The Maldives parliamentary budget analysis committee has proposed to allocate Rf95 million (US$7.42 million) to Maldives Broadcasting Corporation (MBC) in the 2011 state budget. The committee findings presented to the parliament in today’s sitting show that the corporation proposed a Rf138.85 million (US$10.7 million) budget. The committee, however, cut down the budget to Rf95 million and requested the corporation to manage additional expenses from its income.
The 2011 state budget sent for parliament approval by the government did not allocate a budget for the corporation. Finance Ministry earlier said “fundamental issues” in the corporation made the government to take the decision. In today’s sitting Gan MP Yousuf Abdul Ghafoor also proposed to not allocate a budget for Maldives National Broadcasting Corporation (MNBC), which was created under a presidential decree to manage state media channels.
The government refused to transfer state media channels to MBC and rebranded Television Maldives (TVM) and Voice of Maldives (VOM), the former to MNBC One and the latter to Raajje Radio.
(Source: Haveeru Online)
