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Man sentenced to seven years and six months for stealing laptop

The Criminal Court has sentenced Hussein Abdul Hakeem of Lhaviyani atoll Hinnavaru Island to seven years and six months for stealing a laptop.

This is the seventh count of theft against Hakeem. The Penal Code adds a year for every count of theft.

Hakeem was sentenced for stealing a laptop from a house in Malé in 2012.

In February, Ali Rasheed of Haa Dhaal Hanimadhoo Island was sentenced to four and a half years for stealing three lotion bottles. Rasheed also had been convicted of theft four times previously.

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Nine hospitalised in ferry accident in Kumundhoo

Nine people have been hospitalised after a ferry ran onto the reef in Haa Dhaal atoll Kumundhoo Island on Saturday.

According to the Maldives Police Services, the ferry had been traveling from Haa Dhaal atoll Kulhudhuffushi Island and was attempting to enter Kumundhoo’s harbor when it collided with the island’s reef.

Women and children were aboard the ferry and several had to receive medical care for injuries while nine individuals had to be taken to Kulhudhuffushi’s Regional Hospital for treatment.

The Maldives National Defense Forces (MNDF), the police and islanders are now attempting to sink the boat.

Meanwhile, the Meteorology Department has warned of strong winds, rough seas and tidal surges with the southwest monsoon in full swing. The government has urged boats to take extra caution.

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Police confiscate 190 bags of goods from local market

The Maldives Police Services have confiscated 190 bags of goods from the local market area in Malé.

According to the police, the goods were being kept for long periods in public spaces and were a nuisance to traffic and pedestrians.

The 190 bags include 70 bags of watermelon.

The police have warned it will continue to confiscate such goods and has urged the public to follow the rules in handling goods.

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Turkish national arrested with gun parts

A Turkish national was arrested at the airport last week after parts of a gun were found in his luggage, reports newspaper Haveeru.

According to the local daily, the man was a crew member of a Turkish oil tanker and was among nine crew members attempting to leave via Ibrahim Nasir International Airport (INIA).

While the Criminal Court has since extended the suspect’s remand detention to ten days, the rest of the crew were reportedly allowed to leave.

Following the arrest, the Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) reportedly searched the oil tanker although the MNDF spokesperson declined to comment on the matter.

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Court extends detention of four suspects in 24kg drug smuggling case

The Criminal Court has extended pre-trial detention of four suspects arrested in connection with the smuggling of 24kg of heroin in March to 15 days on Friday (July 4).

According to police, the suspects include three Maldivian men and a Bangladeshi man while the remand detention of a fourth Maldivian was extended to seven days on July 1.

Last week, the Criminal Court denied ordering the deportation of two Pakistanis arrested in connection with the case after police claimed the court had ordered their transfer to the care of the Immigration Department.

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Comment: SEZ bill opens doors for economic slavery

The government has said President Abdulla Yameen’s flagship Special Economic Zone (SEZ) legislation would bring an end to the Maldives’ dependence on tourism. The bill aims to create jobs, and stimulate investment in the Maldives’ underdeveloped atolls and bring in long term development.

However, the special incentives and tax breaks to corporations and limited oversight in the bill paint a different picture – SEZs will only institute a system of economic slavery in the Maldives.

The bill proposes handing over control of the Maldives’ atolls to corporations, and suggested lax regulations will allow money laundering, and increase corruption and inequality. It may also become a tool for resort owners to legally evade taxes.

What are SEZs? They are specific geographical areas within a country’s borders with relaxed regulations, financial incentives, and facilities to attract investment and create jobs.

The Maldives has plans to set up nine zones, including free trade zones, offshore finance zones, high-tech zones, and ports. The SEZs are to be administered by a 17-member board consisting largely of government officials.

Incentives for SEZ developers include exemptions from import duty, Business Profit Tax (BPT), Goods and Services Tax (GST), and withholding taxes, and concessions in bringing in expatriate workers. There are no regulations on money remittance, and the bill also provides for land lease periods up to 99 years. Further, any company with a majority of local owners (51 percent) can buy and own land without paying land taxes.

Centralization

Local communities may not receive any benefits from investments in SEZs. According to Article 33, once an area is designated an SEZ, local councils will no longer have authority over the area. All the revenue will bypass local councils and go into the state budget. This may mean the end of decentralization in the Maldives.

It suggests and propels a move towards a centralised autocratic government. Moreover, atolls of the Maldives will be controlled by business tycoons rather than elected representatives.

