Finance Committee Recommends Removal of Central Bank Governor

The motion was introduced earlier this month by Deputy Speaker and Dhiggaru MP Ahmed Nazim. He reiterated the need for new leadership, expressing concerns about the governor’s performance from a national perspective. “We need to bring more freshness to the leadership there,” he stated.

The committee unanimously supported the recommendation, which will now go to the full house of parliament for a vote before being formally presented to the president.

Governor Hashim, who has been ill, was unable to attend the committee meetings this week. He was first given the opportunity to respond on Monday but requested to answer questions in writing due to his health. In his letter to the committee, Hashim defended his tenure, claiming that the government had ignored the central bank’s advice, leading to the current economic challenges.

Per the MMA Act, the governor can only be removed by the president in consultation with parliament. According to parliamentary rules, the Public Accounts Committee holds the authority to hold the MMA governor accountable.

Deputy Speaker Nazim accused Hashim of failing to fulfill his duties, particularly in providing necessary monetary policy guidance. He pointed out that neither the government nor parliament had received any advice from the governor in the past seven months. The motion to remove Hashim was submitted to parliament on July 2 and the committee swiftly moved to summon him for a response.