Overview
Fenaka Corporation is the state-owned utility providing electricity, water and sewerage across the outer islands. It is the largest employer on many islands, which makes its payroll a social as well as a fiscal question. In July 2026 the Majlis directed it to adopt a new organisational structure.
Role in the intelligence picture
Fenaka is the test case for SOE austerity. The PCB ordered all State-Owned Enterprises to cut headcount by 33 percent against end-February 2026 levels, deadline 13 October, and Fenaka’s dismissals in Addu are where that policy first met organised resistance. How the cut lands here signals how far the Government Fiscal Position consolidation will actually go, and at what political cost.
Recent developments
- 13 August 2026: Fenaka dismissed staff at its Addu branch. The count is contested: about 90 (Adhadhu), more than 100 (Mayor Ali Nizar), or 189 (a Hithadhoo staff Viber group). Fenaka has published no number and no criteria.
- 21 August 2026: Mayor Nizar alleged the Addu list was directed politically by three named PNC MPs and called residents to protest. Finance Minister Hassan Zareer denied political criteria, saying staffing “remained with the companies”. No document supporting either account has been produced.
- Late August 2026: some dismissed staff filed cases at the Employment Tribunal; the MDP claims, without a finding, that around 90 percent of SOE staff dismissed nationwide are its members.
Related topics
State-Owned Enterprises · Government Fiscal Position · Ministry of Finance · Maldives Economy · Sovereign Debt Risk