Corruption

The freedoms in money remittance without government oversight and single window clearance for various government approvals could result in a reduction in finance and trade controls, opening up opportunities for money laundering and financing of terrorism. For the same characteristics that make SEZs attractive to legitimate businesses, also attract abuse by illicit actors.

The SEZ bill allows the SEZ board to override all controls in proposed in the bill. The board can add a number of additional incentives such as extended tax relief, extended land lease periods for foreign companies up to 99 years and increase foreign labor quotas. Such excessive power in the board’s hands will lead to corruption, inequality and may result in the rich controlling SEZs with very little scope for future entrepreneurs.

Tax Evasion

The proclaimed purpose of the SEZ bill is to attract investment in other industries, but the bill, in fact, grants excessive benefits and tax relief to the tourism sector.

Article 74 states up to 40 percent of investment in any special economic zone could be in tourism or tourism related industries. Hoteliers will not have to pay import duty on capital goods, and will be exempted from paying Goods and Services Taxes (GST), Business Profit Taxes (BPT) and withholding taxes for two years. Shareholders will not have pay BPT on their dividends, and companies will be granted concessions in employing expatriate workers.

All of these concessions can be extended further and land taxes can be waived on the recommendation of the SEZ board.

Maldives already attracts multi-million dollar investments and international brands in the tourism sector under existing laws, and the sector already makes vast profits. There are already many top international hotel brands in the Maldives, we do not need SEZs to ensure investor protection or attract investors in the tourism sector. If these businesses had not been sure of their investments, they would not have invested in the Maldives in the first place.

The incentives granted for the tourism sector in the SEZ bill means most of the investments in the SEZs will end up as tourism investments, and will allow resort owners to legally evade taxes.

According to MIRA’s records, the government’s main source of income at present is Tourism Goods and Services Taxes (TGST) and BPT, and the main sources of dollar income are TGST and other tourism sector taxes. The tax reliefs and exemptions will reduce TGST, BPT, and other tourism taxes, which will in turn reduce state income and dollar income.

Ultimately, the reduction in the state’s income means an increase in debt and deficit, whilst reduction in the state’s dollar income would hand over control of the dollar market to tourism tycoons.

As the Maldives currently lacks a set minimum wage, and as developers in the SEZ have the right to bring in any amount of expatriate workers, most of the SEZ jobs will also go to expatriates preventing locals from benefiting at all.

President Yameen has previously pledged to create 94,000 job opportunities. The SEZ bill will create jobs, but only for foreigners?

Wealth concentration

A majority of Maldivians live without clean water, proper sewerage systems or medical and educational facilities. We are a rich country with a small population, but 90 percent of our wealth is concentrated in the hands of a mere 10 percent.

In the context of high inequality, high corruption and incompetent courts, the SEZ bill may very well hand over ownership of this country’s resources to a handful of corporations. Corporations end to be driven by power and financial gain, and in the absence of oversight, will not work for the public good.

History had shown a correlation between huge investments and corruption and civil unrest. These investments ultimately help authoritarian governments to stay in power by buying off their citizens. Investors will fund the governments who provided them with profit-making opportunities to buy off their citizens.

Laws that are made in the interest of corporations and business tycoons result in economic slavery. Corporations want profits and the best way for them to get the profits is to use political party campaign financing system i.e. a system of legalized bribery. This way they can control government officials, politicians, and the public.

They use those government officials and politicians to dismantle the marketplace, to obtain monopoly control, and ultimately privatise the commons. The SEZ bill allows corporations to turn our wealth, our air, our water, our public lands, our wildlife, and our fisheries into profit.

The Maldivian Economist is a Facebook Group which aims to create a platform for debate on the Maldivian economy, finance and policies.

Photo courtesy of Rajjetherey Meehunge Party.

All comment pieces are the sole view of the author and do not reflect the editorial policy of Minivan News. If you would like to write an opinion piece, please send proposals to [email protected]

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EC reinstates dissolved political parties as per SC order

The Elections Commission (EC) has reinstated eight small political parties on the Supreme Court’s advice.

The commission had dissolved the eight parties in February as they did not have a membership of 3,000 as required by a Supreme Court modification of the Political Party Act.

However, the Supreme Court subsequently sacked Elections Commission President Fuwad Thowfeek and Vice President Ahmed Fayaz for disobedience to order and contempt of court.

The EC sought the apex court’s advice and following a letter on June 12, the EC has now decided to reinstate the Islamic Democratic Party, Maldivian Social Democratic Party, Social Liberal Party, People’s Party, Maldivian National Congress, People’s Alliance, Maldivian Labor Party and Dhivehi Qaumee Party.

