Azim accuses government of diverting public funds to Ras Male' for personal gain

Male' City Mayor Adam Azim has alleged that the government has sold the Ras Male' project to foreign interests for the personal enrichment of its leaders, after depleting public funds intended for essential services for the people, particularly those residing in the Male' area.

Speaking to RaajjeTV after launching a door-to-door campaign in the Greater Male' area alongside former Vice President Faisal Naseem—who is contesting the upcoming MDP presidential primary—the Mayor stated that this initiative marks the beginning of an extensive effort to assess the well-being and concerns of the citizens.

Azim emphasized that under an MDP administration, policies would be formulated by listening to the people, noting that this initiative marks the first step in that process. He stated that Faisal and the team are committed to engaging directly with the public and ensuring their voices shape the government's work.

Azim stated that as the Mayor of Male', the most frequent grievances he hears today concern the housing crisis and the dire living conditions of the citizens. He further noted that he has consistently and repeatedly appealed to the current administration to resolve these issues. However, he lamented that three years have passed without the government providing any viable solution.

Despite our repeated pleas and protests, we have witnessed them pour the nation’s entire wealth into a reclamation project designed solely to line their own pockets, rather than benefit the public. The funds funneled into that site could have provided medical treatment for the residents of Male' and countless citizens across the country. These were funds that could have built homes for many Maldivians. The capital exhausted there was enough to develop roads, sewerage systems, water networks, mosques, and schools across all reclaimed areas, making them habitable for the people of Male'. Instead, they chose to sink all those resources into the project, halting essential public services and leaving the citizens in further destitution, only to turn around and sell the land off to foreign interests.

Adam Azim

Mayor Azim stated that the MDP intends to return to power to put an end to such practices and ensure that public funds are utilized effectively to serve the people. He further asserted that the MDP is the only party capable of providing a comprehensive and holistic solution to the housing crisis facing the citizens.