Parliament approval case for the newly appointed Health Minister, Ahmed Naseem, has been sent to the Government Oversight Committee.

Naseem was appointed as the new Health minister after the former Minister, Abdulla Ameen, who was in the position on a slot for the government coalition’s Jumhoory Party, resigned from the position.

At the time of appointment as the Health Minister, Naseem was the Minister at the President’s Office and is a high-ranking member of the main party of the coalition, MDP.

Previously, Naseem had worked as the Foreign Minister during the Presidency of Mohamed Nasheed, the current Speaker of Parliament. He also has a long tenure at the Foreign Ministry and is credited in the introduction of tourism to the Maldives.

Former Health Minister, Abdulla Ameen resigned form the position while facing allegations of corruption in the process of acquiring ventilators amid the COVID-19 crisis in the country.

The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) conducted an investigation and sent a report to the Prosecutor General’s Office (PG Office) to press charges against 11 people working at the Health Ministry. However, the PG Office decided that the ACC report cannot prove any wrong doing.

Following the decision, a No Confidence Motion was filed against Minister Ameen at the parliament with the signatures of 24 MPs. However, Minister Ameen resigned on 21 October.