The political real estate shuffle

It is a foregone conclusion that Maldivian democracy is not only a fledgling in terms of how young it is, but the administration of Maldives in action is also a concept that seems to not have been set in stone, let alone written in the sand. 

Every administration brings about such sweeping changes, from replacing top level executives at technically independent institutions, changing salaries and internal policies, yet one point that seems to be glossed over is a simple matter. It is the matter of the physical residency of those in power, and after 2008, things still look as shifty as they used to.

The story begins with the advent of Theemuge during the Maumoon administration. The name is of historical significance, based on one of the first Muslim ruling dynasties of the Maldives, a name fitting for a country that prides on their religious stand. For twenty years, Maumoon had spent his days in Muleeaage, which he decided was not fit for a man in his position. He initiated the building of the official Presidential Palace in 1992, adopting the name Theemuge.

Once the palace was completed in 1994, footing a bill of over USD17 million (official records are sketchy at best but this was the more exaggerated estimate), it served not only as an icon of power and opulence but a tourist attraction as well. It was home to the President and his family for the next decade or so, garnering quite the criticism from the opposition. After being elected in 2008, President Mohamed Nasheed decided to act upon this criticism he was responsible for, and changed the official residence of the President back to Muleeaage, handing over Theemuge to house the Supreme Court and affiliated administrative buildings.

The switch to Muleeaage was accompanied with hefty security upgrades and developments to bring the historical landmark up to modern standards. With the 2008 constitution came a vice president as well, who was to be housed at Hilaaleege, a building formerly used to host foreign leaders and diplomats on their visits. The Maldivian people could have rested easy with this arrangement though, if the arrangement was held fast over the years, yet once again, after the MDP administration lost power to Yameen, another change was brought about.

With a parliamentary majority secured, President Yameen managed to pass a special law that ensured that, if the incumbent President chose to find residence at a location other than that provided for them, the government was to finance and develop the chosen venue up to national standards. This included security upgrades, building upgrade costs, and in this case, even changes to the road and parking spaces in the area.

To be fair, Yameen did propose working on half salary (MVR50,000 of the MVR100,000 set for a president by Nasheed before him) to counterbalance this extra cost on the national revenue, yet whether or not this was justifiable was not given a chance to be proven. Not only was he using his old residence, G. Dhoovehi, at his convenience, changes were brought to utilise Muleeaage as well, nigh as an extension of the President’s Office as could be observed. To exacerbate this unorthodox precedence, this was not an arrangement that stayed for too long either.

In 2016, he had made the decision to develop a new residence he had recently acquired, at H. Noofaru, and in the interim stayed at Hilaaleege. This change incurred even more costs on the national budget, on top of which Yameen said that due to a change in his living situation, he was now taking the full presidential salary. The wisdom of this move, after speedy government sponsored construction, leaves much to the imagination, and the growing discontent amongst both the people and the majority he once held, ultimately added to the factors that brought about his downfall.

MDP reclaimed power under the joint leadership of Ibrahim Mohamed Solih and Mohamed Nasheed, President and Speaker of Parliament respectively, and the presidential residence was reverted to Muleeaage once again. All was well, the people of the nation could rest easy in this expected consistency. However, with the terror attack against Speaker Nasheed and the security concerns that followed prompted another ruling on proper residences, this time for the Speaker and the Chief Justice. 

Without further ado, a plot of land that was utilised by the Malé City Council for paid private parking was swept up and work began to develop a proper, safe, and secure residence for… the Speaker of Parliament? While the safety of the leaders of the nation is important, utilising prime real estate at least four times the size of the actual residence of the intended occupant, across the street to a building that was criticised by the said recipient for the opulence and extravagance, seems slightly beyond protocol. What would have been sustainable in the long run would be to provide security upgrades for the Speaker of any sitting of parliament wherever they were situated, as this move now elevates the status of the Speaker, at least in appearance, to a similar level of the incumbent president.

Another curiosity would be the question whether the attack was targeted towards the Speaker of Parliament, or Mohamed Nasheed as an individual. Therefore, would a new, specially financed, tax-payer supported building with the state of the art security and amenities be built for any other person were they the speaker during these troubling times?

And with the vehemence with which Mohamed Nasheed champions a parliamentary system as opposed to a presidential system of ruling (while he as Speaker would be the first in line for the seat of Prime Minister), is this a timely coincidence to build a residence fit for a Prime Minister? Should the Maldivian people accept that each administration would make their own choices and shift infrastructure at their whim, a point which does not in any obvious way benefit the people or governance, instead create further financial burdens?

The shuffling of residences only goes to show that the Maldivian governance system is still not consistent in even the infrastructure from which it is supposed to operate. It would be another topic entirely to discuss the lack of consistency in the running of independent institutions, yet another generation may have to bear the brunt of it before consistency can be established. In other countries, the question of Presidential or even Speaker’s residences are not a point of political intrigue, and the lesson to be learnt here may go a long way in creating a more stable framework for governance in the Maldives.