As his first point, the President noted the importance that this administration is giving to maintaining social harmony in the Maldives and the work that his administration has been putting towards ensuring that this harmony is maintained.
Source: President's Office
On February 6, 2023, President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih gave his final Presidential address in the Parliament inauguration. This is the session for the first sitting of the Maldivian parliament for the year 2023, an occasion for which 6th February was marked as a public holiday for Government offices.
During his 'State of the Union' presidential address, the President highlighted several points that this Government has accomplished and aims to accomplish in the coming months as well.
As his first point, the President noted the importance that this administration is giving to maintaining social harmony in the Maldives and the work that this Government has been putting towards ensuring that this harmony is maintained in the future as well.
Additionally, he noted the importance of investing in future generations in order to ensure the success of this nation and highlighted some of the things that this administration has done in order to invest in the youth and future of this nation. The president noted that under the efforts of investing in the future, 1,578 projects are underway for constructing classroom buildings and 85 projects for developing multi-purpose halls in addition to the 509 ongoing education-related infrastructure developments.
In addition to this, he also highlighted the importance this administration has given to developing the higher education sector in the Maldives. This administration has made it possible for students to pursue their higher-secondary educations in their own Atolls, and developed a free degree program for students who are trying to get their first degree, while also providing student loans for over 1,986 students during this administration.
Moreover, the President also highlighted some of the work that is underway when it comes to paying civil servants a better salary. Noting that income in January was recorded at MVR 3.5 billion, the highest ever for a calendar month, this administration also aims to increase income for additional government employees this year. In 2022, the salaries paid to teachers were raised, and according to the presidential speech, this year lecturers, health sector professionals as well as Government office workers will see an increase in their salaries with all Government employees being eligible for a 35 percent civil service allowance starting May, 2023.
The speech also highlighted the work that was done towards ensuring the strengthening of the social security system in order to enable caregivers to operate throughout the country. Emphasizing this administration’s success in being the first to fully hand over, fully completed housing units, the President noted that the title deed handovers will be done before the end of June 2023.
In addition to the programmes that are being carried out in order to help the youth find stability and balance in the economy, the President also noted that the disability benefits will be increased in June 2023. In the effort to help the youth, this administration has worked towards ensuring access to mental health services in addition to establishing seven safe centres for children with Family and Children’s Centres being developed in 19 different Atolls.
Lastly, in his speech, the Solih noted the economic development that was brought about by this administration. He noted that due to the projects that have been started during this administration, prosperous changes will be visible for the economy of the Maldives by 2028. Additionally, the President also noted the progress the Maldives has made economically since the COVID-19 pandemic which showed the administration’s ability to mitigate the negative effects.
With the increasing government expenditures in recent years, the total debt of the government has reached a staggering MVR 105 billion (USD 6.8 billion) by the end of 2022, which is over 110 percent of GDP. Although there was no mention in Solih's speech on the topic of debt, and debt sustainability, the country's unsustainable debt situation posed various challenges to the overall macro balance of the economy.
