Election-Period Hiring Drive Pushes HDC Wage Bill to Record High

A massive recruitment drive by HDC ahead of the April council elections pushed monthly employee expenditure to an unprecedented 40.8 million MVR by June 2026. Official RTI data reveals staff numbers swelled to 2,410 workers—far exceeding levels under the previous administration—creating an annual wage burden exceeding 400 million MVR. The surge comes as the PCB mandates a 33 percent workforce reduction across state enterprises.

HDC Payroll Hits Record High Following Pre-Election Hiring Surge, RTI Data Reveals

A substantial increase in recruitment at the Housing Development Corporation (HDC) aligned with this year's council elections has driven employee wage and allowance expenditure to historic highs, figures obtained under the Right to Information (RTI) Act reveal.

Data acquired from HDC shows that staff numbers and payroll obligations escalated significantly leading up to and following the local council elections held on April 4, 2026. While the ruling People's National Congress (PNC) previously leveled strong criticisms against state-owned enterprises for political hiring during its time in opposition, HDC's current workforce has now expanded beyond the figures recorded under the prior Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) administration.

According to official figures provided by HDC, the corporation employed 2,141 staff members in November 2023. By June 2026, the workforce had expanded to 2,410 employees.

This payroll expansion has created unprecedented financial commitments for the state-owned enterprise. In November 2023, monthly salary expenditure stood at 32.7 million MVR. By June 2026, monthly spending on salaries and allowances alone surged to 40.8 million MVR.

The annual trajectory highlights a steep upward trend. HDC recorded a total wage and allowance expenditure of 339.5 million MVR in 2023, which jumped to 400.1 million MVR in 2024. During the first six months of 2026 alone, the company spent 229.8 million MVR on salaries—averaging 38.3 million MVR per month. This reflects an average monthly increase of more than 10 million MVR compared to 2023 baseline levels.

The escalating payroll costs come amid formal directives from the Privatization and Corporatization Board (PCB) instructing state-owned enterprises to downsize their staff complements by 33 percent. For HDC to comply with the PCB mandate, the corporation would need to terminate approximately 795 employees, bringing its overall workforce down to a target threshold of 1,600 personnel.