The number of registered political parties in Maldives now stands at fourteen.

Political Parties Act

The People’s Majlis passed the Political Parties Act in December 2012. Article 11 of the act required a minimum of 10,000 members requests for party registration, while Article 8 (b) gave parties with less than 10,000 members a three month period to increase membership or face dissolution.

President Dr Mohamed Waheed Hassan – whose own Gaumee Iththihaadh Party (GIP) was facing dissolution – refused to ratify the bill. But on March 5 2013, with unanimous support from both parliament’s minority leader and majority leader, the Majlis overruled the presidential veto and forced the the bill  into law.

In the same month the Elections commission dissolved eleven registered political parties under the Act.

Within days Attorney General Azima Shakoor asked the Supreme Court to declare existing smaller political parties could not be dissolved. The Maldives Development Alliance (MDA) also intervened in the case.

In September 2013, the SC voided articles 11 and 8 (b) of the Political Parties Act, declaring them to be in violation of Article 16 of the constitution which states that the People’s Majlis can only limit constitutional rights through legislation to an extent “demonstrably justified in a free and democratic society”.

The SC claimed the Political Party Act narrowed the constitutional right to establish political parties and participate in political party activity.

The verdict, supported by the entire Supreme Court bench, also declared 3,000 members to be the minimum requirement for political party registration as per the political party regulation of 2005, until the parliament amended the Political Party Act in accordance with guidelines provided in the ruling.

In December 2013 Gaumee Ithihadh Party of former president Dr. Mohame Waheed and Maldives Reform Movement founded by former Attorney General and President of MDP Dr Mohamed Munavvar was voluntarily dissolved, leaving the number of parties in transition at nine.

February dissolution

On February 6, the Elections Commission dissolved eight political parties for not having a minimum of 3000 registered members and gave them a three month period to increase membership. The MDA with approximately eight thousand members survived the dissolution.

In the same month, the SC initiated a contempt of court charge against the EC under new suo moto regulations which allow the Supreme Court to initiate proceedings, prosecute and pass judgement. The five member bench accused the EC of disobeying orders in dissolving the eight parties.

SC reached a verdict in March 2014, stripping Elections Commission (EC) President Fuwad Thowfeek and Vice President Ahmed Fayaz Hassan of their membership in the commission and sentencing the former to a suspended prison term of six months.

In the controversial verdict, SC stated dissolving parties on the basis that a political party’s registry should include 3,000 members is be a violation of the constitution and the court’s previous verdict.

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Criminal Court denies ordering deportation of Pakistanis arrested in 24kg drug haul

The Criminal Court has denied ordering the deportation of two Pakistani nationals arrested in connection with the smuggling of 24kg of heroin in March.

Citing police, local media reported this week that the court had ordered the deportation of the pair.

The Criminal Court however refuted the claims in a press statement released yesterday (July 2), noting that ordering the deportation of foreign nationals was outside the court’s jurisdiction.

Media reports to the contrary were “based on false information,” the court said.

The statement explained that a court order extending the remand detention of the Pakistani suspects to 15 days had instructed the police to transfer the pair to the the custody of the Department of Immigration.

Police had stated at the remand hearing that the Prosecutor General’s Office had decided to deport the suspects, the statement noted.

The media reports referred to by the Criminal Court were based on a news item published on the police website on Tuesday (July 1).

Out of 18 suspects arrested in the case, police explained that 15 were held in pre-trial detention, including three Bangladeshis, four Maldivians, and eight Pakistanis.

Six of the Pakistani nationals had since been released while the Criminal Court ordered the release of two Bangladeshis on June 24.

On the same day, one of the Maldivian suspects was transferred to house arrest due to poor health. The suspect had earlier suffered burns to 45 percent of his body in a fire accident, police noted.

“The detention period of a Maldivian involved in the case was extended to seven days today [Tuesday]. Additionally, the detention period of three Maldivians and a Bangladeshi will be up on July 4,” the police news item read.

“The court has asked for the two Pakistanis involved in the case to be deported.”

Minivan News was awaiting a response from the police media official at the time of press. The official told newspaper Haveeru yesterday that police were looking into the matter.

Record haul

Four Maldivians, three Bangladeshis, and 11 Pakistanis were taken into custody on March 10 with 24kg of heroin, which police said was “the largest amount of drugs seized in a police operation conducted in the Maldives so far.”

