Several roads in the southeast of Male’ will be closed for the public for a special ceremony on Sunday ‘Dharubaaruge’ to mark the 44th Republic Day of the Maldives.
Some of the main roads that will be closed include fuel shed area on Boduthakurufaanu Magu, the area where Ameenee Magu and Boduthakurufaanu Magu meets, Moonlight Hingun, the end where Janavaree Magu and Buruzu Magu meets.
Police said any other road that has to be closed due to any reason will be closed, and thanked the people for their cooperation and apologised to the people for any inconvenience caused due to the closure of these roads.
Meanwhile, the Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) has set up a huge stage at the Republican Square to perform a musical event as a celebration of Republic Day.
Former President of the Maldives Mohamed Nasheed has also issued a statement sending greetings to all Maldivians.
The Maldives declared Republic on 11 November 1968, ending the 853 year-old monarchy. The monarchy was replaced by a republic under the presidency of President Ibrahim Nasir.
The official name of the country was then changed from ‘Maldive Islands’ to the ‘Maldives.’
On 15 March 1968 a national referendum was held on the question with 93.34 percent of those taking part voted in favor of establishing a republic.
Two regional harbours in the Maldives are to be taken over by Maldives Ports Limited (MPL), it has been announced.
CEO of MPL, Mahdhy Imad, said both Gan and Kulhudhuffushi harbours were not being maintained properly and will not develop if the current model continues to be followed.
Speaking to SunOnline, he said: “Because we would be able to operate them better, we have decided to take over them. We will not make much profit from them.”
According to Imad, the harbours will be made independent only after they can stand on their own two feet, and there will be no changes made to the prices of services.
“Because we are experiencing tough times economically, we plan to stick to the current model and same fees, and move forward slowly,” he added.
Religious NGO Jamiyythul Salaf has announced the organisation is planning a special event next Thursday for children, hosted by former singer Ali Rameez and Ahmed Simau.
The NGO said that the event will be named ‘Banoon’ and will be held at the Artificial Beach from 4:00pm to 5:30pm.
The event includes religious poems, advice from Sheikhs, dramas and stories. In addition, during the event children will be given gifts and the opportunity to show their talents on stage.
Salaf has appealed to all parents to participate.
On the same night, Salaf said there will be Q&A program for adults based on the topic ‘Faith and Salah’.
The program will start at 9:00pm and will end at 11:00pm. Five Sheikhs will be on the panel to answer the questions by attendees.
Taxi drivers across Male are set to go on strike on Monday in protest of the Transport Ministry’s decision to issue stickers on illegally parked vehicles.
Abdulla Ibrahim, who is leading the protest, highlighted the lack of parking spaces in the capital, alleging the government is going ahead with the idea without a proper plan.
According to Mr Ibrahim, taxi centres will not accept the Transport Ministry’s decision to issue stickers under the current circumstances.
Speaking to Haveeru Online, he said: “There is no room to park cars. If we park the car for breakfast, there will be a sticker. There will be a sticker for afternoon and evening, we will have to spend a lot of money.
“We will gather at Raalhugandu Area and from there we will go to the Transport Ministry with posters and banners.”
9292 Taxi Centre has said that four pickup centres and nine taxi centres will participate in the protest.
According to the Transport Authority, stickers issued on illegally parked cars will carry a fine of MVR 250 (US$16) for the first, MVR 500 (US$32) for the second and MVR 750 (US$48) for each following sticker.
Additional reporting by Mohamed Naahii and Mariyath Mohamed.
The government has distanced itself from comments made at a rally on Friday by President’s Office Spokesperson Abbas Adil Riza, after his attacks against Indian High Commissioner D M Mulay were picked up and widely reported in Indian media.
During a rally organised by parties of the ruling coalition, calling for the seizure and nationalisation of Ibrahim Nasir International Airport (INIA) from Indian infrastructure giant GMR, Riza described Mulay as a “traitor and enemy of the Maldives and the Maldivian people”, accusing him of taking bribes and threatening the government.
“Trade between the Maldives and India reaches billions. Indian tycoons have the biggest share in Maldives tourism. Indian people are deepest in Maldivian business. We have to protect the businesses of those who import and sell potatoes and onions from India. We also have to protect the businesses of those who import gravel and sand from India. It should not be GMR that [Mulay] should take into account,” Riza declared.
Riza alleged that Mulay had been using his influence as the High Commissioner to threaten the Maldivian government, following the calls against GMR.
