Parliament rejects govt. request to extend overdraft

The Parliament has declined to make a decision on a request by the Finance Ministry to extend an overdraft obtained by the government from the central bank for a further one-year period.

The Finance Ministry requested to extend the time period of the overdraft for a year to meet the expenses of the government after the parliament granted approval for the overdraft in April last year. 

In today’s parliament sitting, Vilufushi MP Hassan Afeef proposed sending the request to a committee formed for the4 purpose of evaluation. 48 MPs voted against the move while only 12 voted for the move.

After the vote, Parliament Speaker Nasheed said that the Parliament had not reached a decision on the issue. 

A signed letter by the Finance Minister Ibrahim Ameer was sent to the Parliament earlier this week stating that he was requesting the extend the period of suspension of certain clauses of the Fiscal Responsibility Act in order to stabilize the economy and manage government expenditure following the COVID-19 pandemic.