Verbal clashes erupt over the state of Fenaka's debt

MDP MPs, who hold the majority in Parliament, and MPs from other parties have come to verbal clashes over the difference in opinions regarding the debt of Fenaka, a state-run utility company.

Maduvvari MP Adam Shareef, who is from PNC, moved the resolution on April 11 calling for expediting payments by Fenaka to small businesses and companies, conducting a management and financial audit of Fenaka, and formulating a plan to repay debts.

Debating the resolution, MP Adam Shareef said the debt of Fenaka stood at MVR 2.8 billion when the resolution was moved. However, he said that he believes that the debt will now exceed MVR 3 billion.

"The biggest challenges from this are caused for the public. It is my biggest concern that the money will not be paid to them. Multiple small businesses are going bankrupt,” Adam Shareef said.

“This government has died. We need to hold this government accountable.”

MP Adam Shareef said Fenaka was a political tool to win elections. The jobs added to Fenaka were not created in the best way and the parliament should look into all these issues, he said.

"This should be looked into and a financial audit should be conducted. If this problem is not addressed today, it will become a culture. I call on the government to recover the money somehow,” he said.

Majority Leader and North Hithadhoo MP Mohamed Aslam said that he believes that if the state has to pay anyone, it should do so. However, he further said that when this government came to power, Fenaka was already a debt-ridden company.

“The Auditor General's report says that the company was MVR 1.18 billion in debt when this government took over. So far, it is 1.9 billion. Then I don't know how the 2.8 billion he is saying was brought about,” Aslam said.

Aslam said that when they talk about Fenaka's debt, they are not talking about the assets added to the company. Fenaka has increased its capital and provided much assistance to cover the debt, he said.

"It is not necessarily a debt that this government has forced. So that debt of Fenaka has been accumulating and increasing for a long time," Aslam said.

Aslam said the debt should be paid not only by this government but by every government.

The Democrats, the minority party in parliament, are also advocating for Adam Shareef's resolution.

Central Maafannu MP Ibrahim Rashid (Bonde), who is from the Democrats) said that Fenaka was in debt when this government came to power and that this government then plunged Fenaka into more debt. That is not the way to do it, he said, adding that the government should save a place that is in debt.

Meanwhile, Democrats' North Maafannu MP Imthiyaz Fahmy said it was unacceptable to create 4,000 more jobs while Fenaka's debt has increased so much.

He further said that it would be much better if they increased jobs in the private sector or in the civil service sector.

At a time when there are differences of opinion between MPs regarding debt, and Fenaka has multiple allegations against them, the Privatization and Corporatization Board (PCB) last week released figures showing that Fenaka has the highest number of employees. The company has more than 7,000 employees so far.

Government companies and the increase in employees in these companies have been repeatedly raised as a matter of concern by the opposition parties. The parties have described the creation of more government jobs as corruption.

The government, however, has been denying the opposition’s allegations. President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih said that Fenaka is not meant to be a revenue-generating company for the government and the company will continue to provide as many jobs as possible to the people.