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Addu High School wins Zayed Future Energy Prize

Addu High School has been awarded the Zayed Future Energy Prize (ZFEP) for its achievements in promoting renewable energy and sustainability.

The US$100,000 reward – announced at an award ceremony in Adu Dhabi yesterday evening – was given after the school installed a 2.8kW solar project last year using funds from the UN’s Global Environment Facility Small Grants Programme.

The school is now hoping to expand to a 45kW installation that will provide 100 percent of the school’s energy needs by the end of 2015.

“Currently, the school takes most of its power from the electricity grid. The aim of the project is to save the school money, earn money from the sale of surplus power and raise awareness of clean energy and sustainable development among pupils,” explained the prize’s official website.

The ZFEP was launched in 2008 by Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, to commemorate the environmental advocacy of his father – himself posthumously awarded the UN’s Champions of the Earth award in 2005.

The annual US$4million prize fund is divided into five categories: large corporations, small and medium enterprises, NGOs, lifetime achievement awards, and global high schools.

US$500,000 for the high schools is divided into five US$100,000 awards for schools in the the Americas, Europe, Africa, Oceania, Asia, with Addu High School chosen ahead of schools in Abu Dhabi, Sri Lanka, and India.

The jury of selectors included Icelandic President Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson, Virgin Group founder Sir Richard Branson, and former South Korean Prime Minister Dr Han Seung-Soo, as well former Maldivian President Mohamed Nasheed.

“ZFEP’s achievements would surely bring tears of happiness to all Maldivians. Congratulations to Addu High School,” tweeted Nasheed.

Nasheed also congratulated former US Vice President Al Gore, who received the ZFEP lifetime achievement award yesterday.

Minister for Environment and Energy Thoriq Ibrahim – in Abu Dhabi himself last weekend for the fifth session of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) – has also offered his congratulations.

The ministry revealed that discussions were to take place on the sidelines of the IRENA session regarding the start of practical work on a clean energy project to be funded by the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development (ADFD).

The Dh22million (US$6 million) in concessionary loans was announced during last year’s IRENA session, with Maldivian media stating the Addu City had been confirmed as one of three areas where waste will be converted to clean energy for water desalination.

It was also announced in September that the government had a five-year target to generate 30 percent of electricity from renewable energy sources, though the government has also pledged to search for oil within the Maldives’ territorial waters.

Last month, the ministry completed installation of the country’s largest solar panel project, on the island of Thinadhoo in Gaafu Dhaalu Atoll. The scheme is set to provide 50 percent of the island’s electricity needs.

A US$11 million 395 kW solar energy project funded by Japan was completed in the capital Malé last year, while a 100 percent solar-powered luxury resort called Gasfinolhu opens for business this month.

Diesel fuel accounts for the bulk of the energy supply in the Maldives, with electricity generation taking up around 40 percent. Petrol products also constitute one third of the country’s imports, amounting to around US$570 million in 2014.


Related to this story

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Maldives awarded US$6 million loan for clean energy projects

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Government had no choice but to increase teachers’ salary: MDP

The opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) has said today that the government decided to increase teachers’ salaries only because it was left with no other choice.

Speaking to the press today, the chair of the MDP’s education and training committee, former education minister Dr Musthafa Luthufee, said that the government had no intention of increasing teachers’ salary until the end of 2014.

“It was not included in the budget, and teachers demonstrated and threatened to strike. The salary increment was announced after even the government started providing wages for athletes,” said Luthufee.

The Ministry of Education announced the salary increases earlier this month, with some teachers’ pay jumping by up to 35 percent.

The salary increments came after repeated protests last year, with 90 percent of teachers protesting in September– wearing black clothing to raise awareness of poor pay, inadequate protection of teachers, and the failure to grant the Teachers Association of Maldives official recognition.

The MDP education committee also alleged today that since the government has decided to significantly increase the salaries of those teachers with a diploma, a degree or a Master’s degree, a lot of teachers who do not fall into these criteria are at a loss.

“1200 teachers have applied to study for diplomas at Mandhu college,” said Luthufee. “This will have negative social impacts on teachers who have certificate level qualifications, especially in small islands.”

Speaking to the press earlier this month (January 10), education minister Dr Aishath Shiham said President Abdulla Yameen had fulfilled his pledge to honour teachers, and that the government’s aim was to employ qualified teachers and provide them with adequate pay.

