Former president Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayyoom, on Sunday night, has criticized the recently launched ‘Maldives 2.0’ initiative by the government aimed at digitalizing all government services, as a bid to create digital corruption.
‘Maldives 2.0’ is President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu’s national vision for a digital-first Maldives. It seeks to drive digital and modernized transformation across all sectors and institutions in the country.
Yameen sharply criticized the initiative during a PNF event on Sunday night. The former president argued that there are no remaining areas in the Maldives needing digitalization and accused President Muizzu of attempting to claim credit for work that has been carried out over the course of multiple years.
Yameen, citing there are talented software developers in the Maldives, further accused President Muizzu of contracting the project to a foreign party in order to embezzle large sums of money.
“What is really happening under different labels is simply the development and outsourcing of software—something that can very well be done within the Maldives. It is not a groundbreaking initiative. This is an effort seeking a medal, while in reality, it will open the door for some form of digitalized corruption through the outsourcing of software for various needs,” he said.
According to the former president, only a few matters remain undigitized in the Maldives. Referring to remarks made by President Muizzu stating one-third of the government employees will be working from home at the end of the implementation of ‘Maldives 2.0’ initiative, said individuals who desired such a change should resign from their positions.
Yameen also questioned whether the government’s failure to investigate corruption cases was due to a “lack of digitalization.”
“None of the cases submitted to ACC (Anti-Corruption Commission) is investigated. The institution is not lacking hardware or IT staff. There should be a deadline set for cases submitted to ACC,” he said.
Yameen added that there will be no change to “theft” in state-owned companies even with digitalization.
 
Speaking at the inaugural session of ‘Maldives 2.0’ Digital Transformation Summit, Homeland Security and Technology Minister Ali Ihusan said ‘Maldives 2.0’ is designed to include all three branches of the government.