“Today, like someone who has chilli smoke on his eyes, like someone who has ants at his feet who is threatening us Maldivians, the Indian ambassador here has forgotten what his job here in Maldives is. We are not in the mood to allow him to commit the crimes he is committing in our country,” he told to crowd.
“I saw two folks who work in the Indian embassy go out of [this gathering] talking to a Bangladeshi. They asked him to take photos of the gathering. When this Bangladeshi was here taking photos, I confronted him and asked who are you to take photos? He then said his name was Aboobakr. I told him to leave immediately, just the way I am saying GMR must also leave immediately,” Riza said.
Riza added that the Maldives and India will always remain “good friends” and that the people of Maldives are so interconnected with Indians, but the “problem is that there are a few Indian traitors who take bribes”.
“A diplomat’s job is to work for his country and people and not to protect the interests of one private company… He is a traitor and enemy of Maldives and Maldivian people. We don’t want these kind of diplomats on our soil,” Riza said.
“Today we are also calling on for something else. On the day when we get GMR out of the Maldives, Mulay must also get out of here!”
Following several nights of poorly-attended rallies at the artificial beach, Minivan News observed more than a thousand present on Friday.
Noticing an expatriate in attendance reading a copy of local Dhivehi newspaper Haveeru, Minivan News asked what he was doing: “Boss asked me to look Maldivian,” the expatriate replied.
Riza’s comments were widely reported in Indian media.
Television channel Times Now described the “vicious targeting of the Indian envoy as leaving “a bitter taste”, and sparking a “huge diplomatic row”.
The remarks were quickly met with concern and condemnation by the Indian High Commission, which issued a statement dismissing the Presidential spokesperson’s allegations as being “against the diplomatic protocol”.
“We have told the government of Maldives that settling issues of huge mutual interest cannot be done on public space or on stage. This has to be done through discussion,” the High Commission said in a statement.
The Indian High Commission also made it clear that India would safeguard its interests including the investments of Indian companies.
“Similarly, all agreements signed by the previous governments will also be safeguarded and as such we have expressed our concern in very strong words to the government of Maldives. And we have also conveyed that India would safeguard the country’s interest, including these related to our investment,” it added.
The statement noted that the government’s issues with GMR were now the subject of arbitration in Singapore.
“If arbitration fails they (GMR and the government of Maldives) could find mutually accepted recourse either by going to the court of law or may be finding other mechanism available,” the High Commission stated, noting that President Waheed had personally given assurances to Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh that all the Indian investments, including GMR, would be protected and safeguarded.
“Our relations have been very strong and lot of goodwill have been invested in it. India is the Maldives’ largest investment partner, India is the largest technical and capacity building partner. India’s trade, aid and development partnership is also the biggest one,” the statement concluded.
Maldivian government retreats
Following complaints from the Indian government, the Maldivian government issued a statement on Saturday dissociating itself from comments made by Riza “and some other government officials, at a gathering held last evening against the involvement of GMR in the Ibrahim Nasir International Airport.”
“The gathering was organised by certain political parties including some members of the public. The views expressed at the gathering by Mr Abbas Adil Riza, though his own views, are regrettable, and do not reflect the views of the Government of Maldives, particularly those made against the Indian High Commissioner to the Maldives Mr D. M. Mulay,” the statement added.
Media Secretary of President’s Office, Masood Imad, told local newspaper Haveeru that Riza could have made the statements in a more “diplomatic way” and added that the Ministry of Foreign affairs has begun looking into Riza’s statements.
Political parties on both sides of the political divide, including the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) and even Riza’s own Jumhoree Party (JP), condemned his remarks.
The DRP in a statement claimed that party was of the view that the government and President Waheed should both apologise to Mulay and that such concerns should be raised in a more “ethical” and “diplomatic” manner.
JP Leader Gasim Ibrahim stated that Riza’s comments “go against the international standards of diplomacy, we are saddened by it and condemn it.”
The MDP also released a statement condemning Riza’s remarks, adding that the “baseless criminal accusations” were “highly concerning”.
“These undiplomatic, irresponsible, vulgar statements made towards a high-ranking diplomat of a neighbouring nation were initiated by the President’s spokesperson at a public gathering that was televised nationwide. MDP further condemns in the strongest terms, the similar public statements made by the president of a political party and by other political leaders at the gathering,” the party said.
MDP Chairperson ‘Reeko’ Moosa Manik and former Former National Security Advisor Ameen Faisal in May alleged that Mulay had played down the tumultuous political turmoil and change of government on February 7 as an “internal matter”, despite being able to “see what was happening from his window. The whole coup was being telecast live. As a diplomat, he should’ve known that the whole country was in chaos.”
