Economic Minister Saeed Says Dollar Issue Is MMA's Legal Responsibility, Not Ministry's

Economic Minister Mohamed Saeed has stated that resolving the dollar issue is a matter entrusted by law to the Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA), not to his ministry. The minister made these remarks while responding in Parliament today to a no-confidence motion filed against him, which raised concerns that although Saeed had stated on various occasions that the dollar rate would decrease, the dollar rate has actually risen. Saeed stated that it is not his ministry that has been entrusted by law with resolving the dollar issue. He said that under Article 24(h) of the Maldives Monetary Authority Act of 1981, responsibility for managing the country's foreign exchange matters is vested in the MMA to implement the exchange rate system and to determine and implement exchange rate policy. He also stated that if the question regarding the dollar is directed to the MMA as assigned by law, then the PPG of the MDP will have the opportunity to raise the question to the MMA. Although the law has entrusted this matter to the MMA, Saeed noted that further response was needed to the question, stating that the amount of dollars released at the bank rate in this government is 80 percent higher compared to the previous MDP government. Specifically, he said that in President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih's government, from 2021 until November 2023, over those three years, $1.75 billion was released; that was $253.8 million in 2021, $379.2 million in 2022, and $442.56 million in 2023. In President Mohamed Muizzu's current government, over the past three years, the amount of dollars released is $1.9 billion; that was $486.53 million in 2024, $733.82 million in 2025, and up to now in 2026, $718.53 million, he also stated. He also stated that this includes dollars released for businesses, Hajj/Umrah, students studying abroad, health purposes, and for Maldivians traveling abroad.