Day: May 17, 2012

Government denies Israeli jet landed in Addu

The government has denied reports in the media that a private Israeli jet carrying tourists to Shangri-la Villigilli Resort landed in Addu City this week.

President’s Office Spokesperson Abbas Adil Riza dismissed the claim today as “completely false.”

“The government’s stand is that [the claim] is a lie,” he asserted, suggesting that the rumours originated from staff at the airport.

Two officials at the Addu International Airport Company Ltd (AIACL) told Minivan News that the private jet departed yesterday after spending four days at Gan International Airport.

An airport official told Minivan News on condition of anonymity that the Gulfstream Aerospace G200 flight (4X-CLL) arrived on Sunday with tourists from the Jewish state, and had been parked at the Gan Airport for four days prior to its departure in the morning yesterday.

Banning Israeli flights to the Maldives was among five demands made at a ‘mega-protest’ on December 23, organised by a coalition of eight parties and religious NGOs to ‘Defend Islam’ against the allegedly liberal policies of former President Mohamed Nasheed’s administration.

Following the change of government on February 7, the ruling coalition-dominated parliament passed a resolution on April 25 preventing Israeli national airline El Al from operating scheduled flights to the Maldives.

El Al had applied to the Ministry of Civil Aviation in May 2011 requesting permission to fly to the country starting in December 2011, prompting the religious conservative Adhaalath Party to warn of a potential terrorist attack “due to the commencement of Zionist Israel’s flight operations to Maldives.”

Adhaalath severed its coalition agreement with the then-ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) in September, soon after the Transport Ministry granted a licence to El Al to begin operations to Maldives.

Adhaalath Party President Sheikh Imran Abdulla and Islamic Minister Sheikh Mohamed Shaheem Ali Saeed were not responding at time of press.

“First Israeli flight”

Speaking to Minivan News, an operations officer at Gan International Airport explained that a large number of private jets routinely fly to Addu City with “rich tourists.” The official stressed that authorisation for the flight to land in the Maldives would have been granted by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA).

Officials from the department were unavailable for comment at the time of press.

Community news site Addu Online meanwhile reported that according to an AIACL official, the private jet arrived on Sunday from Israel after transiting in another country.

The community website claimed that jet was operating under a license granted to the Israeli Amateur Radio Club. According to Addu Online, the private jet was the first flight from Israel to land at the Gan airport.

Speaking to Minivan News in April last year, former Transport Minister Adhil Saleem defended the MDP government’s decision to authorise Israeli flights, arguing that it would create opportunities for both Israeli tourists to visit the country as well as facilitate pilgrimages for Maldivians to the al-Aqsa mosques in Jerusalem, the third holiest site in Islam.

“Some Maldivians see Israel as controversial over the issue of Palestine. Yet Palestine accepts Israel as a state, benchmarking the point that I don’t see why we should not allow these flights.”

Saleem said that the Maldives already played host to a number of Israeli tourists at its resorts and that authorising Israeli airlines would allow for a greater influx of guests to the country’s tourism industry.

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Planning statistics show surge in unhealthy eating

Statistics for Maldives household food expenditure show a disturbing shift towards an “adverse dietary pattern”, with increased intakes of high-fat and sugary products, the Planning Department has revealed.

Health experts in the country have blamed the unhealthy diet of Maldivians for the high prevalence of cardiovascular diseases and metabolic disorders such diabetes among Maldivians, which account for almost 50 percent of the all deaths in the country. The comparative figure for the US is 25 percent.

According to the Household Income and Expenditure Survey, the structure of the Maldivian diet has shifted towards a “higher energy density diet with a greater role for fat and added sugars in foods, greater saturated fat intake, reduced intakes of complex carbohydrates and dietary fiber, and reduced fruit, vegetable and fish intakes.”

Eating less vegetables, fruits and fish

Overall, household expenditure on all the food groups has increased except for fruits and nuts, fish and vegetables.

The food expenditure on fruits and nuts reduced by 41.8 percent in the Maldives, although the percentage of the decline was higher among atolls, where a 45 percent reduction in fruits and nuts was recorded compared to the 30 percent decline in the capital Male’.

Within this group, food expenditure on bananas, tender coconut, papayas, coconut and apples declined by 50 percent or more in in 2010 compared to 2003, while the statistics further flagged a growing trend of substituting natural fruits with preserved or canned fruits.

“The household food expenditure on fruit cocktail and other canned and preserved fruits has increased over the period significantly,” the report read.