The drugs were transported in a vessel named ‘Hormooz’ registered in Iran, Superintendent Mohamed Rasheed, head of the Drug Enforcement Department (DED), revealed at a press briefing on March 12.

The 11 Pakistani nationals were the crew and captain of the Iranian boat. Local media reported in April that the Iranian vessel was allowed to leave the country while six crew members were also released.

The drugs were allegedly collected by the four Maldivians and three Bangladeshis 30 nautical miles off the coast of Alif Alif Mathiveri, Rasheed had explained, after which it was concealed under fibre boards in a dinghy.

Two of the suspects were seized by police after arriving on the dinghy in Hulhumale’ while their dhoni waited in the harbour.

The Iranian vessel was meanwhile captured at sea with coastguard assistance between Alif Alif and Baa atolls, Rasheed said.

Asked by reporters whether a police sergeant and a Maldivian man – Abdulla Shaffath – arrested in connection with the Artur brothers’ case last year were among the 18 suspects, Rasheed had said he could not disclose details as it could hamper the investigation.

Rasheed, however, confirmed that a police officer had been arrested in connection with the drug haul while two of the Maldivian suspects had prior records for drug-related offences.

While the street value of the drugs was estimated to be MVR36 million (US$2.2 million), Superintendent Rasheed noted that the drugs would likely be laced with “other powders” to increase its volume “two or threefold” before being sold.

The additional volume could potentially raise its street value to almost MVR100 million (US$6.5 million), he said.

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Nasheed alleges President Yameen “remains under power” of Gayoom

Acting leader of opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) former President Mohamed Nasheed has alleged that current President Abdulla Yameen “remains under the power” of his half brother former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom.

Nasheed opined that it will be difficult for Yameen to continue his presidency under such circumstances, adding that to date he has observed that Yameen has been unable to rule autonomously without Gayoom’s interference.

“All we are seeing so far is the differences of thought between Yameen and Gayoom and the rifts that rise between coalition parties. So far, it does not appear as if Yameen has actual control over his presidency,” Nasheed said, speaking on a live talk show on opposition aligned Raajje TV on Wednesday night.

Nasheed also described Yameen’s appointment of Gayoom’s children and other relatives to political positions as nepotism, adding that “it’s lingering effects will prove to be extremely harmful even though it might seem the easier option”.

“They seem to be unsatisfied unless some relative or other is filling each key position in the government,” he continued.

Currently, Gayoom’s daughter Dunya Maumoon serves in Yameen’s cabinet as the Minister of Foreign Affairs.

Additionally, Yameen’s niece Dr Hala Hameed fills the post of Minister of State for Health and Gender, while Gayoom’s sons Ahmed Faris Maumoon serves as Minister of State for Economic Development and Mohamed Ghassan Maumoon serves as Minister of State for Youth and Sports.

Gayoom’s daughter Yumna Maumoon is currently in the post of Deputy Minister of Education.

Yameen has also drawn criticism for his drawn-out attempts to nominate his nephew Maumoon Hameed to the post of prosecutor general.

Nasheed – the first president to be elected in a multi-party election in the country – further asserted that it would be extremely difficult for a country to adapt to democracy after having had an autocratic regime for decades.

“Moving from autocracy to democracy is not an easy feat. It is not something that can be done in a day, or even in five years. I call upon all Maldivians to persevere in the efforts to establish a complete democracy in the country,” he stated.

“SEZs a path to money laundering”

Speaking on the show, Nasheed also criticised current government’s policies regarding tourism and foreign investment.

Nasheed alleged that, should the current bill on Special Economic Zones be passed by parliament, it would pose numerous threats to the people of Maldives. He stated that it would prove to be a path that facilitates black market activities and money laundering.

Tourism Minister and head of the cabinet’s economic council Ahmed Adeeb told Minivan News last month that critics of the bill had failed to understand that it offered the best way to encourage regional investment and development.

Nasheed yesterday alleged that there are no signs of improving general living conditions for the people as a result of Yameen’s economic policies, and that instead additional benefits are being introduced for businessmen and foreign investors.

Nasheed went on to say that the recently launched guest house island program would not present any benefits to locals, and that it is a threat to the success of guest houses in inhabited islands.

This policy – designed as a controlled version of the emerging guest house model on inhabited islands – was launched last week, and has been endorsed by industry groups.

Concluding the show, Nasheed spoke of the current government’s disregard towards improving the general livelihood of Maldivians.

Minivan News was unable to contact President’s Office Spokesperson Ibrahim Muaz for comment at the time of press.

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