Parliament Committee Approves Higher Pay for Speaker, Ministers and Island Councillors

Parliament’s Finance Committee on 21 October approved an additional allowance for the Speaker of Parliament, higher car allowances for cabinet ministers and a new monthly allowance for island council members, according to the minutes of the meeting.

The Speaker will receive a special allowance of MVR22,000 a month, bringing total monthly salary and allowances for the post to MVR95,125. Ministers’ car allowances, which total MVR7,500 a month, will rise to MVR17,000.

Island council members will receive a service allowance of MVR5,000 a month on top of their current salary and allowances.

The minutes say the committee was reviewing salaries and allowances that Parliament must determine under Article 102 of the Constitution. They do not say when the changes take effect or what they will cost.

Reasons Given

The minutes give a reason for each change. They say the Speaker is currently paid less than the Deputy Speaker and other members of Parliament.

Ministers are paid less than the chief judges and judges of the courts, chief qazis and qazis, and the presidents of independent commissions, according to the minutes.

For councillors, the minutes cite a large gap between the pay of city councillors and that of island councillors, both elected under the decentralisation system.

How Members Voted

Kelaa MP Abdulla Shareef proposed that the committee review the allowances, seconded by Funadhoo MP Mohamed Mamdhooh. That motion passed by six votes to one, with Hanimaadhoo MP Abdul Ghafoor Moosa voting against.

Mamdhooh then proposed the specific increases, seconded by Fuvahmulah North MP Hamad Abdulla. The motion passed by four votes to two. The minutes record that four votes were needed for it to pass.

Mamdhooh, Hamad Abdulla, Hithadhoo Central MP Ahmed Azaan Marzooq and Gemanafushi MP Asadulla Shihab voted in favour. All four are members of the ruling People’s National Congress (PNC), according to Parliament’s list of members. Abdul Ghafoor Moosa and Hulhumalé South MP Ahmed Shamheed, both of the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), voted against.

Seven of the committee’s 11 members were present for the second vote. Shareef and Machchangolhi Central MP Ahmed Zameer, both of whom voted for the first motion, are recorded as not present for the second. Eydhafushi MP Ahmed Saleem, the Deputy Speaker, chaired the meeting and did not vote.

Other Pay Concerns

At the same meeting, the committee considered letters about pay from other state bodies. The Judges Association of the Maldives raised concerns about changes to the salaries of judicial staff. The National Drug Agency raised concerns about job matrices under the state pay framework, and the Family Protection Authority about its salary structure.

Noting that many state institutions had raised concerns about pay, the committee unanimously agreed to meet officials of the National Pay Commission together with the institutions concerned.

The committee also decided to seek information from Island Aviation Services after Maavah MP Ahmed Shakir said the state airline’s quarterly financial reports showed its gross margin falling year after year.