Minister Saeed summoned to Parliament over poor performance of Transport Ministry

Minister of Economic Development and Trade, Mohamed Saeed, has been scheduled to appear before Parliament to address concerns regarding the Ministry of Transport's failure to provide adequate services.

Monday's sitting of the People's Majlis is scheduled to commence at 9:00 a.m. The agenda for this sitting initially consists solely of debates on two government-sponsored bills.

However, the agenda was later amended. The revised schedule now includes a session where the Member of Parliament for North Galolhu, Mohamed Ibrahim, will pose questions to the Minister of Economic Development and Trade, Mohamed Saeed.

In the inquiry, the member highlighted that the primary objective of providing services online is to ensure they are easily accessible from any location at any time. However, the member noted that the Transport Ministry’s services remain unavailable through its portal outside of official working hours. Consequently, the member has proposed to question the Minister regarding the reasons for this limitation and to seek a definitive timeline for when the issue will be resolved.

Additionally, Monday's agenda includes a motion from the Speaker's desk to refer the President's nominee for the position of Commissioner General of Taxation to the relevant standing committee for review and recommendation.

The next item on the agenda is the commencement of debates on two key pieces of legislation: the Digital Transformation Bill, introduced by Gadhdhoo MP Mohamed Ali, and the Digital Identity Bill, submitted by Alifushi MP Abdul Latheef Abdul Rahman.

A significant backlog of cases submitted by the opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) has been observed across various parliamentary committees. Despite being stalled, these issues consist entirely of urgent matters that require immediate solutions and are of critical importance to the public.

The Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) has expressed concern that the current parliamentary session is focused solely on fast-tracking government-sponsored bills aimed at polishing the administration's image, rather than addressing public grievances.

The opposition noted that these legislative efforts are being pushed through without adequate research or deliberation. Furthermore, the party highlighted that numerous critical issues remain stalled in parliamentary committees. These include pressing matters related to the economic hardships facing citizens and the escalating challenges brought about by the rising cost of living.