Aslam appointed as Minister of National Planning, Housing and Infrastructure

President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, on Sunday, appointed Mohamed Aslam as Minister of National Planning, Housing and Infrastructure.

Aslam was presented with his letter of appointment in a ceremony held at the President’s Office. His oath of office was administered by Supreme Court Justice, Dr. Azmiralda Zahir.

Aslam was already serving on President Solih’s Cabinet as Minister of National Planning and Infrastructure, prior to the recent Cabinet reshuffle which saw the dissolution of the Housing and Urban Development Ministry and the transfer of its responsibilities over to the National Planning and Infrastructure Ministry, which was renamed the National Planning, Housing and Infrastructure Ministry.

The move had come on Thursday, less than one day after former Housing Minister Aminath Athifa tendered her resignation citing health reasons.

The staffs of the now dissolved Housing Ministry have been reassigned to the National Planning, Housing and Infrastructure Ministry.

During the administration of President Solih’s predecessor, former President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom, work pertaining to housing and other infrastructure development projects had been run under one ministry – the Housing and Infrastructure Ministry. However, President Solih, when he came to power in 2018, opted to separate the work into two ministries – the Housing and Urban Development Ministry, and the National Planning and Infrastructure Ministry.

The move had been criticized by some as wasteful, citing the overlap of some of the work of the two ministries.

Mohamed Aslam, who heads the newly renamed National Planning, Housing and Infrastructure, had also served as the Housing Ministry during Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP)’s first administration which came to power in 2008.