Household expenses on vegetables meanwhile recorded a 4 percent decline nationally, although an 18 percent and 33 percent increase was recorded in the atolls and Male’ respectively.

The Planning Department explained that expenditure on vegetables such as breadfruit, curry leaves and green chilli had reduced significantly, while spending on vegetables such as cabbage, onion and other fresh vegetables had “increased significantly.”

The department concluded: “If the changes in the prices are taken into account, in real terms, there is a decline in the household expenditure on fruits and vegetables. It is likely that there is an under-reporting of the consumption of own-produced fruits and vegetables such as breadfruits, green chili, curry leaves, coconut, papaya, etc, particularly in the atolls, as there is a difficulty valuing them in monetary terms.”

In the fish category – the traditional source of food for Maldivians – a net decrease of eight percent was recorded nationally in 2010.

In the same period, the spending patterns shows that eating fish declined by 23 percent in the atolls and in Male’ by 28 percent.

According the Planning department, the decline has most likely been caused by the decline in the overall fish catch since 2007 – therefore, shifting the people’s demand to the available alternative, imported meat.

“The household expenditure on frozen chicken and chicken products increased by 105 percent while the demand for sausages has increased by 306 percent,” the report observed.

“Sugar high”

According to the planning department, the food category that showed a “huge increase” in expenditure was sugar, jam, honey, syrups, chocolate and confectionery.

The major food products in this category that had a huge increase in the household expenditure included ice-creams, accounting to a staggering 4,630 percent increase in 2010, while chocolate increased by 1,071 percent, jelly by 1,332 percent and honey by 719 percent.

Although the planning department’s report does not specify, demand for caffeine, and energy drinks made with high fructose syrups or added sugar is on the rise among young.

Studies have concluded that added sugar is one of the greatest factors in the rise in obesity and other health conditions such as diabetes, tooth decay, poor nutrition and elevated triglycerides.

Furthermore, recent studies have also found eating too much sugar can make people forgetful and potentially cause permanent brain damage.

Meanwhile, spending on spices, short-eats and other snacks such as chicken rings, potato chips, popcorn – high in saturated fats –  increased substantially over the period.

Health concerns

Growing consumption of high-fat and sugary products, combined with behavioral risk factors such as physical inactivity and tobacco use,  has put a high number of people at the risk of non-communicable diseases such as heart and blood-related diseases, diabetes mellitus and other degenerative and chronic diseases, according to health experts.

Statistics from Health Mininstry show that in 2009, a total of 459 people (39 percent) died from circulatory system diseases which includes strokes, placing it at as the most common cause of death among all age groups, followed by respiratory diseases (12.3 percent).

Speaking to Minivan News, Internist Dr Ahmed Razee noted that consumption of healthy foods such as vegetables and fruits never reached the “preference levels” in the Maldives.

“Spending on vegetables or fruits have not declined. In fact, the truth is that it never increased,” Dr Raazee argued. “Junk food is commercially marketed and made available easily while the same thing has not be done for the vegetables and fruits,” he added.

Meanwhile, with unhealthy eating habits more people are in the having high levels of cholesterol and blood glucose, resulting in a higher risk of endocrine abnormalities leading to strokes and metabolic disorders among young people, said Dr Raazee, who has a special interest in diabetes and kidney diseases.

In an earlier interview to Minivan News, Public Health Programme Coordinator for the Center for Community Health and Disease Control (CCHDC), Dr Fathmath Nazla Rafeeq, also observed that malnutrition in the country was “quite alarming” considering the number of medical advances made in the country over the last few years.

Her comments, made on World Health Day, related specifically to fears over the national promotion of healthy diets, including issues of vitamin deficiency in expectant mothers and children, to the consumption of high-calorie junk food and energy drinks by young people.

According to figures published in 2009 by the World Health Organisation (WHO), 17.8 percent of children under five years of age were found to be underweight in the Maldives according to international standards for ascertaining health in young people. The same figures found that 6.5 percent of children were classed as overweight in the country. 20.3 percent of children in the same age group were found to be suffering from ’stunting’, a term describing children suffering growth retardation as a result of poor diet and infection.

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Government and opposition review 100 days since transfer of power

Both President Dr Mohamed Waheed Hassan and former President Mohamed Nasheed held press conferences today marking 100 days since the transfer of power.

One hundred days is a traditional point in politics to look back upon the progress of a chief executive and his administration.

