Gov't doges inquiries on Mandhu College compensation

Legal Advisor to the President Ahmed Abdulla Afeef has decried the government having to compensate other parties, and has stated that persons responsible for such losses would be held accountable as issuing millions in compensation is not a viable solution every time.

Lawyer Ahmed Abdulla Afeef made the remarks while speaking at a press held on behalf of the President's Office on Sunday. He highlighted that President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih had assumed office with the critical pledge of establishing justice in the Maldives. Afeef detailed that it included changes aside from the ones brought to court, or to those serving unjust prison sentences for various crimes.

Afeef declared that one of the most important efforts to establishing justice would be to compensate those that have faced losses due to the dissolution of agreements made with the state. Afeef noted that this was a condition shared by all administrations, and that as such, it was necessary to issue compensation to parties as needed on behalf of the government. However, Afeef added that this was not a permanent solution that could be used every time. He stated that the best solution to the problem would be to have related parties be held responsible for the losses, and noted that even now, cases had been filed at court in similar cases.

Afeef revealed that the government had initially attempted to reach out-of-court settlements in such cases, where compensation is owed to parties by the state, and remarked that some cases had been resolved as such.

Providing further details, Afeef stated that the amount to be issued as compensation had been cut down in some cases, and that it had been one of the first goals pursued by their team. Secondly, Afeef highlighted that a committee was created to review the compensation being claimed by parties from the government, and that both sides had wished to bypass drawn out court proceedings in favor of an out-of-court settlement on the matter.

However, Afeef said that many had alleged corruption on behalf of the state in resolving the compensation issue due to the approach employed, and that some members of parliament had been especially vocal prior to being shut down by the parliamentary committee. Afeef stated that the issue of compensation had presented a major setback for the Solih administration, and that they had worked to resolve the issue so as to not unnecessarily burden the state or the people.

The press conference held on Sunday evening had seen representatives from the President's Office skirt some questions about the most recent such case to make the headlines, namely the MVR 18 million that Mandhu College is owned in compensation by the state.

An audit report prepared by request from the Education Ministry in August last year, it states that Mandhu College should not be issued more than MVR 1.5 million in compensation. It remains unclear why the state made the final agreement to compensate them with a much greater amount. Spokesperson Mabrook had stated at the press that the Attorney General's Office would be able to issue clarifications in a statement, which has yet to be released on the matter.

The case has been scrutinized heavily in recent days, with many alleging a conflict of interest on behalf of the President's Legal Advisor in this case. Lawyer Ahmed Abdulla Afeef is married to the younger sister of the wife of Ibrahim Ismail (Ibra), the chairman of Mandhu College, and was part of the settlement committee to resolve the issuance of compensation by the state. However, Afeef maintains that he had not been present at any meetings where the Mandhu College case had been discussed in order to avoid a conflict of interest.