Parliament on Thursday debated an emergency motion regarding recent revisions to the government policy on food subsidies.
The motion, submitted by the opposition Maldivian Democratic Party, was accepted for debate by parliament unanimously with votes from 52 members present at today’s sitting.
The speaker decided to allow a period of one hour to debate the motion.
Introducing the emergency motion, Viakaradhoo MP Mohamed Nazim said “the staple food subsidy cuts have increased food items by 100 percent, and the increase in electricity bills and food subsidy cuts are affecting the people.” He noted that the prices of staple foods have also skyrocketed in the atolls, and urged the government to promptly address the issue.
The government revised the food subsidy policy citing that people who are not eligible for food subsidies were receiving the benefits due to flaws in the system.
Prior to the change, visitors and around 170,000 foreign workers were benefitting from the subsidy intended for financially disadvantaged households, and the government had been contributing 65 to 70 percent of funds required to import staple foods through State Trading Organisation (STO).
Under the revised policy, each eligible individual will receive MVR40 per month as food subsidy.
With the implementation of the policy on Saturday, the price of rice rose from MVR3.98 to MVR7.96 a kilo. The prices of flour and sugar also rose from MVR2.96 to MVR5.96 per kilo, and from MVR4 to MVR8 a kilo respectively.
The government spends around MVR310 million on food subsidies every year.