Minister of Finance Ibrahim Ameer has stated he expects the economy of the Maldives to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic in 2023. He made the statement in response to a question posed in the Parliament of the Maldives regarding the allowance omitted from civil service employees following the pandemic.
Minister Ameer said the government was forced to cut costs to manage the state cash flow in response to the economic crisis following the COVID-19 pandemic. As such, the minister said the fiscal strategy from 2022 to 2024 is to keep controlling costs until the economy recovers. The economy is expected to recover in 2023 and that the government should until then uphold the steps taken to cut costs to control the cash flow and debt, he said.
Additionally, Minister Ameer said the government has temporarily taken the step to halt issuing promotion allowances to state employees, including those in the education sector. However, Ameer said state institutions have begun issuing allowances to employees despite the current state of the economy but that performance allowances should be given out once the fiscal deficit reaches a level of stability.
Furthermore, Minister Ameer said the National Pay Commission is working on standardising the salaries of state employees based on their position. The minister also said he does not recommend the state to provide allowances for the period when the government temporarily halted the policy, as the decision was made during a time of economic recession. The government had kept all state employees under full pay despite the financial difficulties incurred by the COVID-19 pandemic, he also highlighted.