Parliament of the Maldives has approved the extension on the suspension of certain clauses of the Fiscal Responsibility Act by one more year.
The request to extend the suspension of certain clauses of the Fiscal Responsibility Act, allowing the state to overdraw from the accounts of the Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA), was submitted to the Parliament by the Ministry of Finance on April 19. Upon review by a special committee, the request was approved with votes from 47 of the 53 parliamentarians present at the sitting on April 25.
On April 26, 2020, the Parliament approved a motion to suspend, by one year, Article 32, section (a), (d), and (e) of the Fiscal Responsibility Act to allow the government to take long-term loans from MMA in order to manage the cash flow of the state amid the COVID-19 pandemic. In the letter requesting extension of this suspension, Minister of Finance Ibrahim Ameer said the government is still not close to recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic and need assistance in managing the cash flow of the state.