Gov’t pays outstanding bills worth USD428 million to state-owned enterprises

President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu has announced that a total of USD428 million has been paid to settle outstanding debts owed to state-owned enterprises (SOEs). When the current administration assumed office, there were several projects contracted to various ministries and organisations, without securing adequate funds. As a result, several SOEs raised concerns about their financial stability, with many facing the threat of bankruptcy, while only a few were profitable, excluding major corporations. In response to these challenges, the administration has made concerted efforts to address the debts, despite facing significant financial constraints. To resolve this issue, the government has implemented measures to repay the outstanding payments. President Dr. Muizzu confirmed that these debts are being settled using government revenue, with a commitment to transparency in the payment process. The outstanding bills will be cleared in order of priority, with the oldest debts being settled first. Regarding the efforts being exerted to repay the outstanding payments, President Dr. Muizzu revealed that all outstanding debts which are not exceeding 32 million have now been fully paid. The president reaffirmed his commitment to establish a just system in which all the outstanding bills owed to various parties will be repaid. While the government has decided on strategies to implement to complete the outstanding bills to companies, it has also decided on measures to implement to compensate for the outstanding payments. This includes compensating vendors with a treasury bond profiting vendors, leasing land to interested parties and minimising the cost of production related to the government such as tax.