“El Al will be a Trojan horse for Maldives”: George Galloway

The commencement of flights by Israeli national airline El Al to the country will be “a Trojan horse for the Maldives,” warns controversial British politician George Galloway.

In a video message aired at the Adhaalath party national congress that concluded last night, the former MP said that he was “deeply shocked” by the government’s decision to authorise the operation of Israeli national carrier in the Maldives on December 13.

“At a time when Arab doors are closing on Israel as a result of the Arab revolution, the idea that the Maldives, an entirely Muslim country, would open the door for El Al, the Israeli national carrier, and bring the Israeli flag into their country, and bring the Mossad and all the attendants who will come with it, is just absurd to me,” said Galloway.

He added that Israeli flights would be “a Trojan horse for the Maldives.”

“You will be bringing Israel into your country at a time when most civilised people are trying to get Israel out of their country,” he continued.

“So I very much hope the people of the Maldives will rally behind the campaign to stop this infiltration of the country by this Zionist settler state. The blood of the Palestinian people for 63 or 64 years now is on this project and nobody should want to share in this blood.”

In April this year, the religious conservative Adhaalath party threatened to terminate its coalition agreement with the ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) in protest if Israeli flights are allowed to commence flights to the country.

Transport Minister Adil Saleem however said in June that the airline would allow Maldivians to visit Masjid-al-Aqsa in Jerusalem, the third holiest site for Muslims.

Adil Saleem noted that 500 Maldivians had visited Israel this year and authorising El Al to operate flights to the country would provide a cheaper option for pilgrims.

Official figures meanwhile revealed that 433 Israeli tourists visited the Maldives in 2004, followed by 758 in 2005; 569 in 2006; 838 in 2007; 1307 in 2008; 1588 in 2009 and 1380 in 2010.

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Parliament committees reconstituted with over half the session consumed

MPs have been selected for standing committees today following yesterday’s 61-3 vote to approve a compromise over the reworked composition agreed upon by parliamentary group (PG) leaders.

The three dissenting votes were cast by Independent MPs Ahmed Amir and Ahmed “Redwave” Saleem along with Nolhivaram MP Mohamed Nasheed of the ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP).

MPs of the Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party’s (DRP) Z-faction, Ahmed Mahlouf, Ilham Ahmed and Afrashim Ali, were notably chosen by the split main opposition party for the coveted ‘241’ Security Services Committee – the Z-DRP MPs disrupted last week’s sitting in protest of the previous compromise reached by PG leaders, which would have given the MDP a voting majority on the now-opposition controlled committee.

As a result of the drawn out dispute over committee composition – sparked by the defection of two opposition MPs to the ruling party in May – parliamentary committees have remained stalled since the current session began in June.

The second session of parliament this year is meanwhile due to end next month as Majlis breaks for recess at the end of August.

Apart from authority to summon state officials and conduct inquiries, parliamentary committees are tasked with reviewing and finalising legislation as well as evaluating the President’s nominees to the cabinet, independent institutions and foreign missions.

Four out of 14 bills proposed by the government as part of its economic reform package were sent to committee on Monday while debate on the rest is set to continue next week.

Among the economic reform legislation on the agenda today were proposed laws for business registration, real estate, inheritance, business partnerships and company rules as well as a bill to abolish the Foreign Investment Act of 1979.

Revised committee composition : –

1. Rules Committee five seats for the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP); five seats for the Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP); one seat for People’s Alliance (PA); Eydhafushi MP Ahmed “Redwave” Saleem as the Independent MP

2. Public Accounts Committee five seats for MDP; four seats for DRP; one seat for PA; one seat for Dhivehi Qaumee Party (DQP)

3. Economics Committee – five seats for MDP; three seats for DRP; one seat for Jumhooree Party (JP); Meedhoo MP Ahmed “Sun Travel” Shiyam and Eydhafushi MP Ahmed “Redwave” Saleem as the Independent MPs

4. Social Affairs Committee – four seats for MDP; three seats for DRP; two seats for PA; one seat for JP; Velidhoo MP Ali Mohamed as the Independent MP

5. Independent Institutions Committee – five seats for MDP; four seats for DRP; one seat for PA; Kulhudhufushi South MP Mohamed Nasheed as the Independent MP

6. Government Oversight Committee – four seats for MDP; four seats for DRP; one seat PA; one seat for JP; one seat for DQP

7. National Development Committee – five seats for MDP; three seats for DRP; one seat for PA; Kudahuvadhoo MP Ahmed Amir and Kaashdihoo MP Ismail Abdul Hameed as the Independent MP

