Five days before the local council elections, the state-owned Housing Development Corporation waived two years of rent on Hiyaa flats, citing President Muizzu's promise to reimburse tenants for finishing costs. To offset furnishing costs, each flat will receive an MVR 200,000 (US$ 12,970) discount applied against outstanding rent. No payments will be due until May 2028. Residents will still pay the MVR 1,000 monthly maintenance fee. The current monthly rent is MVR 3,984 after an earlier reduction by the current administration. In December, HDC waived all late payment penalties and deducted MVR 100,000 from the total rent-to-own cost of the flats.
Environment Minister Thoriq Ibrahim announced plans to impose fines on people who litter or dump waste on beaches and public spaces. Three new waste management regulations covering general waste management, waste services, and single-use disposables will be finalised and enforced within two months, he told the press. A fourth regulation on extended producer responsibility is also being drafted. The goal is accountability rather than punishment, he said.
The higher education ministry reversed a decision to restrict the Presidential Scholarship to government-designated fields within a day of announcing new guidelines, which limited eligibility to fields specified in the national training needs requirements. Students who achieve A-stars in five A-level subjects will also be free to study any discipline of their choice. The reversal came after a public backlash. The scholarship covers bachelor's degrees, medicine, dentistry, and professional licensing programmes. It requires four to seven years of government service after graduation. Separately, the criteria for the High Achievers Scholarship were also tightened to require an A-star in one subject and A grades in four others. High Achievers Scholarship students studying in the Maldives will receive an additional MVR 6,000 monthly allowance on top of the existing stipend, the ministry said.
President Muizzu attended the groundbreaking ceremony for 1,190 flats to be built in Hulhumalé Phase 2 by Beijing Urban Construction Group, the Chinese contractor that built VIA's new runway. It was the fourth groundbreaking under the Bank of Maldives affordable housing scheme in just over a week, bringing the total to 2,896 of the 3,260 planned units. The remaining 364 units by Amin Construction are due to break ground on Tuesday. All units are due for completion by mid-2028.
Recipients of land plots under the previous government's Binveriya scheme will be allowed to surrender their plots and apply for flats under the current government's housing programme instead, President Muizzu announced. Many plot recipients are too poor to build on their land, particularly in Gulhifalhu and Giraavarfalhu where infrastructure is still being developed, he said. The application portal will open within two weeks. Freed-up plots is to be reallocated either through a new scheme or to the highest-scoring applicants from the original Binveriya list. The government had already offered a similar swap option to Hiyaa flat residents who wanted to move to larger units.
MDP President Abdulla Shahid apologised for using a Dhivehi idiom referencing blindness to describe the Muizzu administration as directionless at a rally in Thinadhoo. The government was "wandering the streets like a blind person going to Isha prayer," he had said. Shahid said no offence was intended and called for such expressions to be removed from the Dhivehi dictionary. The National Disability Council condemned the remarks, saying derogatory references to disability by those in positions of influence are unacceptable and violate the rights of persons with disabilities under Article 35 of the constitution.
HDC was awarded contracts to build 100 housing units in Alif Dhaal Mahibadhoo and 25 housing units in Alif Dhaal Kunburudhoo.
Ambulance services covered under Aasandha will be significantly expanded from April 1, President Muizzu announced. Coverage will extend to bedridden patients, wheelchair users, people with physical and mental disabilities including autism and Down syndrome, thalassemia patients, hospital transfers, medical evacuations to airports or jetties, and transporting the deceased in addition to existing emergency use. The expansion follows longstanding public complaints about the lack of ambulance coverage under Aasandha.
Resort magnate Champa Mohamed Moosa ‘Uchchu’ endorsed Moosa Ali Jaleel, the ruling party’s candidate for Malé City mayor. The pair reportedly met at Champa Giri on Sunday.
Hamdhoon Ahmed, 31, was convicted of cannabis trafficking and sentenced to 12 years in prison along with an MVR 100,000 fine.
Police sought fraud charges against Kingston Holdings Maldives and its owner, Ahmed Athif Hassan, 38, for allegedly defrauding more than 158 people by collecting payments for motorcycles the company claimed to be selling. Police said Kingston collected more than MVR 7.2 million and US$ 8,398 from customers.
The Supreme Court declined to declare a mistrial in the terrorism case against three men accused of plotting to bomb the Jumhooree Party headquarters in Malé using an Improvised Explosive Device in 2017. The defendants had petitioned the appeal courts over delays in the trial and sought to have the charges dismissed. But the Supreme Court ruled that prosecutors were not solely responsible for the delays, noting that some hearings were cancelled because defence lawyers failed to appear.
