Restaurants Association of Maldives Reassured of Relief from Challenges by President

President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih has reassured restaurant and café owners that solutions to the many challenges they are facing amid the pandemic and restrictive measures will be accordingly addressed and solved.  
 
He stated so in the meeting held with the Restaurants Association of Maldives titled ‘Cries of café', restaurant, food outlets, and F&B sector stakeholders.’ The hard-hitten restaurant and café business is unable to make even 10% sales on an average with the current restrictions in place. 
 
A number of challenges and concerns were discussed between the president and the participants. This included allowing inhouse services in light of the decreasing number of cases in the region now, and most importantly to allow delivery 24/7.  
 
RAM also raised the issue of not involving the industry stakeholders in the Health Protection Agency’s work on re-evaluating the rules and regulations on operating such businesses. A request was also put in to delay the fines imposed by 18 months, allowing for businesses to recover from the damages in the meantime. This will allow catering businesses to stabilize the utility dues and also manage pending tax payments. In addition, RAm also called for allowing outdoor catering and establishing guidelines to conduct events as well. 
 
RAM’s President, Hamid Afeef had shared with local media that eateries in the Greater Male Region are facing irreversible damage due to the restrictive measures. However, he was happy to reveal that the president reassured the community that all challenges will be taken into consideration while planning a more feasible manner to deal with the crisis. RAM requested from the president to introduce a special stimulus package for business owners in the sector.