However, Vice Chair of the MDP education committee Shifa Mohamed – also a former education minister – argued that the structure of the increments was not properly planned or researched.

“For example, most Dhivehi teachers have a language degree, not a teaching degree. How will these teachers get increments?” asked Shifa.

The MDP also severely criticised the government for failing to consult with the relevant stakeholders regarding the new grade one to three syllabus.

“A new syllabus does not only mean new text books,” said Luthufuee. “The syllabus is very important as it holds the power to eventually shape these individuals in 18 years’ time.”

The education committee said that a new syllabus should only be implemented after holding consultations with students, teachers, parents, education experts, religious experts, and other relevant stakeholders.

The spokesperson for the ministry of education was not responding to calls at the time of publication.

The ruling Progressive Party of Maldives is trying to make it seem as though the syllabus is the creation of the current government alone, while in fact it is the product of numerous individuals over many years, argued the MDP committee today.


Related to this story

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Education Ministry hikes teachers’ pay by 35 and 15 percent

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MMA announces finalists in new rufiyya note design competition

The Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA) has announced the three proposals shortlisted for the competition to design the new Maldivian currency notes.

The shortlisted proposals were presented by Abdulla Nashath, Afzal Shafium, and the team of Mohamed Rassam, Hussein Shihab, and Ali Nishaf Rasheed. These three parties will present their designs on February 25.

Proposals for the new notes to be released on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of Maldivian independence were evaluated by an advisory committee of 13 members comprising of representatives from various technical fields including history, art, language, and economics.

The MMA board of directors will make the final decision on which designs will be printed after considering the evaluation of the advisory committee.

After initially inviting designs for notes in September, the MMA extended the November 30 deadline for one month after concluding that the 60 submitted designs were all unsuitable for bank notes.

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Some police officers believe women to blame for domestic violence, says HRCM

Some police officers believe violence against women is caused by women failing to fulfill their duty as submissive wives, the Human Rights Commission of the Maldives (HRCM) has said.

In a report to the UN Committee on Convention on Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), the HRCM said that meetings held with police during monitoring visits in the atolls revealed some police officers’ “initial belief is that the role of women is to raise children, take care of her family and be submissive to the husband”.

“Also, they have the notion that violence against women is mostly the result of women not fulfilling their duty as submissive wives.”

Reporting of violence against women is “proportionally low”, the HRCM said, noting it had received only 16 such cases in the period between 2008 and 2013. The Family Protection Authority had meanwhile received 19 cases in 2013 and 154 cases in 2014.

“The lack of confidence in the system, fear of intimidation, inadequate information on protection measures, stigmatization by the community along with lack of opportunities for economic empowerment are some of the factors that hold the victim from reporting to authorities,” the HRCM said.

Women’s empowerment is showing a negative trend, the commission continued, noting that conservative beliefs are fuelling an increase in the attitude that women’s role in society is to be submissive wives and to raise children.

Further, the report said there are an estimated 1,139 female sex workers in the country, while studies have shown children as young as 12 are involved in commercial sex, and that eight percent of female sex workers from 12 islands were under the age of 18.

The report also expressed concern over health risks to women, under-representation of women at policy and decision-making levels, high rates of unemployment among women, and high levels of sexual harassment at work.

Health risks

Basic health services including access to gynecologists, gynecology services, sexual and reproductive health services are not fully and easily accessible to people living in the atolls, the report said.

It also noted a high number of unsafe abortions in the country, indicating prevalence of sexual relations among teens and unmarried adults.

However, age appropriate sex education is not provided at schools and parents are against the idea of sex education. Meanwhile, access to contraceptives in the atolls is largely limited to married couples.

The commission said the government must take proactive measures against female circumcision, noting several NGOs have raised concern over religious scholars endorsing the practice as obligatory in Islam.

The report added, however, that the Ministry of Law and Gender has informed the HRCM there was not enough information to suggest female genital mutilation is an emerging issue that needs to be addressed.

The HRCM also expressed concern over a rise in marriages out of court, stating children born to such marriages would face legal issues and difficulties in accessing fundamental rights and freedoms. Women in such marriages “are bound to face social and legal consequences,” the commission said.

High unemployment

Women are far more disadvantaged than men in the labour market, the report continued, with unemployment levels among women at least a third higher than among men.

