Head of state utility corporation replaced with former MP

Mohamed Nimal, managing director of the state-owned Fenaka Corporation, has been dismissed from his post and replaced with former MP Ahmed Shareef Adam.

Shareef’s appointment was announced Monday by Mohamed Nizar, the president of the privatisation and corporatization board. The reasons for Nimal’s dismissal remain unclear. He has not been transferred to a different post.

The dismissal comes weeks after a US$1 million corruption scandal surfaced in local media.

The state utility company reportedly released MVR17 million to a local company to purchase dollars. But three dollar cheques made out to Fenaka with an invalid Mauritius Commercial Bank guarantee stamp bounced.

The police have arrested one of the shareholders of the company – which is said to provide speedboat transfer services – but have not disclosed any information about the investigation so far.

Fenaka presently provides electricity services for more than 150 out of the Maldives’ 188 inhabited islands.

Nimal was Fenaka’s first managing director after it was established by former President Dr Mohamed Waheed in June 2012 to take over seven provincial utility corporations.

A year later, he was sacked by Waheed amid allegations of abuse of power. However, he was reappointed shortly after President Abdulla Yameen assumed office in November 2013.

Nimal is also a council member of the ruling Progressive Party of Maldives.

Prior to his appointment yesterday, Shareef, who won a by-election on a PPM ticket for the Thimarafushi constituency in 2012, was the deputy minister of education. He was also the secretary general of the now-defunct People’s Alliance party led by Yameen before the PPM was formed in late 2011.

Shareef was also appointed to the board of the scandal-ridden Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation in October last year.

Meanwhile, in June this year, the Maldives Roads Development Corporation’s managing director was transferred to a political post despite pending corruption charges over an MVR1 million (US$64,850) loss incurred by the state-owned company.

Ibrahim Nazeem was appointed the housing ministry’s deputy minister amid a reshuffle of the heads of state-owned companies.