President Waheed drew attention to the areas in which his administration had succeeded where the previous one had failed, while Nasheed focused on the damage he felt was being done to the democratic and economic progress made during his time in office.

Waheed told the media that his efforts of the past 100 days had been to “foster greater unity amongst us” after assuming the presidency at a time of great division.

President’s Office spokesman Abbas Adil Riza said: “The main achievement is that we have maintained a coalition government for 100 days whilst Nasheed could only do so for 21 days.”

Abbas continued to say that the current government had bettered the record of the previous one by running the country lawfully and making all media “totally free” from government. He also said that the maintenance of all public services one of the Waheed government’s primary achievements.

To the contrary, Nasheed argued that social protection programmes and health insurance were being “disrupted” by the new administration.

President Waheed stated this afternoon that the main issue facing the government was now the economy.

Abbas claimed that Dr Waheed’s government had reduced inflation as well as overall state spending in its first one hundred days. The reported budget deficit of 27 percent was due to Rf3-4 billion hidden from public accounts by Nasheed’s government, he alleged.

“The window dressing of the previous days is now coming out,” Abbas said.

International Spokesman for the MDP, Hamid Abdul Ghafoor, argued that the budget deficit, now at around 27 percent of GDP, had been reduced from 40 to 7 percent during Nasheed’s administration.

Nasheed put the figure for the deficit at Rf2.6billion (US$168million) at his press conference.

“Maldivians are concerned and are asking why they have been pushed into destabilisation,” said Nasheed.

Asked what an MDP government would do to bring the deficit down, Ghafoor said that it would stop “unnecessary spending” on things such as allowances for the police and the MNDF, which he claimed have amounted to Rf25 million (US$ 1.6million).

He also stated that the attention of the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Committee (CMAG) was affecting investor confidence: “Being on the CMAG agenda is enough to make investors go out the back door.”

“In order to reduce the deficit,” Ghafoor said, “We would bring back our policies.”

Concerning the plight of Maldivian democracy, Nasheed said that the current government is attempting to curtail people’s freedom of expression and assembly. He noted that around 600 of his supporters had been arrested in the past three months.

Waheed said that he had tried to serve the people as well as he could, and that there was still “lots of work to be done to consolidate democracy”.

CNI

Nasheed declared that the independence of the CNI had been the greatest achievement of the MDP’s 100 days in opposition, whereas Abbas described “solving the political crisis with the Commonwealth” as one of the major achievements of Waheed’s first 100 days in office.

Both press conferences saw mention of the CNI, which this week appears to have moved towards consensual reforms after pressure from the Commonwealth brought opposing sides closer to agreement on who should sit on the commission.

The CMAG’s strong urgings for changes in the commission’s membership, in order to improve its independence and impartiality, resulted in an agreement with government this week that the CNI be expanded to include an experienced judge from the Commonwealth, to act as co-chair, as well as a further member to be nominated by Nasheed.

As the Commonwealth’s special envoy Sir Donald McKinnon departed, caveats to this arrangement were introduced by the government.

The conditions for Nasheed’s appointee were set as follows: they must not have served in a political position in the past two years, must not have taken a public stand on the transfer of power, and must “be of good behavior and integrity”.

Minivan News is awaiting a response from the Commonwealth as to whether it had endorsed these conditions.

At his press conference, President Waheed said that the issue had now been resolved and he wished to move forward.

Nasheed told those in attendance at Male City Hall that the he now had full confidence in the work of the CNI, which is scheduled to carry out its investigation between June 1 and the end of July.

Previously, the MDP had refused to work with the CNI, partly because of the presence of Ismail Shafeeu, formerly Defense Minister during the Presidency of Maumoon Gayoom.

Nasheed said today that he expected Ismail Shafeeu, currently the head of the commission, to step down before the new set of investigations begin. He said that he expected Ahmed Mujuthaba, currently the convener of the all-party roadmap talks, to replace him.

The government has stated that it will appoint a lawyer to the final place on the board if no suitable appointee is agreed upon by June 1.

Nasheed added that the new terms of reference for the CNI authorised the commission examine phone records, bank account statements, photos, videos, and also to send cases to be prosecuted.

There still remains great potential for discord over the CNI even as both sides profess their satisfaction with the arrangement.

Even as the government’s team met with the Commonwealth representative in Male’, President Waheed was declaring his deep dissatisfaction with the organisation’s actions to the Indian media whilst on an official visit.

