Malé, Maldives – Maldives Airports Company Limited (MACL) has refused to disclose the salaries of the upper management including CEO and directors, despite order by Information Commissioner’s Office (ICOM).
ICOM, on 14 September 2021, sent a request to MACL to disclose the salaries of the upper management of the company upon the request by a private citizen as per the Right To Informations Act (RTI Act).
The case was filed to ICOM by Aimon Latheef after MACL refused to disclose salary details he requested from the company as per the RTI Act.
MACL asserts that the company does not have to comply with the RTI Act, as it is not a government institution.
ICOM, however, cites a ruling by the High Court of Maldives determining that government-owned companies can be considered as government institutions, as such RTI Act will apply to such companies.
The RTI Act was ratified by President Abdullah Yameen Abdul Qayyoom in 2014, and was formulated to allow more transparency and accountability within the government. However, as the government struggles to implement a law, which was made by the government, on government institutions and government owned enterprises, citizens continue to remain in limbo.
