Ali Hussain says allocating Rasmale' land to foreigners is a grave injustice to Maldivians seeking housing

Maldives government’s decision to allocate land to foreigners while thousands of Maldivians continue to seek housing is an injustice and a blow to the hopes of those in need, lawyer and former Kendhoo MP Ali Hussain said on Saturday.

Speaking at the “Dhivehinge Bin Dhivehinnah” protest forum, a movement launched last week to oppose the 500-hectare Rasmale' project awarded to UAE-based Eagle Hills, Ali said any policy involving land allocation must be published in the gazette and clearly grounded in the Constitution.

He said there is no policy or law permitting foreign settlement in the Maldives, noting that Attorney General Ahmed Usham himself has stated that no such regulation exists. The Constitution does not empower anyone to act on a policy that is neither legislated nor expressed, he said. 

Rasmale' is being dredged using public funds, and therefore belongs to the people, he added, stressing that every transaction must be carried out in accordance with the Constitution.

“What is being done here is unquestionably unconstitutional, it is a violation of the law,” Ali said.

He noted that the Constitution prohibits foreign ownership of land, and the Land Act requires all land transactions to be conducted strictly under the law. Ali questioned which law allows the settlement of foreigners in the Maldives.

Highlighting the severe housing shortage, Ali said the 53 million square feet of land allocated to Eagle Hills carries a market value of USD 20 billion. He alleged that the government is proceeding because Eagle Hills Chairman Mohamed Alabbar is offering the government something “the people cannot give.”

“The people vote, support and love this government, and would be the ones to elect it again. Yet the government hands this land to a foreigner because they receive from Al-Abbar what they cannot obtain from the people,” Ali said.

Ali added that a population of 100,000 foreigners settled in the area would not hesitate to act according to external interests.

He said housing prices in Male' are already comparable to major global cities, and will rise further. “Giving land to foreigners to populate them in this manner is a grave injustice to locals, especially those in the Male' region who desperately need housing, and a serious blow to their hopes,” he said.