Author: Leah Malone

Political instability is key concern at Maldives renewable energy investment conference

Participants attending this week’s Maldives International Renewable Energy Investors Conference consider the event a “good beginning”, but claimed political instability was presently hampering foreign investors’ confidence in the sector.

The two day event, which concluded yesterday (June 17), aimed to facilitate long-term partnerships between international investors, project developers, energy companies and utilities groups in order to enable successful renewable energy projects throughout the Maldives.

The Ministry of Environment and Energy hosted conference at Bandos Island Resort and Spa in an effort to boost investor confidence and attract renewable energy financing.

Although Environment Minister Dr Mariyam Shakeela noted that the conference was successful, she also urged participants to “reflect on our mutual needs” and emphasised that investments will be “protected, facilitated, and supported by the government” during her concluding speech yesterday.

“Your need to promote your [renewable energy] products and our need to reduce energy costs – that of course is a huge issue as was mentioned here so many times – and also of course to combat climate change,” said Shakeela.

“We currently rely extensively on imported fossil fuels, as we have heard here over and over and over again these last few days. Yet paradoxically, many islands have ample but underutilized renewable energy resource potential,” she continued.

“The Ministry of Finance and Treasury is working to create an enabling environment for investments in general, which I believe is a concern of a lot of investors,” she added.

Meanwhile, Maldives-based representatives from the World Bank (WB) and Asian Development Bank (ADB) present at the conference pledged their continued support in an effort to attract renewable energy investors.

ADB Director Mr Yongping Zhai pledged to “go as far as it costs” to transform Maldives into a renewable energy dependent country, as opposed to oil dependent, according to the Environment Ministry.

However, he noted that although the Maldives has the commitment, market potential, resources, and willing investors for renewable energy, there is a “missing link to put these pieces together”.

“In theory things should work, but why things are not working so far is [the lack of] the right business model,” said Zhai. “That’s the purpose of this conference and of the ADB’s work.”

The WB considered the conference to be a “good initial first information gathering” event for facilitating renewable energy investments and emphasized that it was working very closely with the Maldives government to develop the energy sector and national financial institutions, said WB Senior Energy Specialist Abdulaziz Faghi.

In an effort to boost investor confidence, the Environment Ministry emphasised the WB would guarantee any investments made in the Maldives.

“One of the issues facing the private sector investing in any sector is the payment guarantee and their concern with the return on investment,” State Minister for Environment and Energy Abdul Matheen Mohamed told Minivan News yesterday.

He explained that the government of Maldives has allocated US$5 million from the International Development Association (IDA) financing though the World Bank, which will be leveraged up to US$ 25 million.

“So basically the World Bank will be issuing a guarantee for this amount to give guarantees to the investors investing [funds] under the scaling-up renewable energy program (SREP) investment plan,” said Matheen.

He noted that conference participants concerns have “been resolved though the guarantee facilities introduced by the World Bank”.

Foreign investors lacking

Following the conference yesterday, Renewable Energy Maldives Managing Director Dr Ibrahim Nashid told Minivan News that he believed banks and foreign investors crucial to revitalising the national energy “didn’t turn up” at the event.

“The main idea was to bring investors here, but I don’t think that has happened,” said Nashid.

He explained that while Maldives-based institutional representatives from the WB, ADB, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and various other Maldivian institutions attended the conference, individuals with authority to authorize lending and/or donor funds were not present.

“Basically there wasn’t any financial institution that could give the finance or lend the money,” said Nashid. “No international banks came and what is very noticeable there wasn’t Indian investors. Not a single Indian company was represented.”

“ADB was saying they have earmarked funds for the Maldives, but their idea was also to leverage that with some other lending institution and that was not there,” he added.

Nashid noted that none of the Maldivian banks were present at the conference.

“The Islamic Development Bank (IDB) was there, but not the Islamic Bank in Male’, even the Bank of Maldives didn’t attend,” said Nashid.

“It shows the confidence that everybody has, [which is] the reason the World Bank is talking about giving a bank guarantee,” he continued.

Although Minister Shakeela was asked many times about what the government would do to guarantee investments “she skirted the question saying the ADB and WB is giving the guarantee,” according to Nashid.

“That was not the issue, the issue is what happens to our investments,” he said. “The GMR case is very very open and obvious to everyone. The issue of political instability was very much skirted, [but] everybody knew.”

Nashid claimed that most conference participants who discussed renewable energy investments said a decision would not happen until after the presidential election scheduled for September.

“We need political stability here, without political stability I don’t think any project is going to take off,” said Nashid.

“We can do the preparation of paperwork, etc. but money will not be put on the table. That’s the message we get from abroad,” he added.

These sentiments were echoed by conference participants representing various private sector businesses.

“It was a good start, but this is really just a beginning. There were not very many investors present,” an infrastructure company representative told Minivan News on condition of anonymity.

“The three things investors are looking for are credibility, stability, and return on the investment,” a telecommunications company representative told Minivan News on condition of anonymity.

The source explained that political instability was the main concern preventing investors from committing to renewable energy development. He also agreed with another conference participant’s observation that political instability in the Maldives was the ‘elephant in the room’ at the event.

“There were very few investors present, which is not surprising. No one is going to be eager to invest [in developing renewable energy] until after elections,” he added.

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Maamendhoo Island Council calls for football funding to combat violence, drug abuse

A lack of support from the Ministry of Youth and Sports for youth activities, particularly football, on Maamendhoo Island in Laamu Atoll has resulted in violence and drug use according to the island council’s president.

“The government has not provided funds for youth sports or activities here, it’s very sad,” Maamendhoo Island Council President Ali Shifaz told Minivan News, during a visit to the island.

“Football, and other sports, are very important because we need our youth to be away from bad habits,” Shifaz explained.

“Youth getting involved in drugs and fighting is a big issue, but normally football players don’t get involved in those things,” he continued. “They have no other time for drugs and fights.”

“For the last two or three months there have been no fights because of football. It’s a good way to compete and Maamendhoo is very peaceful as a result,” Shifaz noted.

Ultimately, problems ebb and flow depending on the support for youth activities the island receives, explained Shifaz.

