President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu says the government has decided to take many measures to reduce government expenditure amid concerns over the country's economic stability.
The President said via a post on X these include various measures to reduce government recurrent expenditure. He noted that such measures also include decreasing the number of political posts.
President Muizzu further stated the cost-cutting measures also include reducing expenditure or not holding ceremonies to mark various occasions.
The President highlighted that authorities have been instructed not to hold vehicle tours and receptions for the upcoming Independence Day celebrations. He further said that only an official reception would be held to mark the country's independence day and that this would greatly reduce government expenditure.
President Muizzu added many more steps to reduce government costs would be taken in the coming days.
His announcement comes a day after Fitch Ratings downgraded the Maldives' Long-Term Foreign-Currency Issuer Default Rating (IDR) to 'CCC+' from 'B-'.
However, Fitch said that they expect this government to reduce the external financing requirement over the medium term through fiscal consolidation, but it will face large external refinancing hurdles in 2025 and 2026.
