Finance Minister Mohamed Shafeeeq on Wednesday stated that political employees in the government who underperform will not have the opportunity to stay in their jobs.

The minister was responding to a question raised by a member of the Finance Committee of the Parliament while making the statement.

Questioning the minister, the lawmaker highlighted that while the minister talks about reforms to reduce government expenditure and the budget strain due to the previous government's salary increases, the number of political employees of this government is over 2,000 with an estimated MVR 100 million being spent in salaries per month.

Therefore, the lawmaker asked the Minister to clarify the number of political employees in the government and the amount spent on their salaries.

Replying to the questions, Minister Shafeeq said the first priority would be to reduce the government expenditure. He said the government will not retain political employees who underperform in their jobs.

The Minister said employees who do not perform will not have the opportunity to run the government. The opportunity will be given to those who perform well, he said.

However, the Minister did not disclose the number of political employees in the government and the amount spent on their salaries, citing requirements for further confirmation of exact figures.