“Eighty percent of the island’s youth play football, therefore we need to have a big effort to support them,” he added.

Unfortunately, fighting between youth from Maamendhoo with young people of nearby islands has become a problem because positive activities are not being funded and supported on those islands either, according to Shifaz.

In early 2012 Nasheed pledged to flatten football ground, put up fences, build a basketball court behind the stadium, and a bashee court for the women, explained Shifaz.

The football ground was recently built on Maamendhoo, however the island has also requested a youth centre – with ‘garlando’ (foosball) and billiards – be built so other youth who do not play football will have activities that prevent them from engaging in ‘bad habits’.

“I’m involved with an NGO here and I hate to say it but now our NGOs are not working properly, because they are not getting what they need to function in a proper way,” Shifaz lamented.

Lack of footballs

“They have very good players, I was very impressed,” former Victory Sports Club coach Abul ‘Abjee’ Jaleel told Minivan News.

“If youth team wants anything we discuss with the Island Council and they call the Ministry of Youth and Sports,” said Maamendhoo football player Mohamed ‘Kalho’ Nasheed.

“Before during [former President Mohamed] Nasheed’s time the ministry provided funding, but now we don’t get anything,” he explained.

“To buy balls the players contributed their own money. The sports team really collaborates,” he continued.

Previously the Maamendhoo football players only had one ball, but have managed to buy eight. They have also arranged a coach to come about three times a week, but there are no funds for his equipment either.

“There also used to be an atoll football competition, but this year there has been nothing,” Kalho lamented.

Youth and Sports Ministry response

“Maamendhoo happens to be the first island we helped after we assumed office early last year,” Youth and Sports Minister Mohamed Hussein ‘Mundu’ Shareef told Minivan News.

“The ministry contributed MVR 80,000 (US$5200) for the construction of the Maamendhoo football ground which was completed last year,” said Shareef. “So the allegations [that Maamendhoo is not receiving support from the Ministry] are rubbish.”

“Rather than complaining they should be pleased,” he added. “It was a long-pending pledge by Nasheed to develop the football ground which was not delivered.”

“It is a petty political problem or they have a short term memory,” said Shareef. “There are no pending requests from Maamendhoo, if there were it would be a different story.”

Shareef explained that he made it a point to review and implement all the pending pledges and corresponding paperwork for the sake of continuity.

“It’s not the fault of the youth that the government changed,” said Shareef. “We don’t differentiate between big and small islands or look at the political leanings of the island councils.”

In the past 15 to 16 months the Youth and Sports Ministry has helped 87 islands, which account for half the population, according to Shareef.

“There is not a single island we have not touched,” he declared.

The entire Youth and Sports Ministry’s budget for the past year was MVR 60 million (US$3,911,340), with MVR 20 million (US$ 1,303,780) allocated to associations – of which 19 are sports associations, according to Shareef.

Previously, MVR 2 million (US$ 130,378) was the total infrastructure budget, which the government quadrupled to MVR 8 million (US$ 521,512) this year, Shareef claimed.

Island football grounds are legally properties of the respective island councils and the Ministry funds the island councils, which are ultimately responsible for the development and maintenance of the grounds, Shareef explained.

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‘Surfers against sewage’ shame city council over night market littering

Appalled by excessive amounts of garbage littering streets, nearby parks, and sea due to the Male’ night market, local surfers have staged a creative protest using the rubbish to pressure the city council into action.

The night market is held annually before Ramazan to provide people a plethora of affordable goods. Locally referred to as the ‘Ungulhey Bazaar’ – literally meaning the ‘rub up against someone market’ – the 10 day event draws dense crowds, and this year has a record-breaking 765 stalls representing 450 groups, according to local media.

Thousands of people shopping and eating amidst the hundreds of densely packed stalls generates enormous amounts of waste, which is pitched onto the streets or into the adjacent sea since there are no trash cans.

For the past three years the market has been located near ‘raalhugandu’, Male’s surf point, adjacent to the Tsunami Monument in Henviru ward.

Fed up with the pollution the “surfers against sewage” decided to take action.

“There are no dustbins so the rubbish ends up in the ocean and we don’t want that,” local surfer and Maldives Surfing Association (MSA) Spokesperson Ibrahim Riffath told Minivan News yesterday (June 11).

“It’s very bad, like a real slum,” said Riffath. “The Maldives is one of the most beautiful countries, but the sh*ttiest place.”

The wind carries the waste into the water and spreads it through the streets, so the bad storm that wreaked havoc on Male’ and the night market earlier this week exacerbated the problem, Riffath explained.

The surfers were in good spirits walking through the empty market stalls to collect trash – which was strewn over the ground – to reuse for their protest.

An impromptu improvisation about the waste management problem, sung by local surfer Ibrahim Aman to the tune of Pink Floyd’s the Wall, with accompanying lyrics “we don’t need no trash around us”, made the rubbish hunt a lively affair.

As did Aman’s poetry about inserting trash into a bin: “My name is dustbin and I’m always empty. My girlfriend’s name is garbage…”

The random rubbish pieces were arranged along the sea wall, hung from trees in the small park near ‘raalhugandu’, and piled next to protest boards in an artistic fashion.

Witty signs, banners, and graffiti expressed their frustration with the waste management problem: “Is this a pretty picture? Is this heaven on earth? Is this the garbage area? For an independent Dhivehi Raajje (Maldives) we need a clean Dhivehi Raajje.”

The lone trash can located near the park at the night market’s entrance was adorned with graffiti saying “What is this?”, while other ironic messages saying “thank you city council”, “welcome to paradise”, “sunny side” and “carbon neutral 2013”.

While most of the “surfers against sewage” are MSA members, their protest was not conducted as an official MSA initiative, but was rather spontaneous collective effort.

“MSA’s president wrote to the city council this year, but we have not yet received a reply,” said Riffath.

“The city council is saying they will have dustbins, but they have not yet done it and no one is coming to collect the trash,” he continued.

“They told us that this place, [the raalhugandu park], is not the road so it’s not part of their mandate to clean,” claimed Riffath.