A similar dichotomy appears in the statements of the opposition, who have expressed confidence in the new structure of the commission while at the same time making clear their great displeasure at the conditions being imposed upon their nominee.

“The government is being unfairly proscriptive,” said Ghafoor, who argued that the former president did not see any reason why his prospective nominees had been rejected.

The MDP has reported that nine Nasheed nominees have already failed to win the government’s approval.

“Now [the government] wants to decide who will represent Nasheed? This is a bit too much,” said Ghafoor.

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Civil Court orders JSC to submit all documents related to Judge Abdulla’s misconduct

Civil Court Judge Maryiam Nihayath has ordered the Judicial Services Commission (JSC) to submit all documents relating to the ethical misconduct of Chief Criminal Court Judge Abdulla Mohamed, in a case filed by the judge last year to halt his further investigation by the judicial watchdog.

At the hearing held today, Judge Nihayath ordered the judicial watchdog to submit by next Thursday all documents and relevant video recordings , local media reported.

Speaking at the court, Judge Abdulla’s lawyer Ibrahim Riza, who is also the MP for Guraidhoo constituency, said that it was not legally appropriate to consider that his client was guilty of misconduct just because the JSC had decided it.

Riza told the court that the JSC’s decision on his client’s misconduct was taken following a statement Judge Abdulla made in an interview with private broadcaster channel ‘DhiTV’. The persons who interviewed Judge Abdulla had told the JSC that they did not know if he had made the comments implying political bias, Riza said.

Judge Maryiam Nihayath said that after the documents were submitted, a further hearing would be held before the verdict was delivered, local media reported.

Abdulla Mohamed filed the suit against the JSC after it completed a report into misconduct allegations against the Chief Judge last year.

According to the report, which the JSC has not yet publicly released, Abdulla Mohamed violated the Judge’s Code of Conduct by making a politically biased statement in an interview with DhiTV.

Following the JSC’s decision to take action against Abdulla Mohamed, he filed a case against the JSC in the Civil Court requesting that it invalidate the JSC’s report, claiming that DhiTV took his statement out of context.

According to the JSC, a total of 11 complaints have been submitted to the commission against Judge Abdulla Mohamed.

In 2005, then Attorney General Dr Hassan Saeed – now advisor to President Mohamed Waheed – forwarded to the President’s Office concerns about the conduct of Abdulla Mohamed.

Among the allegations in Dr Saeed’s letter was one that Judge Abdulla had requested an underage victim of sexual abuse reenact her abuse for the court, in the presence of the perpetrator.

Following Judge Abdulla’s obtaining of a Civil Court injunction late last year blocking his further investigation by the judicial watchdog, the President’s Office accused him of “taking the entire judiciary in his fist”, alleging that he was a threat to national security and ordering  his detention by the Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF).

Nasheed’s government listed 14 cases of obstruction of police duty by Judge Abdulla, including withholding warrants for up to four days, ordering police to conduct unlawful investigations, disregarding decisions by higher court, “deliberately” holding up cases involving opposition figures, barring media from corruption trials, maintaining “suspicious ties” with family members of convicts sentenced for dangerous crimes, ordering the release of suspects detained for serious crimes “without a single hearing”, actively undermining cases against drug trafficking suspects, “accepting bribes to release convicts”, “twisting and interpreting laws so they could not be enforced against certain politicians”, deciding that he alone could issue search warrants, arbitrarily suspending court officers, and releasing a murder suspect “in the name of holding ministers accountable”, who went on to kill another victim.

Opposition parties began a series of protests calling for the release of the judge, appealing to groups such as Amnesty International and the International Criminal Court, claiming the judge had been abducted and that Nasheed had violated international treaties.

The High Court and the Supreme Court ordered the release of Judge Abdulla, but the orders were dismissed by the MNDF.

On February 7 Nasheed was ousted from power after a group of police and military allied with opposition demonstrators, assaulting the main MNDF base and storming the state broadcaster while opposition politicians gathered in police headquarters. Nasheed subsequently resigned, later claiming that this was under duress, and the Criminal Court issued a warrant for his arrest.

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Maldives facing worst economic situation in recent history: MMA Governor

The Maldives is facing its worst economic crisis in recent memory, the governor of the country’s central bank said earlier this week.

“The Maldives is now in a dangerous economic situation never before seen in recent history,” local media reported Governor of the Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA), Dr Fazeel Najeeb, as saying during a ‘Finance Forum’ held by the Pension Administration office on Bandos Island Resort.

