Gov't to reveal reduced internet prices as People's Majlis sessions move online

The People's Majlis have announced that parliament sittings will henceforth be conducted online in light of Covid-19, with the government announcing that they will unveil reduced internet prices on Tuesday.

The People's Majlis Secretariat confirmed the change will be in effect from Tuesday as per the recommendation of the Minister of Health Ahmed Naseem and public health authorities tasked with managing the Covid-19 pandemic in Maldives. 14 members of parliament are reported to be in quarantine pending Covid-19 test results at this time.

The People's Majlis Secretariat also confirmed that while parliament sittings would be conducted online beginning Tuesday, authorities were making necessary arrangements for the transition, including boosting security for members of the 19th People's Majlis and the People's Majlis building in Male;' City for the duration of parliament sittings.

The parliament had earlier conducted online sessions following the onset of Covid-19 in the Maldives. However, citing ineffective debate as the reason, Speaker of Parliament Mohamed Nasheed had decided that parliament sittings needed to be conducted in person with attendees all masked to prevent spread of Covid-19. With sessions of parliament live streamed across media channels in the country, it can be noted that some members of parliament did not follow effective masking measures when sessions were being conducted in person at the People's Majlis building amid the pandemic.

The government of Maldives is preparing to unveil reduced prices for internet in the country, which has one of the highest costs per GB in the South Asian region. Early reports of the changes to be announced Tuesday detail a cost of MVR 5 per GB, a 20 percent reduction in costs, and a minimum throttled internet speed of 2mbps.