8. National Security Committee – five seats for MDP; three seats for DRP; one seat for PA; Dhuvafaru MP Mohamed Zubair and Guraidhoo MP Ibrahim Riza as the Independent MPs

9. General Affairs Committee – five seats for MDP; three seats for DRP; one seat for PA; Kudahuvadhoo MP Ahmed Amir and Dhuvafaru MP Mohamed Zubair

10. Petition Committee – five seats for MDP; three seats for DRP; one seat for PA; one seat for JP; Kaashidhoo MP Ismail Abdul Hameed as the Independent MP

11. Privileges Committee – five seats for MDP; three seats for DRP; one seat for PA; one seat for JP; Guraidhoo MP Ibrahim Riza as the Independent MP

12. Ethics Committee – five seats for MDP; four seats for DRP; one seat for PA; Velidhoo MP Ali Mohamed as the Independent MP

13. ‘241’ Security Services Committee * – five seats for MDP; three seats for DRP; one seat for PA; one seat for JP; one seat for DQP; Guraidhoo MP Ibrahim Riza and Kaashidhoo MP Ismail Abdul Hameed as the Independent MP

* Article 241 of the Constitution states, “A committee of the People’s Majlis shall be established to exercise continuing oversight of the operations of the security services. The committee shall include representation from all the different political parties within the People’s Majlis.” Unlike the other 12 standing committees, which has 11 seats, the 241 committee has 13 seats.

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Expenditure on political appointees two percent of state wage bill, says Finance Ministry

Expenditure on 244 political appointees in the executive branch is two percent of the state’s wage bill or Rf99 million (US$6.4 million) a year, according to official figures released by the Ministry of Finance and Treasury.

The Rf1.6 billion (US$103 million) of annual spending on 20,476 civil servants meanwhile accounts for 39 percent of total state expenditure on salaries and allowances, followed by 24 percent for uniformed bodies (5,949 police and army officers), 17 percent for local councils (1,091 elected councillors), 10 percent for independent institutions (1,904 employees) and five percent for the judiciary (1,461 employees).

Annual expenditure on parliament (211 employees) accounts for two percent while administrative staff at the President’s Office (186 employees) represent one percent of the total wage bill.

A press statement issued by the ministry today notes that the figures were made public because “misleading statements” were being made about government spending.

“The economy has been adversely affected as a result of the state budget deficit in past years,” it reads. “One thing to be noted is the significant increase of recurrent expenditure compared to revenue. Recurrent expenditure is 12 percent above the government income forecast for 2011. Moreover, 49 percent of the state’s recurrent expenditure is spent on salaries and allowances for state employees.”

“Tip of the iceberg”

Speaking to Minivan News today, MP Dr Abdulla Mausoom of the opposition Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) said that expenditure on political appointees in the executive was “just the tip of the iceberg.”

“The whole country was corporatised,” he explained. “There’s a roads corporation and all sorts of corporations. The people appointed to the boards of these corporations are all purely political appointees. They were appointed directly by the President to promote a political agenda.”

He added that the corporations were created “to give political posts to [ruling Maldivian Democratic Party] MDP activists.”

Moreover, said Mausoom, the corporations have “taken millions of dollars in loans to give salaries to these MDP activists.”

“Some of these people are not qualified at all,” he claimed. “There are people who have been made Managing Directors who cannot even read an MoU [Memorandum of Understanding] written in English.”

Dr Mausoom argued that the majority of senior officials in the corporations were filling “useless posts.”

The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of parliament had requested information about expenditure on corporations, he continued, but the figures had not been provided.

“Most of them don’t even show up at the office,” he said. “Every day between sunrise and sunset, a new post is created in these corporations.”

“Distortions”

Finance Minister Ahmed Inaz however dismissed Dr Mausoom’s contention as “an attempt to distort” the information made public today.

Inaz insisted that senior officials of corporatised entities were not paid salaries or allowances out of the government’s wage bill.

The Finance Minister explained that state-owned enterprises such as the State Trading Organisation (STO) were managed as businesses and paid their employees from income raised through their operations.

“Other corporations such as Dhiraagu pay dividends to the government,” he said.

While subsidies were granted to the State Electricity Company (STELCO), Inaz said that the government’s policy was to switch to targeted subsidies for the poor.

“What would happen if we suddenly brought a speeding motorcycle to a halt?” he asked, referring to public companies. “It will slide off the road and crash.”

On the cost of political appointees, the Finance Minister argued that two percent of the wage bill was “a negligible amount.”

“Say for example that we eliminated all political posts and only President Nasheed is left in the executive,” he said. “Reducing or eliminating two or three percent would not have a significant impact on state expenditure.”

