President Dr Mohamed Muizzu has affirmed that the Administration, including the President’s Office and all other government ministries, has responded to all Right to Information (RTI) queries to date. He emphasised that the Government is committed to operating with complete transparency and accountability. These remarks were made during the official Independence Day function.
The ceremony, held at the Maldives Centre for Social Education (MCSE) on Friday night, was attended by the First Lady, the Chief Justice of the Maldives, the Speaker of Parliament, Cabinet Ministers, and senior government officials.
In his speech, the President pledged to introduce anti-corruption reforms unprecedented by his predecessors. He outlined policies aimed at regularly publishing expenditure reports and highlighted plans to introduce a mechanism for publicly sharing payment receipts for services rendered and projects commissioned by the state. The President noted that such a mechanism would enhance transparency and assist the government in tracking payments owed.
The President also revealed that the Administration, unlike previous ones, has been regularly publicising detailed breakdowns of costs related to foreign visits by the President and Vice President. Additionally, the Administration has been conducting regular sessions of “Ahaa,” a public forum designed to engage the public in discourse on key policy issues. This forum invites questions from the public to be addressed by Ministers and the President himself. The President stated that these avenues have been established to work more closely with the public by listening to their needs. He also mentioned that he has been personally responding to messages sent directly to him through the Administration-led messaging portal.
President Dr Muizzu further detailed the Administration’s progress in establishing a media village to enable news media to operate freely. He stated that the government would facilitate easier access to information for media institutions through concerted efforts. The President detailed that the land plot has been allocated for the construction of the media village, which is expected to be operational within a year. The President also reiterated his pledge to allocate a portion of state funds to news media outlets, with disbursements under this initiative set to begin next year.
The Maldives celebrates its Independence Day on 26th July each year. This year marks the 59th anniversary of the Maldives’ independence.
