Minister Saeed scapegoats media for his own currency failures

I recently overheard an elderly man telling a stranger the old proverb that a container can only pour out whatever happens to be inside it. Stunned by the abrupt remark, the stranger asked the man if a vehicle had been parked in the wrong spot. He merely laughed off the reaction and added that popular claims about certain individuals offering nothing but flimsy excuses are entirely accurate.

That statement raised genuine alarm, prompting a step closer to request a clearer explanation. The old man clarified that his comments were aimed directly at the astonishingly weak rationale put forward by Minister of Economic Development, Transport and Trade Mohamed Saeed regarding his pledge to reduce the exchange rate of the U.S. Dollar.

It was at that exact moment that the entire context clicked. The topic had been dominating local discussions for days, centering around the explanations provided on state television by the economic minister regarding the rising costs of the foreign currency in the Maldives.

A one-man show with a convenient scapegoat

The platform in question was a televised forum hosted by Saeed, organized by Saeed, stocked with guests handpicked by Saeed, and run completely according to Saeed’s personal preferences. During this event, he laid the blame for the skyrocketing USD exchange rate squarely on the shoulders of news reporters. To be precise, he did not target the entirety of the press, but zeroed in on two specific print outlets.

He asserted that when the populace wakes up every morning to read front-page stories from these two publications reporting rates of 22 or 24 Maldivian Rufiyaa to the USD, the financial market naturally reacts to those numbers.

He went on to question whether such reporting could be considered responsible conduct, insisting that no other nation operates in such a manner and asking if deliberately publishing a MVR 24 rate to ruin a national economy could truly be deemed the highest form of democracy.

According to the Minister, news organizations cite informal black-market rates for the sole purpose of instigating widespread panic among the public.

He branded these articles as fake news, maintaining that this tactic was borrowed from certain Western democratic nations.

He further argued that fabricated news is being circulated to fracture society and crash the financial market purely to satisfy political ambitions, adding that such actions place an unsustainable burden on a small economy while offering no actual public benefit.

Fancy words and a lack of real courage

Despite deploying an elaborate vocabulary and delivering an eloquent speech filled with indirect jabs, the minister completely lacked the bravery required to explicitly name the two news outlets he was targeting.

For all his polished rhetoric and disguised accusations, he failed to point out exactly which media houses were responsible for these alleged economic crimes.

To look at the situation honestly, the fault does not lie with journalists. It was the President, Dr. Mohamed Muizzu, who assumed Saeed was an extraordinarily skilled economist and consequently appointed him to a high-level cabinet position under that belief.

Granted, the minister certainly possesses a talent for persuasion. It was his convincing statements that persuaded citizens to grant the administration a parliamentary super-majority, achieved because he explicitly guaranteed that securing those legislative seats would allow them to bring the USD rate down to its true, fair valuation.

Regrets, and the reality of unchecked power

That grand commitment was not forced onto the minister by news reporters, though journalists certainly broadcast his promises to every corner of the nation, ensuring his assurances echoed throughout the country.

Back then, no one suspected those claims were merely the sort of deceptive talk he now criticizes, nor was there any reason to doubt them.

The public was already in a state of high anxiety due to the alarming narratives regarding the previous administration's dollar crisis that the minister and his allies had heavily pushed.

Consequently, reporters naturally focused their coverage on his major economic pledges.

Looking back today, there is a profound sense of regret. There is remorse over having reported those deceptive narratives in the past and regret that the public was swayed by them into handing over an overwhelming legislative majority.

Equipped with that absolute parliamentary control, the minister and his colleagues are now operating without limits inside the legislature, acting however they please.

They are not merely drafting new legislation; they are altering existing laws at will, often modifying bills passed by their own majority before the next morning even arrives.

Absolute authority and absolutely zero results

There is not a single person anywhere capable of obstructing the minister's personal efforts to drive down the dollar exchange rate.

However, despite having absolute freedom, he continues to fail. He has issued countless rigid mandates and enforced numerous strict measures by sheer authority, but the final outcome remains a complete zero.

That total lack of progress is not the fault of press coverage or headlines in two newspapers; it is simply the direct result of sheer incompetence.

When plans unravel, it is common for individuals to offer long-winded rationalizations and project blame onto external targets.

However, the manner in which this particular blame has been redirected is truly extraordinary.

Total media control and the ultimate excuse

While the minister points fingers at press outlets, the media landscape is already firmly under his control. The state broadcaster dutifully airs whatever he desires in precisely the manner he demands.

Television networks established by his inner circle consistently showcase his preferred narratives. Recently launched online news sites funded by his faction have no option other than publishing his exact words.

Further, an army of paid social media operatives stands ready to spin any storyline he wishes to promote.

Therefore, the inability to lower the dollar exchange rate through media influence represents a direct failure of capability on his part and on the part of his government.

If news headlines genuinely possessed the power to dictate market currency rates, he could easily instruct those media channels to publish a rate of fifteen point four two Rufiyaa, or even ten Rufiyaa. The entire machinery of media influence rests directly at his feet. If fixing a national exchange rate were as simple as printing a number in a newspaper article, it would be as effortless for him as drinking a glass of water.

Ultimately, the minister's statements were deeply disappointing and represented one of the most illogical positions imaginable from a official of his stature.

However, as the old man on the street rightly noted, a vessel can only pour out what is contained inside it. While those words were spoken by a stranger, there is no need to go so far as to label the minister as that type of person directly.

Still, given the complete failure to reduce the USD rate, the rationale provided was extraordinarily weak. With all due respect and without intending any offense, the matter will be left right there, along with best regards.