“We are doing this for ourselves, the public and the environment,” he added. “People aren’t educated about why littering is so harmful.”

Be green and clean

“It’s not nice or hygienic,” local surfer Hamd Abdul Hadhi told Minivan News yesterday.

“Each stall should be responsible for keeping their area clean, daily,” he suggested. “If we were rich we would have bought the dustbins ourselves.”

“Most of the pollution from the market ends up in the sea,” he explained. “The trash hurts the fishes and corals, plus when we’re surfing and get a plastic bag stuck to our faces then we’re in trouble.”

Raising awareness about the link between human and environmental health is necessary to stop people from haphazardly throwing their garbage everywhere, which is why the surfers are leading by example, Hadhi noted.

“People are damaging mother nature so much with rubbish,” he said. “As surfers, we understand more than others and want to show people that it is good to be clean.”

“We clean the park and surrounding area two or three times a week, but no one else bothers,” Hadhi lamented. “And every night market we put up notices saying ‘do not litter here’.”

“It’s not just for our benefit, waste management is important for the whole country,” he said. “We are one of the smallest countries, so it’s crazy we can’t manage waste properly.”

“No one listens to us, so this [protest] is all we can do,” he declared.

Male’ City Council

“Of course this is a problem at the night market,” Male’ City Council (MCC) Mayor Ali ‘Maizan’ Manik told Minivan News today (June 12).

“I move around every day early morning and my goodness I know how bad it is,” said Manik.

“My secretary general will be arranging a meeting for this afternoon with the [protest] organisers and we will discuss waste management how we can reach a solution and solve this issue,” he added.

Manik explained that the Environment Ministry has been handling the waste management problem, but has not kept the MCC informed of what they are doing.

“Given the Anti Corruption Commission (ACC) investigation into the [Tatva] contract we were asked to stop [waste management activities] until the inquiry was completed,” said Manik.

“I spoke with the Environment Minister and they are already approved to sign the [new] Tatva agreement, but before the council signs we have to know the changes they have made to the contract,” he noted.

“The Tatva discussion was already held and the original agreement was signed in November 2010,” he continued.

“Changes were already made to the agreement by the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and World Bank, so there shouldn’t be [additional] changes, but the Environment has Ministry altered the contract,” Manik said.

“This is the kind of government we have, doing this to disturb us,” he added. “The waste management agreement should be made to benefit the public.”

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Maldives Pavilion at Venice Biennale split in “mini-coup d’etat”

The political strife gripping the Maldives has permeated the country’s first pavilion at the Venice Biennale art show, catalysing a behind-the-scenes split that ultimately factionalised the pavilion in what one side contends was a ‘mini-coup d’etat’.

What was initially intended to be an innocent story highlighting the creative climate change advocacy occurring through the pavilion’s artistic expression, instead revealed infighting and controversy stretching back to February 2012.

The official Maldives Pavilion exhibition is curated by a joint Arab-European collective of artists called the Chamber of Public Secrets (CPS), and commissioned by current Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture Ahmed Adheeb.

The overarching theme of the Maldives’ pavilion, entitled “Portable Nation: Disappearance as a Work in Progress – Approaches to Ecological Romanticism”, is about how the survival of the nation, Maldivian people and cultural heritage are threatened by catastrophic climate change impacts, such as rising sea levels.

The unofficial pavilion, located 200 metres up the road, is the Maldives Exodus Caravan Show, curated by Danish artist and former resident of the Maldives Søren Dahlgaard and initially commissioned by former Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture, Maryiam Zulfa.

Deputy Curator of the Exodus Caravan Show, Elena Gilbert, told Minivan News that the some of the artists “recognising the necessity and urgency to focus on the current political and cultural unrest of the Maldives, and to provide solidarity with the majority of the population against the dictatorship”, split from the pavilion following February 7’s controversial transfer of power.

The rebel pavilion, Gilbert said, “presents a selection of works and
 performances from Maldivian and international artists in regards to an expanded conversation of climate.”

Dahlgaard told Minivan News he “initiated the original idea to have a Maldives National Pavilion at the Venice Biennale in 2010, then presented this idea to former President Mohamed Nasheed and former Minister Zulfa,” Dahlgaard told Minivan News this week.

“In December 2011, Zulfa commissioned me to organise/curate this project – there was no money from the Maldivian government involved in this, I was to raise the finances for the project myself,” said Dahlgaard.

“But now the Maldives National Pavilion is a deeply problematic project, which represents the current coup regime. The artists are now puppets of the regime, whether they are aware of it or not,” he added.

Dahlgaard met with former President Mohamed Nasheed in Copenhagen, Denmark this April and discussed the Venice Biennale ‘proxy-coup’.

“Nasheed laughed when I told him about the coup of the Maldives National Pavilion by Khaled Ramadan, the CPS Danish-based Lebanese curator,” recounted Dahlgaard, “because this is of course peanuts in comparison to the fight Nasheed has gone through and is going through for democracy in Maldives.”

‘Hijacked’ pavilion

Dahlgaard explained that he wanted the project to be a collaborative effort and met with many people experienced with Biennales and large exhibitions, and said ultimately Khaled Ramadan and the CPS decided to join the project.

However, the partnership between Dahlgaard and Khaled began to fall apart following the controversial transfer of power which rocked the Maldives in February 2012.

“Khaled has hijacked the project and is now working closely with the coup regime and representing them in Venice,” said Dahlgaard. “Most of the artists in the Pavilion have not been told this story.”

“After the coup in Feb 2012, we decided to continue the planning of the project, since we were hoping the democratic party would be back in power by June 2013, in time for the opening of the Venice Biennale,” he said.

“If this was not the case, the plan was to clearly state that the Maldives National pavilion was representing the democratic Maldives and did not acknowledge the current coup regime,” he continued.

“You have to be aware of the situation you are part of, and this includes the political situation. The political context is very important… even a flower painting is political in the current context of the situation in Maldives,” he explained.

“So you can not ignore that, especially when dealing with an issue like climate change.”

Dahlgaard alleged  that instead of leaving the project, “Ramadan wanted to take control… But the only way he would do this was to jump into the pocket of the current regime in Maldives.”

