The Government of the Maldives has allocated USD338 million to maintain justice, public order and defence in the proposed State Budget 2023.
The proposed state budget shows around USD312 million of the USD338 million is allocated for recurrent expenditure and USD25 million is for capital expenditure. Around, USD46 million has been allocated for the judicial sector while USD240 million has been allocated for security services.
Speaking at the Parliament, Minister of Finance Ibrahim Ameer said funds have been allocated to improve prison conditions and expand services at the prisons. The government has also allocated USD1.2 million for the Ministry of Defence and USD108 million for the Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF). Additionally, USD9 million has been allocated for the Ministry of Home Affairs, USD130 million for the Maldives Police Service (MPS), and USD25 million for the Maldives Correctional Service (MCS).
The administration has pledged to reform the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) and to free the security services from political influence. It has also pledged to modernise the security services to ensure the safety and independence of Maldivians and provide training and education opportunities to the personnel and the necessary resources to the institutions, as well as ensure job safety for the employees.