Minister of Economic Development and Trade Mohamed Saeed has attributed the country’s economic slowdown and rising commodity prices to the fiscal and monetary policies of the previous administration during the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the devaluation of the currency through excessive money printing.

Speaking to State media, the Minister said that when the previous administration took office, foreign reserves stood at around USD 1 billion and the Sovereign Development Fund held more than USD 250 million. The government budget for 2018 stood at MVR 28 billion, but in the first year of the previous administration, it overran to MVR 50 billion.

He noted that alongside this sharp budget increase, state-owned companies were left with outstanding dues of MVR 9.1 billion, while overall national debt climbed to MVR 125 billion by the end of the administration’s term.

According to the Minister, these monetary and fiscal measures, combined with other policy decisions, weakened the currency and directly drove up commodity prices. He recalled that ministers in the previous administration had themselves acknowledged that prices would continue to rise, yet avoided linking inflation to the depreciation of the currency caused by money printing.

The Minister assured that the current Administration is now working to reverse these trends, with a range of measures being implemented to counter the effects of past policies and restore economic stability.