Government to save MVR 1 billion by cutting costs

The Maldivian Government has decided to cut government costs and save MVR 1 billion from the state budget.

As part of the cost reductions, the cabinet of the President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih has decided to reduce the salary of all political positions by 20 percent.

Speaking during a press conference Covid-19 Spokesperson Mabrouq Azeez revealed that the government has decided to take three steps in order to combat the spread of Covid-19. One of these steps include cutting state expenditure which will in turn save MVR 1 billion.

As such, certain expenses will be identified and cut in order to save a total of MVR 1 billion.

Following the declaration of a Public Health Emergency, President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih addressed the nation and explained the losses that the Maldivian economy is already facing.

He revealed that the state initially projected a 7 per cent increase in tourism for this year and estimated a GDP growth of 7.5 per cent. However due to the repercussions of Covid-19 on the Maldivian economy, new estimates put the GDP growth rate anywhere between 0.5 per cent and -5.6 percent

Due to this, the projected state revenue will be short of about MVR 2.1 billion to MVR 6.9 billion.