Cabinet ministers of the People’s National Congress (PNC) administration are hardworking, unlike ministers from the former Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) administration who were busy “eating and partying every Thursday night”, says Ibrahim Falah, the leader of PNC’s parliamentary group.
He made the comment during the parliamentary debate on Tuesday morning on a resolution submitted by MDP’s Meekail Ahmed Naseem, the representative for South Galolhu constituency, expressing concern over the failure to bring in cabinet ministers for questioning within the legally mandated timeframe and unexplained cancellation of routine sittings.
During the debate, Falah, the representative for Inguraidhoo constituency, argued that ministers need for that the 14-day legal timeframe because administrative staff need to communicate with both the ministers and the parliamentarians who wish to question them, and find a day of mutual convenience.
“This administration’s ministers are a hardworking lot,” said Falah, criticizing the MDP.
Falah said that incumbent ministers do a lot of work and spend a lot of time working, and also fly overseas frequently to try to repair the country’s “ruined economy.”
“The ministers we have now are not like the once during the MDP [administration]; just busy eating and partying every Thursday night,” he said.
“So, it takes time to bring in the ministers we have now.”
Falah said that the Parliament had never been able to bring in ministers for questioning within 14 days, and that he does not believe this can be treated as a breach of the Constitution or the Parliament’s Standing Orders.
He said that a minister may be overseas or ill on the day they are required to attend the Parliament.
Falah suggested that MDP refrain from submitting such resolutions.
Falah’s remarks accusing MDP ministers of “partying every Thursday night” comes amid serial protests in the capital demanding the resignation of Transport Minister Mohamed Ameen, after his residence and two of his nephews were found to be linked to the recent case of a young woman who was found injured on the rooftop of a building in Male’.
Minister of Transport, Mohamed Ameen. (Photo/President's Office)
21-year-old Mariyam Yumnu was found injured on the rooftop of a warehouse in the Henveiru district at around 07:30 am on April 18. According to the police, their investigation uncovered that she fell from a skylight on the ninth-floor stairwell of the adjacent building, H. Fentenoy, but that there was no evidence of foul play.
But before her fall, she had been part of a group of at least nine individuals who were at Ma. Maandhooge Dhekunuge for a party, where they are believed to have possibly consumed drugs and alcohol.
The police had initially refused to name anyone else except for Yumnu. It wasn’t until six days later – on April 24 – that the police finally named eight people who had been with Yumnu in the party as persons of interest; Raudh Ahmed Zilal, 21; Izdhiyaan Mohamed Maumoon, 28; Aishath Layaaly Iqbal, 22; Yoosuf Ahmed Akram, 22; Yoosuf Yassar Abdul Ghafoor, 28; Aminath Junaina Jamsheed, 24; Hussain Hamees Ali, 28; and Ijaz Jaiz, 24.
Meanwhile, the house where the group held the party was confirmed as the family residence of Ameen, who admitted that two of his nephews – Izdhiyaan and Yoosuf Ahmed Akram - were among the group of individuals involved, but denied he knew anything about what he described as the “gathering.”
The same day, the police arrested Raudh, who had been with Yumnu in the last moments before her fall, for lack of cooperation. They also filed for court warrants to search the other two residences that Yumnu had been in before she went to Fentenoy – Ma. Maandhooge Dhekunu and G. Kashiveli.
The police said on Monday that they had been unable to obtain CCTV footage from Ameen’s residence because they were told that the cameras in the house were broken.
The case of Yumnu, who spent nearly three hours on the rooftop of a warehouse before a neighbor saw her and alerted the authorities, has sparked serial protests in Male’.
The protestors, a vast majority of them young men and women, have been demanding justice for her, and the resignation of top government and police officials over the alleged coverup, including Ameen and Home Minister Ali Ihusan.
In his resolution, Meekail said that the Parliament is required by the Constitution to hold the government accountable and keep oversight over the actions of the government. He expressed concern that ministers haven’t attended Parliament to be questioned despite the expiration of their notice period, which he said was preventing the Parliament from fulfilling its constitutional mandate to hold the government accountable.
Parliament’s Standing Orders require the legislative assembly to hold sittings three days a week – on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.
However, the Parliament has seen multiple cancelled sittings in recent weeks, holding just one sitting last week.
While the Parliament’s secretariat did not provide a reason for this, several parliamentarians who spoke to Sun said it was because of lack of work.