MDP President Abdulla Shahid has said that the dreams citizens had for this government have vanished, and the green signals they had hoped for have gone out and turned red.

Speaking at the opening of the opposition MDP’s rally last night held under the banner “Dhathi-vejje”, Shahid said the government has not delivered on any of the promises it made to the people, and the result is that citizens today are facing hardship in numerous ways.

Highlighting that the Maldivian economy and the daily lives of ordinary people have become extremely difficult, Shahid said inflation — the rise in the price of goods and services in the market — reached its highest level last year. He noted that the prices of everyday essentials that people rely on most have skyrocketed.

“Someone going to buy a tin of milk that used to cost 100 rufiyaa now has to pay 122 rufiyaa. A litre of oil that used to be 100 rufiyaa now costs 122 rufiyaa. Salaries haven’t changed. There’s no way to earn any additional income,” — Abdulla Shahid

Shahid said that as prices have risen, citizens today are crying out that times are hard and demanding that this be fixed. However, he pointed out that the only thing being done to solve these problems is placing further burdens on the poor. He noted that in the name of cutting government expenditure, it is ordinary citizens who are being cut from jobs, while political appointments continue to be added.

Shahid said this government wishes no good upon its people and has failed massively. Therefore, he said, MDP has no option but to change this government for the sake of the citizens.