Minister of Health Abdulla Ameen has resigned from his post amid allegations of corruption raised against him.
In the resignation letter addressed to President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, Minister Ameen thanked the president for providing him the opportunity to work on reforming the health sector of the Maldives. As such, he highlighted the progress made in improving healthcare services in the atolls and decentralising the healthcare system in order to reduce the dependency on the capital.
In his letter, Ameen noted there is still much to do to overcome the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, adding the political differences and rivalry which exist in the country hinder the efforts to develop the nation. Noting the accusations against him are baseless andintended to weaken the government, Ameen said he believes his resignation would be the best way forward right now for the government. He expressed pride in the service he was able to provide to the nation as health minister amid the COVID-19 pandemic, and expressed gratitude towards all staff of the health ministry and healthcare workers for their tireless efforts to help the nation recover from the pandemic.
Health Minister Ameen and 10 other officials of the health ministry were implicated in the corruption investigation launched by ACC regarding the financial irregularities in contracting Dubai-based Executors General Trading to procure 75 ventilators to the Maldives. Following the investigation, ACC concluded the contract was awarded to Executors General Trading without due diligence and technical evaluations. The investigations also found Minister Ameen guilty of misusing official capacity and influencing the contract award as he encouraged awarding the contract to Executors General Trading and making the 75% advanced payment and 15% percent of balance payment.
However, the Prosecutor General’s Office (PGO) declined the charges forwarded by ACC against officials of the health ministry, stating ACC had not collected enough evidence in its investigation to prove any of the charges. Speaking at a press conference, Prosecutor General Hussain Shameem said the PGO cannot press charges without the possibility of proving them in court. He noted although there are several administrative issues in procuring ventilators through Executors General Trading, there are no issues which can be picked up by the PGO to press criminal charges.
Although PGO rejected the charges, Minister Ameen has come under criticism by several parliamentarians as well as the public for his role in awarding the contract to the Dubai-based company.