Former MDP president and former Foreign Minister Abdulla Shahid has said that the current government has wrecked tourism policy and destroyed the entire industry.

Speaking on Raajje TV’s “Fashaairu” program today, Shahid said tourism is the Maldivians’ “goose that lays the golden eggs,” but that the government’s greed has reached such an extreme that it has now “cut open the belly” of that golden goose.

“When the entire tourism industry is destroyed, the impact will be felt by every family in the Maldives,” Shahid said.

He added that the tourism industry is the backbone of the Maldivian economy, and that the government has broken that backbone by eroding investor confidence.

“Every dollar the government earns is being spent on reclaiming huge lagoons, buying drones, purchasing heavy weapons, or setting off fireworks. This government does not consider the needs of ordinary citizens,” Shahid noted.

According to Shahid, government spending has ballooned, and the foreign currency the state receives is being spent on “showy things.”

Shahid also urged the government to listen to the tourism industry rather than tightening policy. “The economy can only be put back on track by listening to the industry. The collapse of this country’s economy is not in anyone’s interest,” he said.