The former Minister of Finance Abdulla Jihad justifies the state loans acquired from China during President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom's administration.
Minister Jihad held the designation during the former president who has been jailed on money laundering charges post his presidency.
The minister was summoned to Maldives Parliament on Tuesday, 11 August, by its Speaker Mohamed Nasheed to inquire about state acquired loans and sovereign guarantees during his tenure as the minister mandated with overseeing such responsibilities.
According to the former minister, one of the loans from China acquired through their Exim Bank was to fund the construction and development of Sinamale' Bridge. Jihad justified the loan was acquired with a lengthy settlement period incurring a low interest rate.
Moreover, the ex-minister justified the loan was acquired after failing to find any other parties willing to issue such a funding to Maldives government at the time.
During the parliament inquiry session, Jihad also asserted the loans were taken after analyzing the country's debt-service ratio as well as adjusting to Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
The MDP majority holding Maldives Parliament saw adversarial inquiry approaches against the former minister, with many of the parliamentarians showing concern if the state fails to settle the foreign loan.