“Khaled first went to the Venice Biennale office and told them that the commission I had was from the previous government, creating an issue around this so the Biennale Foundation would want a new letter,” said Dahlgaard.

“Then he proceeded to the Maldives, where he stayed for more than two months trying to get an appointment with people at the Ministry of [Tourism and] Culture,” he continued.

According to Dahlgaard, he and Ramadan were supposed to travel to the Maldives together in March 2013, but claimed Ramadan stopped communicating with him in late January.

“I don’t know what Ramadan said to Adheeb and the present Culture Ministry, probably along the lines that ‘Soren Dahlgaard is the son-in-law of [former Foreign Affairs Minister Ahmed] Naseem, is connected to President Nasheed, and therefore representing the opposition now’,” alleged Dahlgaard.

“Or that we had been talking about having a pavilion that would have free expression and be a platform for voices from the ground.”

Ultimately the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture issued a new letter of commission on April 8, 2013, declaring that “Dahlgaard is no longer associated with the Maldives Pavilion by any means” and “obliged” CPS and their representative Ramadan to “send regular reports on their activities to the ministry”.

The previous letter, issued by the ,inistry on March 5, 2013, confirmed that Dahlgaard alone was to be the “official organiser and curator” of the Maldives Pavilion.

“It’s a coup dictator regime that can say whatever they want [and] Adheeb is a horrible gangster,” alleged Dahlgaard.

“He only learned about the project when Khaled Ramadan came to Malé to explain to him that this is a big international cultural prestige project.”

Dahlgaard told Minivan News he believes the situation is “not about two guys having a power struggle”.

“I don’t want or need power or to be the boss; I was not kicking him out,” Dahlgaard said.

“I have nothing to hide and the truth must come out. I am not scared of Khaled’s crazy accusations,” he added. “I have no wish to damage anybody’s reputation. I will however defend myself against untruthful attacks from Khaled Ramadan.”

Nasheed knew nothing about the Biennale: Ramadan

CPS curator Khaled Ramadan and the producer of his documentary film, Abed Anouti, claimed former President Mohamed Nasheed “never knew anything about the pavilion not even till this very moment”.

“I met Mr Nasheed as an Arab journalist and I am sure he has no idea at all about the Maldives Pavilion at the Venice Biennale,” Ramadan said in a letter, sent to Minivan News and the Inter Press Service (IPS) following the publication of articles he felt were “full of errors and misinformation”.

Former President Nasheed told Minivan News on June 10 that “Soren has been working on [the pavilion] for a long time and has in many instances come to me and we have had many discussions about it. The last I heard about was when I was last in Denmark and it’s good he has been able to get the show on the road.”

No dispute

“The pavilion has never been part of any political dispute in the Maldives. It was independently curated from A to Z and different art councils from around the world financed the works of the invited artists,” Ramadan told Minivan News via email.

“In relation to the Venice Biennale, governments do not usually outsource such assignments,” he explained.

“Due to the prestigious nature of the biennale, governments commission professional curators by inviting them to help promote local artists and cultures.”

Ramadan claimed that the “entire project, concept, title, construction of website, design of social media, formulation and design of PR material, and all applications are the outcome of the CPS members, NOT Soren Dahlgaard in any respect.”

“He is incapable of contributing to any of the mentioned products,” Ramadan added. “Mr Dahlgaard has never been an inspiration to any of us in the group due to our academic backgrounds and level of art conduct.”

He alleged Dahlgaard “cheated his way into serious art arrangements like the Venice Biennale by obtaining a letter of commissioning via corrupt contacts and not according to qualifications.”

After the Venice Biennale office contacted the CPS about the March 2013 letter from the Maldives’ Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture, which stated Dahlgaard was to be the sole organiser and curator of the Maldives Pavilion, “we immediately contacted the [Maldives’] Minister of Culture asking for an explanation,” said Ramadan.

He claims the letter Dahlgaard provided the Venice Biennale was a “corrupt letter” which Minister Adheeb “didn’t know anything about”.

“Therefore the minister ordered the total removal of Dahlgaard from the project… following an internal inquiry,” said Ramadan.

He said that the CPS’ collaboration with Dahlgaard ended when the Minister Adheeb “discovered that Mr Dahlgaard was misusing the Ministry’s name and was planning a secret pavilion”.

Contentious IPS article

The split at the biennale was first noted by an article on the Maldives Pavilion published on the Inter Press Service by journalist Ferry Biedermann.

Biedermann wrote that the pavilion, once the initiative of former president Mohamed Nasheed, “was almost abandoned after he resigned under hotly contested circumstances in February 2012.”

“The new government, with plenty of other issues demanding its attention, lost interest and allowed a joint Arab-European collective of curators, calling themselves Chamber of Public Secrets, to take over the pavilion and mount a show under the banner Portable Nation,” the journalist wrote.

He cited Maren Richter, an Austrian associate curator: “They did not care. They did not mind. They don’t believe in the power of art to affect anything anyway.”

Following the publication of the IPS article, referred to by Minivan News in an earlier story on the pavilion controversy, Ramadan and Anouti wrote a letter to both publications accusing Biedermann of “misuse and misinterpretation of our artistic intentions” to “score a journalistic sensation”.

“Our work in the Maldives Pavilion is an independent and positive project that focuses on climate issues in global context while addressing the Maldives as a case study,” the pair stated.

“The article by Ferry Biedermann published at IPS is full of miss information. Mr Ferry NEVER interviewed anyone from the Maldives Pavilion, his claims stand for his own account. He has no sound recording, email correspondence, footage or even photos from the curators of the pavilion to support his claims,” they alleged.

Minivan News put the allegations to Biedermann, who replied he was “puzzled more than anything else by how brazen Mr Anouti is in his attack from the very first line.”

“Unfortunately for him, he immediately makes the grave mistake of saying something that can be easily disproven; of course I have sound recordings and email exchanges to prove that I talked to Ms Richter and communicated by email with Mr Ramadan.

“They would never deny that. If they, as curators, do not belong to the Maldives pavilion, then who does?” he said.

