to the salaries of the president, members of the cabinet, parliamentarians and members of independent commissions. The motion applies a 20% reduction on basic salaries between USD 1,297 and USD 1,945. Similarly, a 30% reduction was approved on basic salaries between USD 1,945 and USD 3,891. The pay cut approved on basic salaries above USD 3,891 is 35%.
The motion also enforces a 20% pay cut on salaries of deputy ministers and officials in similar positions even if their basic salaries are below USD 1,297. The committee also approved a ceiling on highest take home pay on salaries of political appointees serving in positions similar to deputy ministers and above.
The motion excludes people working in the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), Health Protection Agency (HPA) and the health sector except for political appointees. The pays cuts are also not enforced on security forces and the staff of National Emergency Operation Centre (NEOC) handling the COVID-19 situation in the Maldives.
As the administration takes significant steps to cut costs due to the pandemic, Ministry of Finance has also requested the parliament to revise the monthly allowance awarded to former presidents.