Women’s labor participation had declined from 42.1 percent in 2006 to 38.2 percent in 2010, the report said. Women earned less than men, with a mean monthly income of MVR4,674 (US$303) for women as compared to MVR7,036 (US$456) for men.

Almost half of women in the working population are economically inactive and women account for 68 percent of the economically inactive population. Preoccupation with household chores and raising children appears to be the predominant reason for female unemployment, the report said.

According to the HRCM, “sexual harassment at the workplace is a daunting reality and an accepted norm for most employed women,” but women do not take action for fear of disbelief and stigmatisation, embarrassment and shame.

The report also noted women’s underrepresentation at the policy and decision-making levels. Only three out of 17 cabinet ministers are women, and only five out of the 85 MPs are women.

There are no gender differences in primary school enrolment, but the HRCM noted a growing concern that parents are turning to home based education for girls with the increase in religious conservatism.

There are more female students at local higher education institutes, where they dominate in programmes associated with education, health sciences, and management. Measures must be taken to increase the enrolment of females in conventionally male dominated fields of study, the HRCM suggested.


Related to this story

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Majlis security committee recommends dismissal of interim LGA chair

With additional reporting by Daniel Bosley

The Majlis national security committee has recommended the removal Shujau Hussain from the Local Government Authority (LGA) board, say media reports.

In a sitting held today, the committee decided to suspend Shujau from the board after reviewing complaints regarding disciplinary issues submitted by other board members against him, though further details have not been revealed.

Shujau says he has not been officially informed of the decision but suggested that the rules of procedure for his suspension could not have been followed as the full Majlis is not in session to approve the move.

“I believe I am still in charge of the LGA,” said Shujau – the public’s appointee to the board.

Shujau claimed to have become interim leader of the LGA late last week as he and four of the board’s nine members passed a no-confidence motion against association chair and Minister of Defence Colonel (retired) Mohamed Nazim.

He had previously proposed the motion late last month, arguing that Nazim had refused to table the issue at the time.

Following the meeting on Thursday, however, Nazim was reported as saying that his removal had breached LGA procedures, telling media that an investigation into Shujau’s ethical conduct was under way.

Committee member General Ibrahim Didi told Minivan News that he did not believe the decision taken by the committee today was in line with the correct procedures, although he declined to discuss the details of the meeting itself.

“Whatever they do, they have to complete the full procedure – they have to question the person concerned. They did not do that today,” said Didi.

The decision to suspend Shujau was reportedly taken with a majority of six votes from the ruling coalition. Two members, one from opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) and Jumhooree Party (JP) voted against his suspension and removal, said

The composition of the committee is five seats for ruling Progressive Party of Maldives, three seats for MDP, two seats for JP, and one seat for Maldivian Development Alliance.

Formed under the 2010 Decentralisation Act, the LGA is tasked with overseeing and coordinating the work of the Maldives’ 199 city, atoll, and island-level councils.

Both Shujau and Malé City Councillor Shamau Shareef have expressed concern that Nazim – also acting minister of health – was not working to protect decentralisation in the country.

“He is not standing up to protect the system,” Shamau told Minivan News last month, arguing that Nazim had failed to protect Malé City Council from persistent reduction of its powers.


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Police regulations do not adequately protect constitutional rights, says MDN report

Current policing regulations do not adequately address and protect the rights guaranteed to all citizens by the Constitution, says the Maldivian Democratic Network (MDN).

After reviewing the relevant laws, MDN’s ‘Review of the legal framework of Maldives Police Service’ found “worrying signs of an erosion of the democratic policing framework enshrined in the Constitution”.

“The police are being vested with greater powers and discretion without the prerequisite checks,” read the report released yesterday. “Alarmingly, these dangerous trends are being written into law.”

Speaking at the launch ceremony yesterday, Deyvika Prasad from the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI) did note that, even though there are problems with the Maldives’ police regulations, it was good to have such procedures in place.

Prasad said that the Maldives was the first in the South Asian region to come up with a policing strategic action plan, and that the 2008 Maldives Police Act is the only national police legislation in the region which is not a colonial-era Police Act.

The review’s stated intention is to “identify legal gaps” within the current legal framework to ensure compatibility with both the Constitution and international standards.

