The opposition has accused state-owned enterprises (SOEs) of reducing their staffing as a political revenge campaign rather than a move to stabilize the economy.
Speaking today at the Parliamentary session, Deputy Leader of the MDP PG Group and MP for Vaikaradhoo Constituency, Hussain Ziyaad, said that 33 percent of employees are being laid off in government companies as punishment for the government's defeat in the last local council elections.
Ziyaad conceded that the previous MDP government has hired more employees than companies need.
However, he said that instead of reforming the situation in the past 1 and a half years, the government has increased the number of employees in companies such as Fenaka.
President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu had previously denied allegations of politically motivated lay-offs and said that these steps were being taken to further strenghthen the companies at a structural level.