Image courtesty the Maldives Exodus Caravan Show

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Health Trust Fund fundraising events raise over MVR 5.5 million (US$357,142)

Following a week of fundraising events the Health Ministry has raised over 5.5 million MVR (US$357,142) for the Health Trust Fund established in late April, falling short of the MVR 270 million (US$ 17,532,450) needed for health sector services.

The Health Trust Fund was established 20 November 2012 under Ministry of Finance and Treasury regulations and inaugurated on April 29, 2013.

The only way the Health Trust Fund can be maintained is through donations of sufficient assets and in this regard government and private sector contributions are very important, Minister of Health Dr Ahmed Jamsheed recently told local media.

He explained that the health sector requires an additional MVR 270 million (US$ 17,532,450), which requires public contributions and cooperation.

Previously health sector services were “covered by the people”, however following the start of the Aasandha universal health insurance scheme on 1 January 2012 the government of Maldives needed a “huge amount of finance” to cover expenses, said Jamsheed.

Therefore, the Health Ministry organised a series of fundraising events to “commence activities to raise funds, not to gather all the funds need to cover all health sector services,” he added.

“We want health services to be sustainable by putting an end to service disruptions due to machinery breakdowns as well as provide a systematic way for people to give in-kind donations,” Health Ministry Director and fundraising media team member Thasleema Usman told Minivan News yesterday (June 8).

“There has always been a budget shortfall at the Health Ministry, there has never been enough money,” Usman said.

“We wanted to try and do something for the Maldivian people, additionally there are also people who want to contribute [to the fund] for the benefit of the public,” she added.

Usman explained that the various fundraising events were organised as a start for the trust fund and to raise awareness among the public.

“We didn’t want this to be a ‘once off’ thing,” she said.

“Although the total amount of funds raised are still being tallied, as of this afternoon (June 9), the total reported was MVR 5.5 million (US$357,142), with over MVR 2 million (USD$129,870) in cash donations and more than MVR 3 million (US$194,805) from in kind contributions,” Maldives Food and Drug Authority (MFDA) Senior Scientific Officer and fundraising media team member Mariyam Shabeena told Minivan News today (June 9).

Budgetary needs

The health sector budgeted MVR 2.2 billion (US$142,857,000) for 2013, however around MVR 1.1 billion  US$71,428,500) or 50 percent of the total budget is allocated for the National Social Protection Agency (NSPA), according to Usman.

She said that over MVR 5 million is needed for social safety net subsidy programs, such as single parent’s allowance, foster parent’s allowance, disability registration and benefit and electricity subsidies, which fall under NSPA.

NSPA is also responsible for managing the national social health insurance scheme, a public-private partnership with Allied Insurance.

“Aasandha requires 1.13 billion MVR (US$73,376,550) to provide actual health care,” Usman said.

“An additional MVR 500 million (US$32,467,500) is required for Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital (IGMH) operations and the Health Ministry budget also includes institutions, such as the Maldives Food and Drug Authority (MFDA), National Drug Agency (NDA), etc,” she continued.

Usman explained that the health trust fund will be transparent, with legal mechanisms to manage the money.

“The Health Ministry can only have a sustainable trust fund if funds are raised legally, by abiding with Finance Ministry regulations,” she said.

“The fund has a very well written policy that explains how the money will be used and what has been used,” Usman continued.

“A nine member committee chaired by the Health Minister will oversee the fund, which has a grading system to determine where funds are need most.”

Members of the public making contributions can earmark their donations for a particular island or association, but the trust fund committee needs to know what is being earmarked so contributions are not wasted, Usman added.

Events

“We have received a lot of support from the media, they have been a very, very big help,” said Usman.

A one hour telethon pre-show was broadcast nationwide from June 1 – 7 on four TV stations – MBC, VTV, DhiTV, Raajje TV – and three radio stations – MBC, VTV, DhiFM to raise awareness about the fundraising events.

“The broadcast reports showed where we are, the assistance required, and the grand realities of how the Health Ministry spends their budget,” Usman explained.

The actual telethon was held Saturday ( June 8 ) from 6:00am to midnight. It was kicked off with a sponsored walk along one of Male’s main thoroughfares.

Additionally, two charity football matches were held in Male’s National Stadium Friday (June 7), with Maldivian media presenters facing off against film stars.

The film star women’s team was victorious, winning 4 – 0 , while the men’s media team won 3-0 after dominating overtime penalty kicks.

Proceeds from ticket sales and t-shirt purchases also contributed to the Health Ministry fund.

Furthermore, a Children’s Evening fundraising event was also held at Male’s Children’s Park (Kudakudinge Bageecha).

Donation boxes were also placed at ferry terminals in Male’, as well as IGMH, regional and atoll hospitals.

“Ultimately these events were very successful because we were able to raise so much money,” said Usman.

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Raajje TV alleges Maldives Broadcasting Commission warning “biased”

Raajje TV claims a warning issued to them late last week by the Maldives Broadcasting Commission was biased, given their lack of transparent procedures for determining code of conduct violations.

“The Maldives Broadcasting Commission (MBC) sent a letter to Raajje TV last Thursday (June 6) saying the news aired on 23 February 2013 violated their code of conduct,” Deputy CEO of Raajje TV Yamin Rasheed told Minivan News today (June 8).

“Raajje TV strongly believes the commission’s decision is biased and will appeal to Maldives Media Council (MMC), the highest authority,” Rasheed stated.

MBC investigated a complaint that Raajje TV “broadcast false information” when its news-ticker displayed information that the Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) had called on its members to slaughter Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) members, Sun Online reported.

The commission’s investigation concluded that Raajje TV violated the code of practice by “showing images, sounds or texts of content that might damage a person’s dignity or is demeaning in nature”, as stated in articles 3(a), 5(a) and (b), according to local media.

“The ‘caution’ [letter MBC issued] is a warning. If that repeats they will take actions within broadcasting law, which might include temporary suspension of Raajje TV’s broadcast licence,” Rasheed explained.

He believes that MBC’s investigative decision making process is bias, because there is no transparent procedure for determining [code of] conduct violations.

