Mohamed Ibrahim (Kudu), a lawmaker from the leading opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), has submitted a motion requesting a parliamentary investigation into corruption claims associated with the mobile application created for the Male’ Taxi Line.

The Male’ Taxi Line, a round-the-clock public taxi service run by the Maldives Transport and Contracting Company (MTCC), commenced operations along with a specific mobile app on April 2. However, problems with the app caused it to be removed, prompting customers to reserve their rides via the 1655 phone hotline.

Accusations quickly surfaced on social media that the agreement to create the app was granted unjustly at an excessive cost.

On Tuesday, Kudu, the North Galolhu constituency representative, submitted an official request for an investigation into these allegations by the appropriate parliamentary committee.

Kudu requested that Parliament obtain clarification on crucial inquiries regarding the mobile app, such as the reasons for restricting the bidding to chosen vendors, the identities of these vendors, the criteria used for selection, any specific qualifications or abilities emphasized in the selection, the prior experience of the contractor chosen for the project in similar initiatives, and to disclose any relevant documents that accompanied the submission to Parliament.

He additionally requested the Parliament to examine if the MTCC’s IT division played any role in the project, what that role included, and whether all legal requirements and board policies were adhered to in granting the contract.

Kudu stated that although MTCC's procurement policy mandates that tender proposals be assessed by a tender evaluation committee made up of an odd number of members, he discovered that the assessment on the app was conducted by a committee appointed in breach of this policy. He requested that the Parliament look into who permitted this committee.

Kudu mentioned that since the MVR 13 million tender is a technical one, it is customary to establish a sub-committee for evaluation if the primary tender committee does not possess the necessary expertise, and the primary committee relies on the subcommittee's recommendations for its decision. He requested the Parliament to verify if this was adhered to, and to acquire pertinent documents indicating it was adhered to.

Kudu stated that since requests for procurement are exclusively directed to those listed in the MTCC’s suppliers’ registry, he requested that Parliament acquire documented proof regarding the merging of the list of invited suppliers and the company’s suppliers’ registry.

He also urged the Parliament to acquire documented proof that the contractor possesses experience in the tasks outlined in the tender's scope, to investigate whether the decision to create a separate new app, which replicates the existing RTL app's functions, was made by the company’s board or management, and to secure the meeting minutes where this decision was reached.

Kudu expressed that it concerns him greatly that a government-owned company invested millions in an app that could have been created internally due to technological progress.

The MTCC has not yet issued an official reply to the accusations.