Parliament approves MVR 35,000 salary for children’s ombudsman

The Parliament, on Tuesday, voted in favor of a MVR 35,000 monthly salary for children’s ombudsman, a position established under the Child Rights Protection Act.

The Child Rights Protection Act was ratified by President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih on November 20, 2019. It states that a children’s ombudsman must be appointed as an independent official.

The Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee settled on a MVR 35,000 monthly salary for the children’s ombudsman on May 17.

The committee report was asked for a vote during the parliamentary sitting on Tuesday.

It passed with the unanimous consensus of all 63 parliamentarians in attendance.

The Parliament had needed to determine a salary for the children’s ombudsman before a person could be appointed for the new position.

The Public Accounts Committee had settled on a MVR 35,000 monthly salary and a MVR 10,000 monthly allowance. The suggestion was made by Hulhumeedhoo MP Ilyas Labeeb and passed with the vote of eight committee members.

The decision to declare a salary for the children’s ombudsman was met with slight differences of opinion among parliamentarians, as the move comes with the economy at a standstill and the government set on cutting expenses due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Hanimaadhoo MP Abdul Gafoor Moosa said that the Maldivian people didn’t care about appointing a children’s ombudsman but were more concerned about the loss of their livelihood.

He said that what the people wanted was to have their loan applications approved as soon as possible and for them to being rebuilding their lives.

Maradhoo MP Ibrahim Rasheed said that while obligations under laws must be fulfilled, the lowest possible salary must be determined, given the circumstances.

He said the position did not hold many responsibilities, and that the salary must be determined based on the financial situation of the country.