Austerity battles

In August 2009, the government’s decision to introduce a raft of austerity measures – including unpopular pay cuts of up to 15 percent for civil servants to reign in the ballooning budget deficit – was met with fierce resistance from opposition parties.

The pay cuts sparked a protracted legal dispute between the Finance Ministry and the Civil Service Commission (CSC), which won a court case against the ministry in April 2010 to restore salaries to previous levels.

Meanwhile an internal World Bank report produced for the donor conference in May 2010 noted that increases to the salaries and allowances of government employees between 2006 and 2008 reached 66 percent, which was “by far the highest increase in compensation over a three year period to government employees of any country in the world.”

“Even before government revenues fell and when government revenues were at an all time high in 2008, the ratio of the wage bill to revenues at 46.5 percent was also at an all-time high (46.5 percent compared to an average of 38.1 percent between 2000 and 2007). When revenues plummeted in 2009, the share of the wage bill to revenues rose an astronomical 89 percent,” the report explains.

In April this year, the government launched a programme to incentive voluntary redundancy in the civil service.

Finance Minister Inaz told Minivan News in May that the programme “has to this date enrolled 800 people and already some of them have already been paid and moved out of the civil service. We hope over the next few weeks we will achieve our target of 1300.”

Inaz observed at the time that slimming down the civil service would not be easy: “The country’s employment has been totally dependent on the government. It is a very big change, and we have said we want the government to be a policy maker, a regulator, but not doing business, so jobs are created in the private sector.”

State wage expenditureAnnual expenditure on salaries and allowancesPercentage of total wage bill or expenditure on employees
Civil servants or employees under the executive (excluding political appointees and councillors)Rf1,596,029,00739 %
Uniformed bodiesRf1,001,489,48624 %
Political appointees in the executive branchRf99,178,9802 %
Administrative staff at the President’s OfficeRf27,326,7301 %
CouncilsRf717,250,03017 %
JudiciaryRf210,282,4635 %
People’s Majlis or legislative branchRf79,210,7182 %
Institutions dependent on state budgetsRf393,620,94310 %
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MP Yameen dismisses allegations of blackmarket oil trade with Burma

Minority opposition People’s Alliance (PA) Leader MP Abdulla Yameen called on the government today to investigate allegations of US$800 million worth of blackmarket oil trade by the State Trading Organisation (STO) while he was chairman of the state-owned enterprise.

During parliamentary debate on a resolution proposed by MP Mohamed Musthafa demanding an investigation into the allegations, Yameen conceded that STO did sell oil to Burma “but if you claim that the trade was illegal, you have to prove it first.”

“This was done by forming a company in a country where such matters are most closely monitored,” he said. “That company is audited by STO auditors. An illegal business would not be allowed to operate in Singapore. This was not a secret trade.”

Yameen added that STO senior officials alleged to be involved in the oil trade were still employed by the government: “They are now in high posts in the MDP,” he said.

“So if you dare to investigate this, by all means go ahead,” he continued. “I encourage that this be investigated. The other thing I want to say is that I have now become impatient. Even if they stack US$800 million worth of documents on one end of the scale, there is no way they would be able to prove [any wrongdoing].

“The documents are with the government. We did not take documents home with us when we left office,” he said.

Yameen, brother of former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom and long-serving Trade Minister in his cabinet, claimed that the administration possessed a list of senior officials of the previous government who had purchased assets overseas.

“The government will have that list now,” he said. “Why is it that they won’t make it public? I know that this work was done under the World Bank’s stolen assets recovery programme [StAR]. This list will have people who are now helping this government, not anyone else. Why don’t you release the list?”

The MP for Mulaku claimed that the government has paid “over a million dollars” to forensic accounting firm Grant Thornton, without uncovering any evidence to implicate Yameen.

“In such investigations, forensic accountants are given two or  three weeks to complete their work,” he said. “[But] this has now been dragged out for over a year.”

Yameen said that he was “ready to sue” for defamation if a final report “under seal and signature of Grant Thornton” was made public.

“But there’s no way to file this suit because no official document has been released,” he continued. “All that’s been released are draft reports without any signature or seal that can be taken to court.”

Yameen added that “the US$800 million worth of trade was done with back-to-back LCs (lines of credit) in Singapore based on trust between one bank and another.”

“All the bank documentation is there,” he said, claiming that Grant Thornton had cleared out all the “invoices and documents” from STO Singapore so that “there’s not even one photocopy left.”

“How can eight or nine years worth of documents of a government company be taken like this?” he asked. “I know this for a fact.”

The right of individuals to be considered innocent until proven guilty was “a sacred provision” in the Maldivian constitution, he said.