“It is not clear how they concluded these statements, there is no clear procedure, it is not publicly announced,” said Rasheed. “I don’t know how they came to that conclusion.”

“We trust our journalists to report what they hear and see as true, they report the facts,” he stated.

Regarding the February 23 broadcast in question, Rasheed explained that “PPM officials called the MDP a terrorist group at that rally, we have the recorded footage.”

“Yet we don’t know what the opposition submitted against us, we don’t know specifically what the MBC is concerned about [regarding the code of conduct],” said Rasheed.

Rasheed claimed that MBC had “done nothing” in regard to code of conduct violations committed by Television Maldives (TVM), Villa TV (VTV), DhiTV and their sister network DhiFM, which “shows their bias”.

“DhiTV and VTV are constantly harassing politicians, for example saying Nasheed is anti-religious and many other things against him. DhiFM has shown pornographic footage, while the state broadcaster TVM has shown anti-social footage related to Maldivian culture of couples kissing, which is illegal,” alleged Rasheed.

VTV is owed by resort tycoon and Judicial Services Commission (JSC) member, Jumhoree Party (JP) Leader and MP Gasim Ibrahim.

DhiTV and DhiFM are predominantly owned by Champa Mohamed Moosa, a prominent businessman and resort owner in the Maldives.

In March 2013, MBC called for the Maldives Media Company, which owns DhiFM Plus, to air a statement of apology without any reservations from the station for violating the broadcasting code of conduct after allegedly airing pornographic content during a late night news show.

In July 2011, MBC reprimanded DhiFM for repeated use of “indecent language” during programmes aired by the radio station and simultaneously broadcast live by sister network DhiTV in its “visual radio” segment.

The Maldives Broadcasting Commission, as well as its Vice President Mohamed Shahyb, were not responding to calls at time of press.

Maldives Media Council support

Raajje TV plans to appeal the MBC warning with the MMC on Sunday or Monday, according to Rasheed.

“The only thing we see from MBC is the intention to penalise media,” claimed Rasheed.

Conversely, Rasheed praised the MMC for their positive interactions with and support of free press in the Maldives.

“The media council is our parental body, was elected from within the media groups, and is more independent than the commission,” said Rasheed.

“They have a responsibility to protect our rights and regulations and are doing things for media freedom as well as giving us many training opportunities,” he continued.

“They are more all-encompassing in dealing with media because they deal with both print and broadcast journalism,” he added.

Rasheed hopes to receive MMC support in regard to the MBC warning issued, since they previously filed a case with the prosecutor general against the President’s Office for intentionally not cooperating with Raajje TV.

In April, the Civil Court ruled in favour of Raajje TV in its lawsuit against the President’s Office for barring the opposition-aligned television station from President Dr Mohamed Waheed’s press conferences and functions.

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“They do not care”: Maldives outsources climate change pavilion at international art show

The Tourism Ministry outsourced the Maldives’ first national pavilion at the Venice Biennale art show to an Arab-European collective of curators, some of whom have alleged the Maldives government does not care about climate change or the arts.

The overarching theme of the Maldives’ pavilion, entitled “Portable Nation: Disappearance as a Work in Progress – Approaches to Ecological Romanticism”, is about how the survival of the nation, Maldivian people and cultural heritage are threatened by catastrophic climate change impacts, such as rising sea levels.

The pavilion is meant to raise awareness and be a call to action against climate change as well as explore questions of environmental impact, climate change and migration in the Maldives, as part of the art show taking place in Venice, Italy.

The art exhibitions also highlights Maldivians’ current efforts to archive and collect as much of their cultural heritage as possible, prior to the entire nation’s disappearance, due to rising sea levels, and the subsequent forced displacement of 350,000 people.

The Maldives pavilion was “almost abandoned” following the controversial transfer of power February 7, 2012, given that it was originally an initiative of former President Mohamed Nasheed and envisioned as a way to draw attention to climate change and the plight faced by the Maldives, according to an article published by the Inter Press Service (IPS).

Although Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture Ahmed Adeeb commissioned the pavilion, President Mohamed Waheed Hassan Manik’s government “lost interest” in the initiative and allowed a joint Arab-European collective of artists, called the Chamber of Public Secrets (CPS), to curate the exhibitions, alleges the IPS.

Some of the Maldives pavilion curators have accused Waheed’s government of having no interest in the arts, the pavilion exhibitions, or climate change.

“They did not care. They did not mind. They don’t believe in the power of art to affect anything anyway,” associate curator Maren Richter told the IPS.

“The new government even denies the [climate change] problem and says that Nasheed was a liar. They say, ‘He built an airport and resorts, why would he do that if sea levels are rising?’,” added Richter.

CPS curator and Lebanese artist Khaled Ramadan echoed these sentiments in his documentary “Maldives To Be or Not”, which “explores Western preconceived notions about the Maldives and its ecology.”

The film focuses on the current socio-political challenges faced by Maldivians, which include climate change as well as “the corrupt tourism industry” and the struggle “to balance their life between modernity and traditions,” he explained to the publication BLOUIN ARTINFO.

Ramadan visited the Maldives in March 2013 as a “citizen of the Arab world who wanted to learn about what’s left of the shared history and how this amphibious nation is treating its contemporary culture in relation to its ecological strengths and weaknesses.”

“The environmental hazard about the Maldivian nature is an over politicised notion, and the nature has proven to be much more sustainable than the Maldivian culture,” wrote the Maldives Pavilion blog.

“Would our request to represent Maldives as outsiders have been accepted by Venice Biennale officials without official letter from the current Maldives government?” asked Ehsan Fardjadniya, an artist and activist based in Amsterdam participating in Maldives Pavilion.

The initial ideas for the Maldives pavilion were to unite a network of activists to discuss and act on climate change issues and the ongoing political turmoil in the country via a mobile pavilion representing the forced migration of these future climate refugees, Fardjadniya explained in an interview for the Maldives Pavilion blog.

“Right now, the project has found a venue and doesn’t seem to relate itself much or at all with the pressing issues in the Maldives,” said Fardjadniya. “On the contrary, we seem to be commissioned by the current government to represent the Maldives at 55th Venice Biennale.”

