The Parliament of the Maldives has passed an amendment giving the president and the finance minister full authority over the Sovereign Development Fund (SDF).
The Bill on Amendment to the Public Finance Act, proposed on behalf of the government by Parliamentarian Mohamed Mumthaz, was passed with 44 votes in favour and one vote against. Previously, only the president had legal authority over the SDF.
The amendment requires the Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA) to maintain a custodian account but the president will be authorised to make decisions on depositing and withdrawing funds from the SDF on the recommendation of the finance minister. The amendment also dictates the establishment of specific policies to maintain the sovereign fund in a separate account of MMA.
Additionally, the president is required to form a five-member committee to make investments using the SDF. The amendment also dictates that the policies on the SDF be included in the monetary regulations and keep records of the audits and data related to the SDF.
SDF was established to ease the burden of repaying loans taken by the state to invest in development projects in the country. SDF will be utilised if the government is met with an unprecedented economic crisis or when the administration is unable to repay loans taken for major development projects.