“Expenditure in the country has exceeded income, and as a result the budget deficit is increasing. From November 2010 inflation has also been going up,” he said.

The country last year spent 63.1 percent of its GDP on state expenses, Dr Najeeb claimed, adding that only four countries had worse percentages, including Cuba and Zimbabwe.

Parliament’s Finance Committee revealed earlier this month that expected revenue for 2012 had plunged 23 percent – a shortfall of US$168.6 million, leaving the country with a budget deficit of 27 percent. Key unaccounted losses include up to US$135 million in land lease payments due to policy reinterpretation, and around US$8 million a quarter in airport concession fees due to a Civil Court ruling blocking the levying of an airport development charge.

Government spending for the year has meanwhile increased by almost 24 percent, to a total of US$1.13 billion. Spending unaccounted for in the 2012 budget following the controversial change of government of February 7 has included the promotion of a third of the police force, lump sum payments to military personnel, US$6.5 million in fishing subsidies, reimbursement of US$28.8 in civil servant salaries following cuts by the previous administration, the creation of two new ministries, and the hiring of international PR firms to counter negative publicity.

President Dr Mohamed Waheed Hassan meanwhile reported this week that India had granted the Maldives a US$25 million increase in credit facility, on top of a US$100 million facility extended in November 2011.

Figures from the MMA’s monthly economic review in April show projected GDP growth of 5.5 percent this year, down from 7.5 percent last year, but are drawn from the 2012 budget and do not account for the increase in expenditure highlighted by the Finance Committee.

However, “key indicators of the tourism sector showed declines as tourist arrivals fell in both monthly and annual terms during the month of March 2012. The decrease in arrivals mainly came from China although arrivals from Europe were also slightly lower,” the MMA noted, observing that tourist bed nights also declined.

The government said earlier this month it would hold industry consultations with the tourism sector as to how the additional revenue might be raised, and present recommendations from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which included doubling the Tourism Goods and Services Tax (TGST) to 12 percent, according to Tourism Minister Ahmed Adheeb.

Minivan News spoke to several resort managers, who reacted poorly to the proposal.

“If we were to increase now, we’d – again – have to absorb all of it until new contracts with tour operators set in, some time in March 2013,” one manager told Minivan News.

“An increase on sales prices on the resort by way of adding on the GST – as any other increase – will be felt a lot more by resorts such as ours with a more price sensitive clientele, than by many of the upper market properties. How this will affect the country as a whole – rising prices, inflation, etc – and its effect also on tourism, is anybody’s guess,” the manager added.

The situation had led to a “feeling of insecurity” among many stakeholders in the industry, the manager said.

“Taxes, charges, rent-fees – nobody will dare a prediction for in two months from now let alone for next year,” he said. “This is not limited to possible financial burdens but is also true for other areas: infrastructure, industry projections, etc.”

Another resort manager said that any increase to the TGST, particularly if it was sudden, would have “serious ramifications on many of the markets.”

“Some operators will not accept the increase mid-contract and hence resorts will have to absorb this from revenue,” the manager explained. ”The additional costs will need to be balanced somewhere in the operation.”

The manager expressed frustration that resorts were being asked to shoulder the country’s financial burdens without any commitment from the government to reduce expenditure.

“We have seen an increase in some public services salaries and a reduction of working hours in many government departments who are meant to serve the resorts. Many of these government departments already make it difficult for the resorts to do their jobs, with bureaucracy and rules to keep extra people in a job rather than making it easier to support the resorts in order to do their job: build more business, increase revenue and hence increase GST [revenue] in a positive manner. An increase in GST right now is the wrong solution.”

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“National Enquiry Commission – a process not an end,” Dr Hassan Saeed

Constitutional debate is vital to resolve the Maldives’ current political turmoil, but it should not dominate the agenda of the country’s politicians “to the exclusion of all else”, writes Dr Hassan Saeed for local newspaper Haveeru.

I have spent much of the last week in discussions about the National Enquiry Commission which of course has implications for the next Presidential election. And these are important issues. But their respective outcomes won’t by themselves solve all of our country’s problems.  At present, ‘normal’ politics is on hold whilst differing interpretations of the events leading up to and including February 7 swamp any other political dialogue.

I have already written about the issues that I believe will dominate the next election campaign. I believe voters will want to know which candidate and which party is most likely to deliver economic security and a better standard of living for themselves and their families.