“I would rather be an outsider to this present situation and act against this cultural coup,” Fardjadniya declared.

The Maldives pavilion includes a variety of exhibitions created by international multi-media artists, individual contributors and group collaborations.

While the exhibitions were primarily created by artists of various nationalities, two Maldivians, Moomin Fouad and Mohamed Ali, contributed their film “Happy Birthday”. The film, about a kidnapping and disappearance, previously won 12 MFA Awards at the 2011 Maldives Film Festival.

The 55th Venice Biennale was launched on 29 May and will be open to visitors until 24 November.

The Biennale claims to be “one of the most prestigious cultural institutions in the world…promoting new artistic trends and organising international events in contemporary arts” since its formation in 1895.

Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture Ahmed Adeeb was not responding to calls at time of press.

Addendum: Following publication of this article Minivan News received the following statement from Abed Anouti, Producer at the Chamber of Public Secrets, in response to an enquiry made by Minivan News the previous day.

In compliance with CPS’s copyright request Minivan News has also taken down an image of the pavilion’s promotional poster, distributed by CPS and used to illustrate the story.

The article by Ferry Biedermann published at IPS is full of miss information. Mr. Ferry NEVER interviewed anyone from the Maldives Pavilion, his claims stand for his own account. He has no sound recording, email correspondence, footage or even photos from the curators of the pavilion to support his claims.

As we do with all journalists, we only presented to Mr. Ferry our PR which is published on our website. CPS always asks journalists to look at our PR statement at our website to learn more about the project. He didn’t use time to study the artworks at the pavilion, he is not an art writer or even cultural writer, he is another journalist who is looking for sensations.

Mr. Ferry Biedermann is not the only journalist who took advantage of our positive pavilion to score political or journalistic points to himself or his agency.

Minivan is another agency that is spreading rumors and misquotations. Neither the curators of the Maldives Pavilion nor the participating artists have given any interviews to Ferry Biedermann or Minivan.

CPS team and the invited artists worked hard for over a year on the issue of climate change to present a research based art exhibition in Venice, our focus is not only Maldives but environment in a global context.

So far professional art writers have been given the Maldives Pavilion the best reviews and we are among the most popular destinations of the Venice Biennale. Furthermore, the Maldives Pavilion was the only one to be interviewed by the Italian national TV on the day of the opening.

As a professional artists group, we approach the Maldives with positive thinking, we are not journalists who seek negative stories. We don’t wish to politicize art and refuse to be part of any political sensational publishing agencies like Minivan.

Just for the record all conversations and emails with non-professional art writers or art critics are published on our web to avoid misuse or misquotation of any of us like in the case with Mr. Ferry.

Finally, Minivan unethically used our graphic poster without our knowledge or permission. Therefore we urge you to remove it from your website due to copyright.

Abed Anouti,

CPS – Producer

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Judiciary needs transitional arrangement before elections: former JSC member

The former Presidential Member of the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) Aishath Velezinee has called on international organisations to lead a transitional arrangement for the judiciary prior to September’s presidential elections.

UN Special Rapporteur for the Independence of Judges and Lawyers Gabriela Knaul’s final report to the UN Human Rights Council extensively outlined the political, budgetary and societal challenges facing the judiciary and wider legal community, as well as the politicisation of the Judicial Services Commission (JSC) and its failure to appoint qualified judges under Article 285 of the constitution.

The Special Rapporteur also expressed “deep concern” over the failure of the judicial system to address “serious violations of human rights” during the Maldives’ 30 year dictatorship, warning of “more instability and unrest” should this continue to be neglected.

“The UN special rapporteur’s report has raised very serious concerns that the public should be thinking about, because it has implications that affects every single individual in this country, the report is not for the state alone,” said Velezinee during a press conference held on June 5.

“The report raises questions regarding the impartiality of the supreme court. It highlights a political bias in the supreme court,” Velezinee said. “If we are going to allow the supreme court to be the decider on elections, there is very little reason for the public to have confidence in the election results.”

Velezinee noted that because only three months remain before the September 7 presidential elections, “It is time for the parliament and for the leaders to sit down together and come to a transitional arrangement.”

“That transitional arrangement should include a bench or some system outside of existing courts, outside of the supreme court, that will have a final say on all election related issues,” she stated.

“It can’t be done only locally. We need the expertise, presence and participation of the International Commission of Jurists as well as the UN in a transitional arrangement,” she continued.

“Considering the status of the state today, we need a partnership. Bilateral participation would not be something to promote, the best thing would be to have broader participation with international partners,” Velezinee added.

Resistance to consolidating democracy

“Our country today is at a serious critical junction and the issues are all coming from resistance to consolidating democracy,” said Velezinee.

“One of the most serious issues noted in the [UN special rapporteur’s] report is the misconstruing of democratic concepts in the constitution, and the use of these for personal gain by state officials within the JSC, Supreme Court, as well as parliament.”

“After elections the judiciary must be overhauled,” she declared.

The JSC was required to re-appoint judges under Article 285 of the constitution who possessed “educational qualifications, experience and recognised competence to discharge the duties and responsibilities of a judge, and must be of high moral character.”

“It is only through acknowledgement and acceptance that we have breached the constitution on article 285 that we will have the opportunity and the legitimacy to overhaul the judiciary,” explained Velezinee.

“That is very important, unless we do that we may fall into a cycle of coups… and this will go on unless the judiciary functions correctly.”

Velezinee said that while only the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) “has stood by the constitution”, it had failed so far to directly address the controversial re-appointment of unqualified judges to the judiciary.

“I have heard the MDP talk about problems in the judiciary and with individual judges, but I am disappointed I have not yet heard them speak of the constitutional breach of article 285,” she told Minivan News.

“[Parliamentary Speaker Abdulla] Shahid is an expert on democracy and is ready to intervene to return the Maldives to the constitution,” claimed Velezinee. “Having Shahid join the MDP is good because now they can go ahead and return the country [to constitutional rule].”

“I also welcome [former Attorney General Husnu] Suood breaking his silence and taking initiative. It’s a good sign he’s speaking up,” she added.