“[Mulay] became so powerful that he started behaving like the prime minister and not a high commissioner,” said Manik.
“In early 2011, we felt that Mulay was drifting away from the MDP. He wanted to meet leaders of opposition parties. He wanted to be invited to all official functions that took place in Maldives. He was invited to many government functions, but not all. We found that a lot of companies were coming [to the country] for business through Mulay. We were floating tenders for big projects. He would act like a middleman,” Manik alleged to Open magazine.
“Mulay would visit various [Maldivian] islands with his Indian friends, many of them businessmen. The government did not know who they were. Mulay has good connections with opposition parties, particularly Gayoom’s party,” he further claimed.
India’s Ministry of External Affairs responded at the time: “We do not think it is appropriate to bring our High Commissioner into the discourse. He enjoys our full confidence,” while Mulay himself at dismissed the allegations as “completely baseless, a flight of fancy.”
Cash-strapped Maldives turns to India
Friday’s diplomatic incident follows urgent warnings from Finance Minister Abdulla Jihad in late October that the Maldives would be unable to pay state salaries for the rest of the year without a further US$25 million loan from the Indian government.
The US$25 million was agreed upon in September as part of the $US100 million standby credit facility signed with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in November 2011.
Jihad told local media at the time that he believed the loan was being delayed due to the ongoing controversy over GMR’s development of INIA.
Since coming to power Waheed’s government has committed to reimbursing civil servants for wage reductions made during the austerity measures of the previous government, amounting to Rf443.7 million (US$28.8 million), to be disbursed in monthly instalments over 12 months from July.
The overall deficit for government expenditure has already reached over MVR 2billion (US$129 million). Jihad told the Majlis’ Finance Committee that he expected this figure to rise to MVR 6 billion (US$387million) by year’s end – 28 percent of GDP – alleging that the previous government left unpaid bills equal to over one third of this anticipated deficit.
Former Minister of Economic Development Mahmood Razee told Minivan News that this increased expenditure in the face of a pre-existing deficit represented the government “ignoring reality.”
Officials involved in the Apex Realty housing development project – a joint venture between developers SG18 and Indian super-conglomerate TATA – told the Standard that the government was attempting to take over the site in Male’ given to the company, with the intention of building a new Supreme Court.
“A recent meeting held with the Maldivian Housing Minister is said to have ended abruptly with officials from the firm and the Indian High Commission being asked to leave,” the Standard reported.
GMR has meanwhile been forced to halt construction of the new terminal by the new government. Assorted parties now in the ruling coalition had opposed the handling of its concession agreement to manage and develop INIA while in opposition.
The company has previously sought to downplay its issues with the government in the media, however “public statements and press conferences of some government ministers and coalition party leaders are clearly aimed at arousing public sentiments against GMR and creating undue challenges for us,” the company told the Standard.
“To gain political advantage, some elements of the government itself have started hampering the smooth functioning and development of the airport,” the company added.
The comments follow a US$2.2 million bill handed to the government’s side of the airport contract – the Maldives Airports Company Limited (MACL) – following a third quarter in which the airport developer deducted the airport development charge (ADC) stipulated in its contract from concession fees due the state – the consequence of a Civil Court ruling in September won by the Dhivehi Qaumee Party (DQP) while in opposition.
In the first quarter of 2012 the government received US$525,355 of an expected US$8.7 million, after the deduction of the ADC. That was followed by a US$1.5 million bill for the second quarter, after the ADC payable eclipsed the revenue due the government.
Combined with the third quarter payment due, the government now owes the airport developer US$3.7 million.
The International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) has rubbished claims by the state-owned Maldives Ports Limited (MPL) that the company has allayed the organisation’s concerns over the alleged infringement of employee rights.
The ITF, a global trade union representing 4.5 million transport workers across 154 countries, said it continued to share concerns raised by the Maldives Ports Workers Union (MPWU) over alleged rights abuses by MPL management. As a result the ITF has begun calls for international solidarity action by its worldwide members after a perceived failure by the MPL and the government to address the alleged rights issues.
Earlier this year, the MPWU, which represents staff employed at the MPL, accused the state-owned company of violating employee rights over, alleging amongst other concerns, that it had unfairly dismissed four employees due to their political activism.
Disputes between the MPWU and the MPL later escalated to a point where the trade union back in September accused the state corporation of forming a “paper union” to shove aside the alleged violations of employee rights.
