Committee reverses decision, green lights disclosure of info on Muraidhooge employees

The Parliament Committee on National Security Services, the 241 Committee, has reversed its decision not to disclose the details of employees working at the Speaker’s official residence, Muraidhooge.

An official residence was allocated for the Parliament Speaker in 2021, following a bomb attack that injured former President Mohamed Nasheed while he was the Speaker of Parliament. Current Speaker Abdul Raheem moved into Muraidhooge in July, after which he hired more staff for the residence. However, the total number of employees or salaries were not disclosed. Journalist Mundoo Adam Haleem serves as the Chief of Staff at the residence, while renowned footballer Ali Ashfaq (Dhagandey) is a Director General of the residence.

In a committee meeting held Monday morning, Inguraidhoo MP and PNC PG leader Ibrahim Falaah proposed to keep the information of the employees working at the Muraidhooge confidential, a suggestion seconded by Maamigili MP Qasim Ibrahim. The motion was passed by the committee, citing that the disclosure of information on the personnel employed at Muraidhooge would pose a security threat to Speaker Abdul Raheem Abdulla.

However, public backlash following the decision led to the committee reconvening again the same evening, where the committee reversed its initial decision. AVAS has learned that the meeting was held after President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu instructed PNC MPs to release the information. The committee meeting then approved the disclosure of the details of the employees working in Muraidhooge and their salaries, as requested by a local newspaper in July.