Customs Chief's Husband Appointed to Maldives Ports Limited Board, Drawing Criticism

Adam Adeem, the husband of Fathimath Diyana, the Commissioner General of Maldives Customs Service, has been appointed to the Board of Directors of Maldives Ports Limited (MPL). The Privatization and Corporatization Board announced the appointment yesterday. Adeem contested for the Machchangolhi North constituency on the People's National Congress (PNC) ticket in the last local council election and was unsuccessful. His appointment to the MPL board has drawn criticism from many people, as MPL and Customs are the two institutions that play the most prominent role in importing goods into the country through the commercial harbour. In addition to Adeem, the government has also given senior positions to many people who contested and were unsuccessful in the local council election. Among them is former Deputy Mayor of Malé City Mohamed Areesh, and a person who contested for the position of Mayor of Malé and was unsuccessful. Diyana was appointed to the position of Commissioner General of Customs on July 22, 2024. Since then, voices claiming that the running of Customs has become politicized have grown stronger.