Parliament accepts emergency motion on investigating ventilator corruption case
The PGO has declined to press charges as of now, citing insufficient evidence, against former Health Minister Abdulla Ameen and 11 others
MP for the Maduvvari constituency Adam Shareef Umar, who also served as Minister of Defense and National Security under the Yameen administration
The People's Majlis on Monday has accepted an emergency motion calling for perpetrators in the ventilator corruption case to be brought to justice.
The emergency motion was submitted to parliament by MP for Maduvvari constituency Adam Shareef, and passed with the unanimous support of all 32 MPs who took part in the vote.
In submitting the motion, MP Adam Shareef stated that a compliance audit report by the Auditor General's Office had shown the Ministry of Health to have issued an advance payment of MVR 30.91 million, without prior guarantee, to Dubai's Executors General Trading in order to acquire 75 ventilators for Covid-19 patients in 2020. He went on to declare that investigations into the case on behalf of the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) had also shown that the state had violated the Public Finance Act in issuing the payment.
MP for Maduvvari Constituency Adam Shareef went on to say that the Prosecutor General's Office had declined to press charges in this case despite the ACC"s investigative findings, on the grounds that there was not enough evidence to secure convictions in this case. He alleged that this decision was influenced by external parties, and went on to highlight inconsistencies that prove the state's mishandling of the funds in question.
MP Adam Shareef expressed outrage that such corruption had come to pass at the expense of the health and safety of Maldivian citizens amid an unprecedented global pandemic, as ventilators are critical for the treatment of severe cases of Covid-19. He noted that the almost MVR 31 million issued in this case had been done so without first securing a financial guarantee or a performance guarantee, and stated that this was a sign of foul-play on behalf of state authorities in conducting the transaction.
With just two weeks left for the Local Council and WDC elections, the ventilator corruption case has caused divisions among government officials and leaders of main-ruling party Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP). On Sunday, a no-confidence motion against ACC President Mariyam Shiuna failed to pass within the MDP parliamentary group, along with a second motion, to have the People's Majlis Committee on Independent Institutions hold an inquiry into the alleged negligence on behalf of the ACC in this case.
Former president Speaker and Speaker of Parliament Mohamed Nasheed is reported to be dissatisfied with the MDP PG's inability to reach a unanimous decision on the matter. In addition to this, Speaker Nasheed has publicly called for the resignation of Prosecutor General Hussain Shameem over the case. PG Shameem has since stated that he respects Speaker Nasheed's opinion, and that he would resign if needed as well. The PGO on Monday revealed that they will be once again revising their decision to not press charges in this case.
The President's Office released a press statement on Saturday, stating that the government had taken the lead and provided full cooperation in investigating the corruption suspected on behalf of the Ministry of Health in procuring ventilators for Covid-19 patients. The statement by the President's Office also affirmed that the Prosecutor General and the Attorney General are both granted autonomous authority under the Maldivian constitution to pursue convictions, while being free of external political influences and personal interests.
