President Ibrahim Mohammed Solih has claimed that his administration has reduced the price of electricity in the Maldives.
Speaking at a rally held by MDP on Friday night President Solih announced that his government has fulfilled the pledge to reduce the price of electricity within 100 days. However, none of the utility companies announced any reduction in price or any plans to do so.
Electricity tariffs were last reduced on 23rd January 2018 during President Yameen’s administration. On that day Fenaka, the main utility provider outside the capital Male began charging the same rate per unit as Male within the atolls. This reduced electricity bills significantly because, in the past, the price rate per unit was considerably higher within the atolls compared to Male’.
President Solih is known to make factually incorrect statements from time to time. In the last press conference by the president, he claimed that the Velana International Airport (VIA) development project does not have any plans for a new terminal. However detailed plans of the development projects were shared with various stakeholders in the past. The VIA development project was being carried out under the guidance of a team of experts from Surbana International a renowned consultancy firm which provides consultancy for airports like Changi International Airport. So, it is unlikely that a project of this scale would be carried out without any plans.
It is unclear whether the President is making factually incorrect statements on purpose or whether he is ill-informed.
