No compromises on citizen's safety, despite economic suffering

The government is fully focused on the safety of the citizens right now even if that means that the economy of the country is destroyed, National Emergency Operations Center spokesperson Mabrouq Azeez has said.

In a news conference today, Mabrouq responded to a question by a journalist by saying that the government was fully committed to saving the lives of its citizens no matter the cost.

“No compromises will be made. Our view is that the government will spend whatever amount of money needed to save the lives of Maldivians and the efforts to overcome the virus, as well as the efforts to stabilize the economy,” said Mabrouq.

Mabrouq noted that some countries had worked to stabilize the economy after the peak of the virus illnesses were reached and that this was not what the Maldivian government was working towards.

“We want to reduce the number of infected cases, and for zero fatalities from the virus, god willing. The economy would be left to suffer, in order to do this. We will not change our resolve.” Said Mabrouq.

The country in economic terms was in a state of relief right now, where the government would assist the citizens with basic necessities such as utilities and business loans as well as unemployment allowances.

After the situation with the virus subsided, the economy would be shaped in the manner wished by the government and brought back up. Under this stage, stimulus packages will be offered by the government.

Due to the situation with the virus, the Maldivian economy has been brought to a standstill. The state income has been massively reduced and Finance Minister Ibrahim Ameer has said that MVR 4.2 billion was needed to carry out state services uninterrupted in the next three months.

The Minister was speaking in the parliament today when he stated so and appealed to the MPs to bring amendments to the law for the government to borrow the amount needed to operate from the central bank.