Dr Shamheed dismissed, Minister Nazim appointed as acting Transport Minister

President Dr Mohamed Waheed has yesterday dismissed Dr Ahmed Shamheed from the post of Minister of Transport and Communication.

In a letter forwarded to Dr Shamheed, President Waheed expressed gratitude for services rendered during his tenure as Minister of Transport and Communication.

The President appointed Minister of Defence and National Security, Colonel (Rtd) Mohamed Nazim as the acting Minister of Transport and Communication.

In reply to a question raised by Miadhu Daily, Abbas Adil Riza said that there is no problem between the government and Jumhooree Party and the slot of the Transport Minister in the cabinet is still reserved to the Jumhooree Party.

Abbas said that there are many talks regarding the dismissal of the Minister but the government has not officially revealed the reason for the dismissal of Minister Dr Shamheed.

Recently Dr Shamheed was accused of meeting the top officials of GMR Infrastructure during his visit to India to which he said that his visit to India was to hold discussions with the Indian government to seek a solution to any problems faced by Maldivian vessels entering Indian harbor due to the changes in the regulations. He said that some media outlets have been deliberately spreading false information about his visit although the reason for the visit is known.

Dr. Shamheed was also against the leasing of Gan International Airport as a business venture. said that the Gan International Airport is even currently worth an investment of 200 million US dollars and 51 percent of 200 million US dollars can be leased for only 6 million dollars. He said that the Ministry will never agree with such an agreement.

Meanwhile, Jumhooree Party issued a press release raising concern regarding the sudden dismissal of Dr Shamheed.