The D’MADD project’s steering committee convenes for the first biannual meeting of 2025. The meeting was held on 14th August 2025 at the National Centre for Information Technology. Minister of State Dr. Mohamed Kinaanath chaired the meeting for Homeland Security and Technology. Committee members present were Project Manager, Dr. Ibrahim Waheed and Mr. Mohamed Naaiz, Chief Information Officer/ Ministry of Finance and Planning.

Other participants were Mr. Ahmed Haleem (Communications Specialist), Ms. Ahlam Abdul Sattar (Finance Management Specialist), Ms. Shama Ahmed Rasheed (Procurement Specialist, Ms. Fathmath Shafa Hussain (Project Officer), and Ms. Mariyam Meefau Faisal (Consultant) from the D’MADD PMU team.

Dr. Waheed gave a detailed presentation on all the components and their status to the steering committee. After the presentation, Dr. Waheed emphasised critical issues faced by the project. The key issue was funding shortfalls in the ongoing project. Only 50% of the required funds were allocated during the initial formulation phase, leaving key components under-resourced. With a World Bank mission scheduled for September 2025, the team has reiterated that staff salaries cannot be sustained for the entire project duration—a concern previously flagged during earlier missions. Operational costs for ESS, the Internal Auditor, and Component 3.2 pilot projects were omitted from the original budget and are now being absorbed under Component 4, which also covers foreign payment charges. However, Component 4 funds are projected to support payroll only until November 2025, prompting urgent discussions on financial sustainability.

He also highlighted significant challenges faced in progressing the project. He explained that concerns are mounting as two-thirds of the project’s funding remains contingent on the submission of the Data Protection Bill to Parliament. Meanwhile, critical capacity-building activities, including training for the eFaas development team and digital ID initiatives, have faced repeated setbacks. Initially planned in Singapore and later shifted to Estonia for cost reasons, the training sessions were halted due to the Ministry of Finance’s non-approval of travel requests. Requests submitted in both 2024 and 2025 have either been formally rejected or left unanswered, despite persistent follow-ups from the D’MADD team. The entire PMU is now actively working to resolve this bottleneck. Additionally, he briefed on the change in the implementation agency due to the government change back in 2023, which has further delayed project activities, compounding the urgency for resolution.

Project Manager Dr. Waheed noted that despite being a relatively small project, the scope of activities has been extensive and resource-intensive. According to Dr. Waheed, a total of fifty-six engagements in the form of Meetings and workshops were conducted in the last six months.

Minister of State, Dr. Mohamed Kinaanath, emphasized the strategic significance of the ongoing digital transformation initiative, noting that D’MADD project is funded through a grant and fully aligned with the President’s digital transformation vision “Maldives 2.0.” He stressed that the completion of project activities is vital to securing future funding, as two-thirds of disbursements are contingent on the submission of the Data Protection Bill to Parliament. Dr. Kinaanath also requested Committee member Naiz’s assistance in resolving delays related to Digital ID training in Estonia, which has been stalled due to pending approvals from the Ministry of Finance and planning. Ensuring smooth operations, he noted, is essential to unlocking additional support for the Maldives’ digital future.