Parliament yesterday rejected 27-17 a resolution submitted by Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) MP Ahmed Sameer calling for an inquiry into the government borrowing MVR 300 million (US$19.5 million) from the Bank of Maldives.
The loan was obtained without parliamentary approval as required by the Public Finance Act.
The government had previously told local media the the BML loan was borrowed instead of US$65 million loan programme previously approved by the Majlis for budget support, and contended that further approval from parliament was therefore not required.
However, Counsellor General Fathmath Filza told the Finance Committee that the US$65 million loan was only to be borrowed from foreign lenders and that the government has to seek parliamentary approval before borrowing from a local bank as per the Public Finance Act.
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