The President has noted that it was very important that the aid pledged by donor agencies was received as soon as possible. He made the statement in an interview to the Arab news network, Al-Jazeera.
In the interview, the President pointed out that only 15 percent of the aid pledged to the country after the tsunami had been realised. He added that even if the financial pledges currently made for the national recovery programme were fully realised, there would still be a shortfall of US$ 113 million.
The President highlighted the extensive damage caused by the tsunami and the nationwide relief effort that followed the disaster. He also answered questions on the ongoing democratic reforms in the country, and on the progress in the implementation of his sweeping constitutional reform agenda.
Pointing out that the introduction of a multiparty system was one of the most important points in his reform agenda, the President noted that last month, a framework had been established to facilitate the functioning of political parties in the Maldives. He said that a number of other measures in his reform agenda had also been implemented over the past year. He further said that, as the mandate to amend the Constitution was vested in the People's Special Majlis, the implementation of the remaining points of his reform agenda was possible only after the Special Majlis had concluded their work.
Press Release reference number: 2005-412