Presidents Office establishes ‘work ethics’ code for political appointees

The President’s Office today announced it had begun implementing a work ethics code for all the political appointees except cabinet ministers.

According to the ethics code published in Dhivehi, those bound by the new ethics code are those appointed under article 115(f) of the constitution, by a letter of appointment from the president or cabinet secretary.

The ethics code dictates the code of conduct of the political appointees, their dress code, work timing and procedures for resignation.

The Section 3(c) states that all appointees ‘should’ accept and respect all policy decisions of the government.

It further includes, “Even if there happens to be a difference of opinion on such a policy, the appointee should refrain from expressing their opinions to individuals, the public and the media, and should refrain from writing about it.”

The Section 3(d) also dictates similar requirements for not expressing views that oppose the policy of the government views that are contrary to the appointee’s responsibilities.

Apart from these restrictions, section 3 also demands that all appointees must maintain government secrets both while employed and after they leave the position.

Section 7 of the ethics code states that all appointees should turn up to work before 8:30 am in the morning except during the month of Ramadan, where the start time is 9:30 am.

Similar to the civil servants, according to the section 8 of the ethics code, appointees are also entitled to a 30 day vacation after one year on the job and 10 days ’emergency’ leave, while female staff are entitled to 60 days maternity leave.

Section 9 of the ethics code demands that all the appointees must dress accordingly and should always be at their best turn out while in public.

The section specifically states that men should wear either short or long sleeve shirts with tie, trousers and shoes for men, while female appointees should be in attire that is acceptable to the government.

The President’s office stated that all the appointees must begin to follow the code from July 1, onwards.

Speaking to Minivan News, President’s Office Spokesperson Abbas Adil Riza said that the government believed that such a work ethics code was important and necessary.

“Political appointees are also paid by the state, so the government believes that there should be some regulations on the work of political appointees,” he said.

He added that there previously there was no regulation regarding the work ethics of the political appointees and that he believed that such regulation would increase the “accountability and public confidence” in the political appointees.

The ethics code is the first of such regulations that has been imposed on political appointees in the country.

The code comes at a time where the government of President Mohamed Waheed Hassan has been under heavy criticism from the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), who alleged that the appointees are family members and activists who took part in the “coup that ousted the democratically elected president.”

Speaking to Minivan News previously, MDP Spokesperson Imthiyaz Fahmy said that many appointees were “senior activists in leading the coup d’état.”

“Many of them were present in Republican Square on February 7. They are unqualified and inexperienced,” he said at the time.

However, Riza at the time dismissed the allegations stating that the positions were awarded based on political party affiliation and qualifications, not based on “political activity or their presence at a certain place” which he believed reflected President Waheed’s desire to “formulate a national unity government”.