MPL has denied all the accusations, claiming that the staff members in question were disciplined on the basis of “disobedience” and “punctuality” in line with national employment regulations.
MPL CEO Mahdi Imad told Minivan News on Wednesday (November 7) that the state-owned company had also responded to the ITF, which it said later “apologised” over having raised the issue without checking facts.
However, the ITF has rubbished the claims, maintaining that it had so far had no reply from the MPL regarding the concerns. The global trade union said therefore it dismissed the state-owned company’s assumption it had “won us over”.
“That’s rubbish. There has been no attempt by MPL and the government to address what’s happening to dockers in the Maldives, and in fact what’s happening in the country at large,” an ITF spokesperson told Minivan News. The trade union group said it would now be stepping up pressure on the MPL and the Maldives government should negotiations with the MPWU not be forthcoming.
After having sent two letters to President Mohamed Waheed Hassan, the ITF announced Thursday (November 9) that it was now calling on the government to intervene over “union intimidation” or “face embarrassment wrought by widespread international solidarity action”.
ITF General Secretary David Cockroft said the organisation was calling for a real “dialogue and conciliation process with MPWU” that can lead to a negotiation settlement with the union’s members.
“Members of the union have been fighting off victimisation by the MPL in a campaign to prevent them from participating in union activities; union leaders have also been dismissed,” the ITF has claimed “These actions run counter to the government’s own employment legislation and constitution as well as International Labour Organization (ILO) conventions.”
MPWU representatives, alongside a delegation from the national union centre, were said to have held a meeting with President Waheed last Monday (November 5), though the ITF added that the ports union had failed to receive any “adequate assurances”.
“As a result the MPWU, with support from the ITF, has vowed to step up its campaign,” a statement on the trade union’s website read.
President’s Office spokesperson Masood Imad told Minivan News today that as the MPL was a public company, the government “don’t look into issues like this”.
“These companies are totally independent, we appoint a managing director and the CEOs, but it is the board that makes decision,” he added, referring enquiries on the matter to the MPL.
Workplace disruption
Despite the stance being take by the ITF, MPL CEO Mahdi stressed that workers alleging to have been dismissed on political grounds were actually punished for creating “disruption” in the workplace.
He contended that the workers behind the allegations still had the options of taking their cases to the country’s employment tribunal to resolve any grievances that the company would then have to abide by.
Mahdi claimed that workers dismissed under previous MPL management in 2009 and 2010 had under similar circumstances been reinstated under his stewardship, as well as receiving compensation.
“These people who have been disciplined, they know a tribunal would not come out in their favour,” he said.
Mahdi also vehemently denied that he operated the MPL in a politically motivated manner, adding that the company was run in a “very technical” manner that respected due process.
“I will challenge anybody who says we are politically motivated, I believe no one has a bigger right than anyone else,” he added.
Mahdi alleged that one of the dismissed workers who had gone onto make accusations about political motivation had come into his own office and shouted at him, adding that billions of companies allowed the world would discipline such actions by staff of a senior representative.
“This is work disruption, no one is allowed to break work regulations like this. Belittling and scolding me when I’m on the street in public is ok. But here in the work place they must show me respect,” he said. “I can understand that because of the lower education of some of these people that they don’t understand this.”
Mahdi said that in the present time, the entire country had become deeply politicised even seemingly down to a person’s choice of branded bottled water.
However, he rejected accusations the MPL management were politically motivated in their roles.
Mahdi accepted that with the change of government in February, top positions within state owned companies had changed, though this was the nature of political positions under each successive government and would continue to remain so.
“These are not dismissals,” he said.
Madhi said that despite sending several letters to the President’s Office, all concerns raised by the ITF had been resolved and were solely the result of the efforts of a handful of dismissed staff to try and
“There are no issues with ITF, these have been resolved, it is just two guys going to [Minivan News] and you coming to us,” he said.
“Fabricate the truth”
Earlier this year, sacked MPL employee and President of the MPWU, Ibrahim Khaleel, alleged that the MPL was trying to “fabricate the truth” about the violations of worker rights.
In a letter on July 12 to MPL CEO Mahdi Imad, Chairperson of the MPWU Ibrahim Khaleel said: “Although the constitution guarantees freedom of expression and freedom of assembly, it is now common within MPL to stop employees from expressing certain political views, and violate the Employment Act by unfairly dismissing employees and transferring employees to different departments without prior warning or explanation of any offence committed.”
Speaking to Minivan News, Khaleel said the company mainly targeted employees who supported the ousted Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP).
