Auditor General Urges Efficiency Over Hiring, Pension Reform to Curb State Spending

Auditor General Hussain Niyazi has advised that instead of increasing the number of government employees, steps should be taken to improve employee efficiency in order to reduce state budget expenditure, and that arrangements for double pensions should be incorporated into law. The Auditor General gave this advice to the People's Majlis Budget Committee, which is reviewing the state budget submitted by the government for the coming year 2027. In its report to the Budget Committee, the Auditor General's Office highlighted matters in the budget that need further improvement. The report states that although the total budget stands at 59 billion, total state expenditure is stated as 52.6 billion in recurrent and capital expenditure. The report also states that the increase in expenditure has come mainly from capital expenditure, which stood at 5.8 billion in the past year and is estimated to rise to 9.8 billion in 2027. Noting that expenditure on employees increases year by year, the report states that spending on employees has mainly increased due to policies implemented by the state to equalize salaries through restructuring under pay harmonization. It notes that with salaries rising in past years and the number of employees increasing, expenditure on salaries has increased very significantly. Accordingly, the Auditor General advised finding further ways to increase employee efficiency instead of hiring additional employees so that state services can be delivered, and said it is important to proceed by increasing efficiency in other ways rather than recruiting more staff. The report also highlighted as a major concern that money given as pensions is increasing significantly year by year. It noted that parallel pension schemes other than those under the Pension Act, or double pension schemes, are being run within the state, causing the amount the state must pay as pensions to rise. According to the report, information submitted by the Finance Ministry in the 2025 budget estimated that, given the proportion of the Maldives' elderly population, that number will increase to 7.6 by 2055. Expressing concern over this, the Auditor General advised that work proceed in a way that harmonizes pension schemes in accordance with the law and incorporates the money given as double pensions into the Pension Act.