President scoffs at concern over mounting debt
Overdue infrastructure development would take decades without foreign loans, Yameen contended.
25 Jun 2018, 9:00 AM
President Abdulla Yameen on Sunday dismissed criticism of mounting foreign debt during a campaign trip to three islands in Malé atoll.
Speaking on the island of Thulusdhoo, Yameen said opposition leaders have confessed to the public that they lack the competence or capability to repay the country’s debt.
“My thinking is, I will still increase the debt. I will still increase the debt, I will deliver what the people want, I will do everything that the people have been lacking,” he declared.
External debt reached US$1.2 billion last year as global financial institutions warned that the Maldives was at risk of debt distress. The opposition contends failure to repay US$1.5 billion borrowed from China for the current administration’s flagship projects could facilitate “land grabs”.
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