It noted that as the police regulation came only three months after the ratification of the new constitution in 2008, “there was a lack of practice or practical experience among the law enforcement agencies relating to implementation of these procedural rights and the boundaries of such rights”.

Among the issues described in the report, the procedures in the police regulation regarding the powers to arrest and detain without a court warrant were called “highly problematic” and in contradiction to Articles 46 and 49 of the Constitution.

The NGO recommended that regulations be reviewed and rewritten in order to “ensure safeguards in the constitution are maintained”, and to review the provisions relating to arrests and detention in light of the Supreme Court’s decisions and relevant interpretations provided by the judiciary.

MDN Executive Director and former President of the Police Integrity Commission (PIC) Shahinda Ismail said the report had been compiled after consultations with various stakeholders including the Human Rights Commission of the Maldives, Transparency Maldives, and the UNDP.

The Maldives Police Services and the Police Integrity Commission had been invited to participate in the consultations but the MPS did not respond to the invitations while the PIC declined to take part.

Police earlier this year labelled a report published by MDN into the disappearance of Minivan News journalist Ahmed Rilwan “politically motivated” and “irresponsible”.

The review was produced as part of the police reform project by Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI) conducted in South Asia. Former Prosecutor General (PG) Ahmed Muizzu’s law firm Muizzu and Co LLP acted as the local consultation for the review.


Related to this story

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MDN investigation implicates radicalised gangs in Rilwan’s disappearance

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High Court frees drug kingpin Shafaz citing insufficient evidence

The High Court has freed ‘drug kingpin’ Ibrahim Shafaz Abdul Razzak today, stating that evidence submitted by the state for trafficking charges was insufficient.

Reversing the Criminal Court’s 18 year jail term and fine of MVR75,000, the High Court questioned the authenticity of documents submitted by the state claiming to prove Shafaz had transferred large amounts of money gained through drug trafficking.

Shafaz was arrested in June 2011 with 896 grams of heroin after the two year long ‘Operation Challenge’. At the time, the Maldives Police Services labeled Shafaz a high profile drug dealer suspected of smuggling and supplying drugs since 2006.

The police claimed Shafaz’s network had smuggled drugs worth MVR1.3 million (US$84,306) to the Maldives between February and April 2011.

In today’s ruling, the High Court noted that the state had failed to provide transaction records to substantiate claims that Shafaz transferred large sums of money to a Sri Lankan national through Western Union and A.G.E Emporium, and that  records from Western Union did not display any official seals or marks.

The court also said the state had failed to provide proof that evidence gathered regarding Shafaz’s money transactions was obtained legally, i.e. through court orders.

Additionally, the court noted that records of money transactions were dated from 2006, but phone call recordings and transcripts between Shafaz and the Sri Lankan national were from 2011, with the result that the relationship between the two pieces of evidence was weak.

Citing Article 24, Article 51, and Article 52 of the Constitution which guarantee the right to privacy including private communications and the rights of the accused, the High Court said any evidence obtained by unlawful means is inadmissible in a court of law.

Corruption charges

The Criminal Court had sentenced Shafaz in November 2013. He was released temporarily for medical treatment in Sri Lanka in February 2014, but failed to return to the Maldives after the allocated three month period. The Sri Lankan police caught Shafaz in Colombo and extradited him to Maldives in May 2014.

Last month, the Anti Corruption Commission (ACC) revealed that six senior government officials conspired to allow Shafaz to leave the country despite no evidence that he required urgent medical care that was not available in the Maldives.

The ACC investigation found that former Deputy Minister of Home Affairs Mohamed Hanim personally paid a visit to a doctor’s home to obtain a signature confirming that Shafaz required urgent medical care abroad. However, the ACC said Shafaz had not consulted a doctor in the week before his release.

Hanim, who is now the deputy minister of environment, also oversaw the illegal preparation of Shafaz’s travel documents and allowed him to leave the country without obtaining formal approval from the Maldives Correctional Service’s (MCS) medical board.

The investigations also revealed former Commissioner of Prisons Moosa Azim had lobbied the medical board to approve Shafaz’s release despite knowing his paperwork was incomplete.

In addition to Hanim and Azim, the ACC has recommended corruption charges be filed against two members of the medical board, a technical officer at Indhira Gandhi Memorial Hospital (IGMH), and a staff member at the MCS.


