The government has dismissed 205 political staff over the past three months or so under its cost-cutting policy, government spokesperson Mohamed Hussain Shareef (Mundhu) has said.

In an interview with PSM, Mundhu said the dismissed employees include State Ministers, Deputy Ministers, Senior Political Directors, and Political Directors. He said this was a step taken as part of the work to right-size State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs).

“And it’s not finished work. So this number may change in the period ahead,” Mundhu said.

He further noted that by the time the SOEs are fully right-sized and this work is completed, the number of people dismissed will far exceed the number of people newly hired by this government.