“They send people with cameras to MDP protests to check which MPL employees take part in the protests,” Khaleel said.
In addition to the four employees who have been dismissed at the time, 30 had intially been suspended and 10 have been transferred from their position at the Malé port to Thilafushi Island port, Khaleel claimed.
Scientists have witnessed a “promising” recovery in the coral reefs around the Maldives, a recent survey has revealed.
The results show that some reefs now have more live coral cover than before the catastrophic El Niño bleaching event in 1998, which killed 95 percent of the country’s reefs – a key attraction for foreign tourists.
The project was set up by international conservation non-profit organisation Biosphere Expeditions. Scientists from the UK-based Marine Conservation Society (MCS) and the Maldives Marine Research Centre (MRC) surveyed areas known to have suffered from heavy bleaching.
The reef check conducted in September showed that many badly damaged reefs have recovered to populations in excess of 60 percent live coral. On one site, the survey team found there was more coral cover now than there was in 1997.
The latest findings follow a severe case of coral bleaching in 2010, when the MRC reported a resurgence of coral bleaching following a prolonged sea temperature rise.
The project found that the isolated, offshore and cleaner waters of the Maldives appeared to offer better conditions for coral recovery – contrasting findings published from the Great Barrier Reef, which noted that coral cover had reduced by more than 50 percent in the last 27 years.
Lead scientist for the project, MCS Biodiversity Officer Dr Jean-Luc Solandt, said: “Although our surveys aren’t as comprehensive in scale and number as those from the Great Barrier Reef, we have witnessed a promising recovery in the reefs we’ve visited.
“The number of chronic impacts to the reefs of the Maldives are fewer than those to the Great Barrier Reef, and that has probably resulted in this more positive response to the initial bleaching event die-off in the sites we visited in Ari Atoll.”
The focus of this year’s project was to undertake reef check surveys in areas first surveyed before and during the El Niño bleaching in 1998.
Meaning ‘little boy’ in Spanish, El Niño is a phenomenon which damaged more than 95 per cent of the Maldives’ reefs following three months of unusually high seawater temperatures that year.
Even the slightest rise in water temperature can put stress on the coral, causing it to lose its colour and turn white, before eventually dying.
Coral bleaching was named as one of the three main causes of coral death, along with outbreaks of coral-eating starfish and damage from major storms.
Despite the findings, Dr Solandt warned conservationists and stakeholders in the Maldives that they cannot afford to be complacent.
“There is over-fishing of large predatory fish and further ocean warming events on the horizon, and some of the reefs nearer to Male’ appear not to have recovered as extensively as those further afield,” he added.
Founder and Executive Director of Biosphere Expeditions Dr Matthias Hammer said that whatever the current state of the Maldive’s reefs, the future outlook was important.
“Even though the Maldive’s reefs are generally in waters of excellent purity from man-made pollutants and are seldom hit by coral-damaging storms or attacks by coral eating starfish, the consistently high sea temperatures, averaging 29 degrees Celsius, around the Maldives could lead to bleaching once again if temperatures reach over 30 degrees for any length of time,” he noted.
Environment Minister Dr Mariyam Shakeela was not responding at time of press.
Employees working under the health corporations have been transferred to the civil service from the first of November.
According to local media reports, the Health Ministry informed all health corporations across the country that their employees would be transferred to the Civil Service last week.
However, reports suggested that health corporations have not been yet abolished and the framework of employees in the corporations have not been adjusted to that of the Civil Service.
According officials from health corporations, the new change would mean that wages of employees would be adjusted in accordance with the wages set for the civil servants by the Civil Service Commission (CSC), although a decision on the matter is yet to be made.
The decision to transfer all the employees of health corporations came following discussion in cabinet.
The Islamic Ministry has said it will form the “Maldivian People’s Hajj Fund”, an institution that will work to provide affordable pilgrimage services.
In a press conference Islamic Affairs Minister Mohamed Shaheem Ali Saeed said the purpose of the institution was to provide people with the opportunity to go on the hajj, by paying a smaller amount of money.
He also added that work was under way in preparing the documents needed to be presented to the cabinet to discuss the matter.
Shaheem added that he had already discussed about the proposal with President Mohamed Waheed Hassan and Finance Minister Abdulla Jihad.
Shaheem further said that even if a person deposited money to the fund, it would not necessarily mean that he would be granted with a placement from the quota of pilgrimages that the Maldives receives from Saudi Arabia.
According to the Minister, the institution would be formed on the principles of a similar institution set up in Malaysia.
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