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Opposition condemns Defense Minister Nazim’s apartment raid

The opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) has condemned the police raid on defense minister Colonel (retired) Mohamed Nazim’s apartment in the early hours of Sunday morning (January 18).

In a press statement released yesterday, the party expressed concern over the lack of information made available regarding the raid, noting that a “police raid on a defense minister’s house is not an issue which can be taken lightly”.

Media reports suggested that masked officers forcefully entered the premises in the Galolhu ward of Malé at around 3:30am, searching the apartment of Nazim’s wife and the apartment opposite.

After the President’s Office had expressed its continued confidence in Nazim yesterday, the minister announced via twitter that he was unaffected by the incident.

Meanwhile, former President Mohamed Nasheed has alleged that Nazim’s house was searched in order to confiscate a letter written by Minister of Tourism Ahmed Adeeb to the Department of Immigration and Emigration.

“I have received information that one of the items police was looking for was a letter written by Adeeb when he was temporarily in charge of the ministry when Nazim was on holiday,” said Nasheed before departing to Abu Dhabi to take part in Zaid Future Energy prize last night.

Nasheed said the letter had requested the immigration department allow some individuals to travel to Syria for Jihad, and that Nazim had obtained the documents after arriving back at the ministry.

However, Adeeb told Minivan News today that there was no such letter, saying “all government letters are passed through computerised system”.

“If there was such a letter, it would be impossible to hide it,” he added.

The same day on which Adeeb was appointed as acting defense minister (January 4), reliable sources told Minivan News that Azlif Rauf – a suspect in the murder of MP Dr Afrasheem Ali – left the country for jihad in Syria with six members of Malé’s Kuda Henveiru gang.

Earlier this month, however, the Criminal Court told Minivan News that there were no pending charges against Rauf, and so no reason for immigration to have held his passport.

Police have told Minivan News today that they have no further information to give regarding the raid on Nazim’s apartment.

Elsewhere yesterday, crowds gathered outside Jumhooree Party leader Gasim Ibrahim’s home after rumours of an imminent police raid on his house in Maafannu ward.

“I am not trembling,” Gasim told press gathered outside his home. Flanked by senior MDP members, Gasim said that he was willing to work with anyone who stands to defend the Constitution and that he will stand firm in spite of intimidation.


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Friends of Rilwan hold event to mark missing journalist’s 29th birthday

Friends and family of missing Minivan News journalist Ahmed Rilwan gathered outside Hulhumalé ferry terminal yesterday to mark his birthday.

Members of the public and supporters of the campaign to find Rilwan wrote messages of support which were attached to a mural created earlier in the five month campaign.

Messages posted on the mural included: ‘We haven’t given up on you yet’, ‘You are missed’, ‘Hoping for your safe return’, ‘Please come back, we need you’, and ‘You are late for work!!!’.

Hulhumalé terminal was the place in which Rilwan was last sighted on CCTV on August 8, shortly before eyewitnesses reported a man fitting his description being pushed into a vehicle outside of his apartment in Hulhumalé.

Rilwan’s mother Aminath Easa, told Minivan News this week that she would would never give up the search for her son, who turned 29-years-old yesterday.

“God willing, I will do everything in my power to find him, with patience, until I die. I will not stop, no matter what anyone says.”

The Maldives Police Service is continuing the search for missing Rilwan as a top priority, without “interruption or boredom”, Commissioner of Police Hussein Waheed told the press earlier this month.

“I assure Rilwan’s family in this opportunity that the police will continue the search without any interruption or boredom. I wish for Rilwan’s safe return,” he said.

“From our investigations so far, there is no evidence to suggest Rilwan is dead. Therefore, our hope is he is still safe and alive,”

Rilwan’s family has asked the Police Integrity Commission to look into potential negligence in the apparently stalled investigation into his disappearance.

Home Minister Umar Naseer has previously acknowledged involvement of gangs in the case, although police have refused to reveal any information to the family regarding potential theories or avenues of inquiry.

“I am not at all happy with the government’s response,” said Aminath. “I know the police are capable, they have solved cases they work on. They caught the two dangerous convicts who escaped from jail, without firing a single shot.”

“They work when their leaders tell them to. But the government hasn’t told them to find my son. The police will look for him and find him if their superiors order them to do so. I believe government officials are complicit in this case.”

For more pictures of yesterday’s event click here


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