Home Minister Azleen Ahmed assured on Wednesday that the government would continue providing food subsidies to those who deserve them.
He made the statement at the opening ceremony of the 7th Civic Education Meeting held in Muli, Meemu Atoll.
Speaking at the meeting, the minister said “some are spreading misleading information regarding the revised policy on food subsidies,” and reiterated that “the government revised the policy because people who are not eligible for food subsidies were receiving the benefits due to flaws in the system.”
Prior to the change, visitors and around 170,000 foreign workers were benefitting from the subsidy intended for financially disadvantaged households, and the government had been contributing 65 to 70 percent of funds required to import staple foods through State Trading Organisation (STO).
Under the revised policy, each eligible individual will receive MVR40 per month as food subsidy.
With the implementation of the policy on Saturday, the price of rice rose from MVR3.98 to MVR7.96 a kilo. The prices of flour and sugar also rose from MVR2.96 to MVR5.96 per kilo, and from MVR4 to MVR8 a kilo respectively.
The government spends around MVR310 million on food subsidies every year.