Parliament Pass Motion To Remove Central Bank Governor
The People’s Majlis has passed a motion to advise the President to remove Ali Hashim from his position as Governor of the Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA).
The motion saw overwhelming support, with 63 votes in favour and 9 against.
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Following this decision by the ruling party controlled parliament, Hashim is expected to be removed by the President.
Under Article 6.3 of the MMA Act, the MMA governor will be appointed and removed from office by the President with the consultation of the parliament.
The motion to remove Hashim was initiated by Deputy Speaker and MP for Dhiggaru, Ahmed Nazim, in the parliament’s public accounts committee earlier this month.
Nazim had argued that Hashim failed to fulfil his responsibilities, particularly in guiding the MMA to play a crucial role in averting an economic crisis, citing the MMA Act.
Ruling party MPs concurred with Nazim’s assessment, accusing Hashim of being negligent in “fiscal mismanagement” during the former administration.
Nazim’s proposal had highlighted policies under Hashim that limited the amount of loans financial institutions could provide, which he claimed resulted in decreased currency circulation and slowed economic activity.
Nazim also criticised the MMA for inadequate regulation of the domestic market, especially when the government relies on it for finance.
Additionally, Nazim cited reports from the Ministry of Homeland Security and Police, suggesting that the MMA’s outdated regulations hindered crime prevention efforts.
Hashim was invited to respond to these allegations before the committee on two occasions but did not attend due to health reasons. Instead, he submitted a report attributing the current financial situation to the former government’s disregard for MMA and international financial institution advice.
Hashim was appointed as Governor on 8 September 2019 by former President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih. He also served as Minister of Finance from 2008 to 2010 under former President Mohamed Nasheed.