Eariler this week Suood claimed that the JSC had been taken over “dark powers”, and that it was fully under the control of certain political figures.

Suood further contended that the presidential candidate for the government-aligned Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom, the Deputy Speaker of Parliament and PPM MP Ahmed Nazim, and retired Supreme Court Judge Mujthaz Fahmy have long been in the business of influencing the judges and the verdicts they had been issuing.

“The entire judiciary is under the influence of [retired Supreme Court Judge] Mujthaaz Fahmy,” he alleged.

Suood further alleged that Deputy Speaker Nazim had close ties with members of the JSC, and said several judges had told him that Yameen Abdul Gayoom – half brother of former President of 30 years, Maumoon Abdul Gayoom – had on several occasions given instructions to the judges over the phone as to how their sentences should be phrased.

Yameen and Nazim have denied the allegations.

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Reports Thasmeen to be appointed Waheed’s running mate unconfirmed

Local media has reported that Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) Leader Ahmed Thasmeen Ali will be appointed President Mohamed Waheed’s running mate next Monday, however the parties have yet to confirm the decision.

“We’re getting ready for the day. We will officially begin our campaign that day,” a senior official from one of the coalition parties told Haveeru.

Despite the growing speculation surrounding Thasmeen’s candidacy, Waheed’s Gaumee Ithihaad Party (GIP) and DRP have not made any official announcements.

“So far I have not received confirmation. There is speculation, but these are rumours only, I cannot confirm,” GIP Spokesperson Abbas Adil Riza told Minivan News today (June 4).

DRP Deputy Leader MP Dr Abdulla Mausoom refused to comment on the matter.

Following an inaugural rally of President Waheed’s coalition held May 24, local media reported that Thasmeen was likely to become Dr Waheed’s running mate.

A senior member of the coalition told local news website CNM that Thasmeen’s appointment was “almost finalised” and other coalition parties had no objections.

In May, the government-aligned DRP announced it would be joining the religious conservative Adhaalath Party (AP) and the Dhivehi Qaumee Party (DQP) in a coalition backing President Waheed.

Both the DQP and GIP are small political parties currently facing potential dissolution for lacking the minimum requirement of 10,000 members as stipulated in the recently passed Political Parties Act.

Coup parties consolidating: MDP

“Our concern is the involvement of Waheed and Thasmeen in the coup. That is the disturbing thing for us. We are now seeing the active coup participants come together,” Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) MP and Spokesperson Hamid Abdul Ghafoor told Minivan News today.

“Thasmeen was at police headquarters [on February 7] seen hugging Gasim [Ibrahim], [Dhivehi Qaumee Party (DQP) leader and current presidential advisor Dr Hassan] Saeed, [recently sacked Home Minister Dr Mohamed] Jameel and other non MPs,” said Ghafoor.

“The coup parties are consolidating themselves into one opposition party to defend themselves,” he continued. “We suspect [Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) Presidential candidate MP Abdulla] Yameen will have to follow suit.”

“It is disappointing that the alternative to the PPM, which we hoped [would be the DRP], has double crossed their members,” Ghafoor said.

“The cost to the party is that Thasmeen as lost some of the most valuable DRP MPs and there are no guarantees [he and Waheed will win the presidential elections],” he noted. “Thasmeen has really divided a promising party, he has not done them any favors.”

“We always had some hope the DRP would make a coalition with MDP and [in return] we would forget about [their role in] the coup,” he lamented.

“Come next week the situation could change, it’s very fickle,” Ghafoor concluded.

Any two can become a company: PPM

“Most probably [Waheed] may appoint Thasmeen, it’s a foregone conclusion, he has no other choice,” PPM MP and Campaign Media Manager Ahmed Nihan told Minivan News today.

“It will have no impact on the election. Any two people can become a company,” Nihan said.

“In terms of members and political participation PPM and MDP are the only two proven parties,” he added.

Nihan estimated that PPM currently has between 31,000 and 32,000 members, while current DRP members are not active or do not realise they are still registered with the party.

Nihan also refuted Ghafoor’s allegations that “coup parties are consolidating to defend themselves and Yameen will have to follow suit”.

“On 7 February 2012, what has happened, happened. The MDP still believes it was a coup, however PPM does not. The transition was fine, the CoNI was fine,” said Nihan.

“We have been hanging around and giving our strong support to Waheed to better the country and take care of the people,” he explained. “It is still difficult to find basic services on the islands and we want to make things better.”

However, Nihan alleged that Waheed’s administration is now firing PPM members from various government positions – such as former Home Minister Jameel – and appointing his own supporters in their place, as well as giving them high salaries in exchange for votes in the presidential election.

“The PPM has been sidelined. It is a misconception we should have to follow. They should back off because PPM has strength,” declared Nihan.

2012 police headquarters celebration

Local television station Raajje TV aired a video clip on in March 2012 showing senior then-opposition figures inside police headquarters on February 7, prior to the resignation of former President Mohamed Nasheed.

In the video, Jumhooree Party (JP) leader Gasim Ibrahim makes a comment thanking Allah that former president Mohamed Nasheed resigned before the use of military force.

Thasmeen Ali, shown standing directly in front of Gasim at the time, told Minivan News that he does not recollect Gasim’s statement. “It was very loud,” Thasmeen said.

The video clip depicts former opposition leaders at the time celebrating inside the police head quarters, exchanging hugs, and shouting “Allah Akbar” and “Thank Allah” shortly before Nasheed’s public television resignation of February 7.

According to Raaje Tv’s timeline of the video, inside the Police HQ, current Police Commissioner, Abdulla Riyaz tells the gathered group — which includes Thasmeen, Saeed, former Home Minister and current PPM Vice Presidential running mate Dr Mohamed Jameel, current State Minister for Islamic Affairs Mohamed Didi, current Deputy Commissioner of Police Hussein Waheed, current Foreign Minister Dr Abdul Samad, current Minister of State for Tourism, Arts and Culture Ahmed Shameem, Fonadhoo MP Ali Saleem, and the Adhaalath Party’s Asadullah Shafee — that he has now shared the mutinying police’s demands with the opposition leaders and asks them to give the police a response.

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