So whilst the constitutional debate is vital and must be resolved we simply cannot afford for it to continue to dominate our political agenda to the exclusion of all else.

Anybody who wants to lead a country in the future needs to be able to finish the sentence ‘I will bring peace, stability and prosperity, to the Maldives by the following actions…….‘

We need to be offered a convincing scenario that credibly describes how the Maldives might move forward as a united country.

Will the outcome of the National Enquiry Commission bring some sort of closure?

Well it should help but it won’t be enough by itself. The views of activists on either side of this debate are so polarised that it’s hard to see how this could heal the divide.

The divisions in our country involve our hearts as much as our rational minds. There are some who will never change their views no matter what the outcome of the National Enquiry Commission is.

Read More

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PPM MP Ilham Ahmed stands by Commonwealth withdrawal bill

Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) MP Ilham Ahmed has told local media that there has been no “consideration” to remove a bill from parliament to renounce the Maldives’ membership in the Commonwealth.

Ilham was reported in Haveeru yesterday as claiming that a parliamentary motion to leave the Commonwealth would not be retracted without first holding discussions with President Dr Mohamed Waheed Hassan, the PPM and the Dhivehi Qaumee Party (DQP).

The bill was forwarded by Ilham and Dhivehi Qaumee Party (DQP) MP Riyaz Rasheed last month over allegations that the intergovernmental association was working to “protect the interests” of one party in the country without understanding the “reality” of February’s controversial transfer of power.

The Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group (GMAG) has increased pressure over the last few months on the Maldives government to revise the composition and mandate of an independent commission established to ascertain the nature and legitimacy of how President Waheed came to power on February 7.

During a visit to India this week President Waheed said he would not back proposals to withdraw from the Commonwealth, despite expressing disappointment with CMAG’s statements regarding the transfer of power.

Dr Waheed told media that he believed any bill to renounce membership in the intergovernmental organisation would be dismissed as soon as the Majlis returned from recess.

The bill to leave the Commonwealth has also been criticised by the leader of the government-aligned Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP), Ahmed Thasmeen Ali .

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Dhiraagu eyes fundraising push with 2012 road race launch

Dhiraagu has this week launched its 2012 Broadband Road Race, which will be held in Male’ on June 29 under the banner of the local telecoms group’s corporate social responsibility programme.

The road race, which organisers claim is the largest running event in the country’s athletic calender, is now in its sixth year.

According to the company, some 1,500 runners – made up of professional athletes, fun runners, local and multinational business, schools and sport teams – were estimated to have participated in last year’s race.

Speaking to media at the launch of this year’s event at Male’s Nasandhura Palace Hotel yesterday, Dhiraagu representatives said the company hoped for an even bigger turnout in 2012. The race is organised in collaboration with the Athletics Association of the Maldives.

Dhiraagu spokesperson Imjad Jaleel told Minivan News that aside from serving as an official event in the country’s athletic calender for both professional and amateur runners, the race was primarily devised by the company to support fund-raising initiatives for local issues.

“There are real concerns here about issues of domestic violence and child abuse, we hope that charities can use this event for fundraising as well as raising awareness of their work locally,” he said.

Jaleel stressed that the road race had been devised by the company in 2007 additionally as a means to promote healthier lifestyles in the country.

“Due to the lack of space in Male’, it was not possible to host an official marathon as participants would have to run around Male’ five or six times,” he added.

Company role

Communications Manager Mohamed Mirshan Hassan told local media that aside from devising and hosting the race, Dhiraagu’s fund raising commitments were based on encouraging its staff to play a more personal role.

“We see this event more as a social platform for NGO s to raise funds as well as awareness of their campaigns,” he said. “However, senior colleagues from Dhiraagu ran last years event raising about Rf80,000 between them. This is a good example for others in how the event can be used for fund-raising.”

The company estimated that about one hundred of its employees are expected to participate in the race this year, reflecting strong “personal support” for the event.

Dhiraagu claimed during yesterday’s launch that it was also looking to work with sponsors and athletic associations to further increase the scale of the event by increasing the number of participants taking part in the 2012 race.

Organisers said they will also be providing prizes in several different categories for both male and female amateur and professional runners. Schools, sports clubs, NGOs and resort operators are also being invited to take part in the race.

Professional and amateur runners will be competing for respective cash prises, with other awards being presented to the most successful teams and schools. Special accolades will also be given for the oldest participant in the run.

More information on the race, as well as online application forms for both individual and team participants can be found on the event’s official site.

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