President Muizzu claims he wants to review the Ras Male' agreement, yet no one seems to know where the document is or who has even seen it: Mauroof

Member of Parliament for the Kendhoo constituency, Mauroof Zakir, has stated that while President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu advises the public to review the Ras Male' project agreement in response to their concerns, no one in the country can actually locate or find the document.

During Wednesday's parliamentary session, members debated a resolution calling for the government to disclose full details of the agreement signed with Eagle Hills regarding the "Ras Male'" project. The resolution seeks to gauge the consensus among lawmakers on the transparency of the deal.

During the debate on the resolution submitted by South Galolhu MP Meekail Ahmed Naseem, Mauroof stated that it is evident today that this is an issue of significant public concern.

There is a significant amount of hidden context behind this. Coming into power involves establishing a contract with the people, and that contract consists of the pledges made during the election. To secure office, the current President detailed the Ras Male' project and the reclamation of the Fushidhiggaru lagoon. The core of that promise was to provide housing for the citizens. Furthermore, it was pledged that by the end of this administration's term, no citizen in the Maldives would be left without housing. The commitment was that this project would provide a total solution to the nation's housing crisis.

Mauroof Zakir, Member of Parliament for the Kendhoo constituency.

Mauroof stated that the current administration has received over 100 billion in revenue. He noted that while the government loudly proclaims it has settled its debts, the remaining funds were funneled into the Ras Male' project. He further alleged that after pouring all those funds into the project, the government has now made a secret decision to hand over the site to Eagle Hills, a company he claims supports Zionist interests.

Mauroof stated that despite President Muizzu’s claims of reviewing the agreement following public outcry, no one has been able to locate the document or confirm its existence. The member further asserted that there is no longer anyone among the Maldivian public who trusts President Muizzu’s word. He attributed this to what he described as the President and his administration’s extreme and habitual reliance on falsehoods.

The resolution submitted by Meekail states that the government has yet to disclose the details of the commercial terms agreement signed between the Maldives and UAE-based Eagle Hills for the "Maldives Waterfront and Marina" project in Ras Male'. It calls for the immediate public disclosure of all details pertaining to the agreement.

The statement highlighted concerns regarding the lack of transparency surrounding the agreement signed between the government and Eagle Hills on September 21. It further noted that the deal was structured in a manner where the state would not recover the costs of land reclamation, despite the project being funded by public tax revenue.

Furthermore, the resolution highlights that over 500 hectares of reclaimed land in Ras Male' has been leased to Eagle Hills for a period of 99 years, under an agreement that exempts the company from paying any acquisition costs or land rent.