Legal framework for Ras Male' project yet to be established: Attorney General

The legal framework governing the government's Ras Male' project has not yet been established, and it has been revealed that the project will be managed under a new real estate law currently being drafted.

Attorney General Ahmed Usham stated in a post on X that, to date, only a Letter of Intent (Commercial Terms Agreement) has been signed regarding the Ras Male' project. He noted that before the project can physically commence, definitive agreements must be signed following further negotiations based on the terms outlined in the initial document. Furthermore, the Attorney General emphasized that the relevant legislation pertaining to this matter must be passed by the People’s Majlis.

Usham stated that under Section 8 of the Tourism Act, the government is required to compensate investors for the residual value of their investment upon the expiration of a 99-year tourist resort lease. However, he clarified that the Ras Male' project would operate differently, governed instead by the forthcoming real estate legislation.

Attorney General Ahmed Usham has stated that President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu's administration will not engage in any activities that contravene the Constitution or the laws of the Maldives in the implementation of this project.

Several legal experts have commented on Attorney General Usham’s statement that the proposed project in Ras Male' will be governed by a new Real Estate Act currently being drafted. In response, Ahmed Mauroof, the Legal Director of the MDP, pointed out that it is now clear that the lagoon area has not been designated for foreign investment under the Tourism Act or any other existing legislation. Mauroof further noted that the specific legal framework intended to regulate and oversee this project is still in the drafting stage. He criticized the government's approach, suggesting that they are signing agreements first and subsequently tailoring laws to accommodate those pre-existing commitments.

Usham made these remarks in response to former President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom, who criticized the Ras Male' project. Yameen contended that leasing land for 99 years is effectively a permanent sale and warned that those involved in the decision would face legal accountability once the current administration's term ends.

Speaking at a People’s National Front (PNF) gathering, former President Yameen stated that a 99-year lease period spans across several generations of Maldivians. He noted that even by the time the grandchildren of our grandchildren reach their future, 99 years would still not have elapsed, suggesting that such long-term leases are equivalent to the "freehold" systems used in first-world countries to sell land permanently. Yameen further remarked that after 99 years, there would be no one left to exhume the past and oversee these matters.

President Yameen has harshly criticized two senior ministers of President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu’s administration regarding this matter, including Usham. He stated that the two closest officials tasked with executing President Muizzu’s directives are the Minister of Construction and Infrastructure, Dr. Abdulla Muththalib, and the Attorney General, Ahmed Usham.

The Constitution stipulates that when making decisions of such significant magnitude, the matter must be presented to the Cabinet and, specifically, the legal counsel of the Attorney General must be sought. That Attorney General is Ushama.

President Yameen

Responding to those allegations, Usham stated that the lease period for resorts was extended to 99 years in 2015, during President Yameen's administration.