The Minister of Islamic Affairs, Dr Mohamed Shaheem Ali Saeed, has revealed the extent of liabilities inherited by his ministry, disclosing that the outstanding debt when the incumbent administration took office in November 2023 had reached over USD 3 million.
The Minister made the statement in a post shared on social media, highlighting the financial strain inherited from the previous administration.
According to Minister Dr Shaheem, the total amount of outstanding bills and unreconciled expenditures within the Ministry of Islamic Affairs reached USD 3.2 million. He further detailed that well over half of this figure was immediately due to various companies for services rendered.
This substantial ministry deficit is magnified by the national financial obligations faced by the new administration. The government has already announced that the total outstanding payments owed to local companies across various sectors amount to a staggering USD 583.7 million.
In addition, debts to local fishermen were also considerable, with approximately USD 16.9 million remaining unpaid at the time of the transition, which has now been settled.
In response to the severe arrears, President Dr Mohamed Muizzu, who assumed office on 17 November 2023, promised swift action to stabilize the economy.
The President has now publicly committed to paying all outstanding bills owed to local businesses—including thousands of individual transactions—within the next five weeks.
President Dr Muizzu framed the imminent settlement of these debts as a critical step in efforts being made to revive the nation's economy.