During the heated debate that followed, Former Finance Minister Gasim Ibrahim urged the government to allow the allegations to be investigated either by police or the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) as “they are the institutions that are legally empowered to conduct investigations.”

“I don’t believe this case should be debated in parliament,” said Gasim, arguing that the constitution protected the rights of the accused.

MP Eva Abdulla of the ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) meanwhile observed that the audit report of the State Trading Organisation (STO) had noted that about Rf11 million (US$80,000) in local currency was released to Emerald Resort Pvt Ltd as loan facilities between April 1, 2003 to April 3, 2005 to be paid back in US dollars.

“The same report noted that STO imported medical equipment without a bidding process at a much higher price than [the equipment] was available for,” she continued.

Eva also referred to the audit reports of the Maldives Customs Service, which revealed that luxury yachting company Sultans of the Seas in 2007 had forged documents to evade import duties for a yacht.

“After that the audit report of the presidential palace Theemuge noted that Rf104 million was given out as assistance,” she said. “From that, 50,000 Singapore dollars were spent for medical assistance to the [former President’s] family members. And US$20,000 for a member of the People’s Majlis. And so on until Rf100 million was reached. It’s not just the US$800 million dollar case we want to investigate. We want this to be looked into.”

The MDP MP for Galolhu North revealed that the Presidential Commission was currently investigating over 25 similar cases of corruption and misappropriation of state funds by the former government.

“Honourable Speaker, whether it is me [facing corruption allegations], the Deputy Speaker, the leader of a fragmented and unraveling party, the brother of a deposed ruler, we want to make certain that these investigations will go ahead and that we can have justice,” she said. “We want to stop looking back as a nation and breathe freely. We can only do that when we face these cases of corruption and find out the truth.”

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Four taxation bills sent to committee

Four bills of the government’s economic reform package were sent to a parliamentary sub-committee for further review yesterday.

The four pieces of legislation would together introduce a five percent general goods and service tax (GST), an income tax, a corporate profit tax and excise import duties for most items from January 1, 2012.

All four bills received on average higher than 50 votes from the 72 MPs present and voting. To expedite the legislative process, an 11-member sub-committee was chosen to review the bills with five MPs of the ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), three MPs of the opposition Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP), Jumhooree Party (JP) Leader Gasim Ibrahim, one MP of the minority opposition People’s Alliance (PA) and Dhuvafaru MP Mohamed Zubair as an Independent MP.

Presenting the income tax bill on behalf of the government yesterday, MP Ilyas Labeeb said that the economic reform programme was now being implemented with the introduction of direct taxation in the Maldives for the first time.

“The bill I’m presenting today is the personal income tax,” he began. “Income tax will be taken from individuals whose total monthly income from their salary or other sources exceed Rf30,000 (US$1,900). The tax will be taken from income above that amount.”

All citizens and non-citizens who earn their income in the Maldives will be eligible for the tax. For naturalised citizens and residents, income earned abroad will be taxable as well.

Ilyas explained that the income tax would be progressive and divided into five tax brackets, whereby people with higher income would pay higher rates.

The tax rates are set at three percent for monthly incomes between Rf30,000 to Rf40,000; six percent for incomes between Rf60,000 and Rf100,000; nine percent for incomes between Rf100,000 and Rf150,000; and 15 percent for Rf150,000 and higher.

The legislation specifies 15 sources of income that would be considered taxable, Ilyas continued, while Zakat funds (alms for the poor), pension contributions, interest payments and capital allowance or investment would be exempt from taxation.

Individuals would meanwhile be required to submit an annual personal income tax statement.

If passed, the income tax law will come into effect on January 1, 2012.

Ilyas observed that the introduction of a 3.5 percent tourism goods and services tax (TGST) in January this year had revealed that the country’s GDP per capita was closer to US$4,060 than the previous estimate of US$2,840.

“We learned that the Maldivian economy is such that each citizen should get close to Rf5,000 (US$300) a month,” Ilyas said. “[But] the country’s wealth is shared by disproportionately few people. One in four people do not make even Rf1,000 (US$60) a month.”

Ilyas urged opposition MPs to set aside political differences “to save future generations from indebtedness.”

As a result of deficit financing by both the current and former governments through foreign loans, printing local currency and sale of T-bills, the state is in debt to the tune of Rf18 billion (US$1.4 million).

Meanwhile at a press briefing outside parliament today, DRP Leader Ahmed Thasmeen Ali said that the party gave its MPs a free whip to vote on the taxation bills.

“We cannot make a final decision without listening to what the government has to say about reducing total state expenditure and without looking into the details of the bills, such as how the money taken from the people would be spent,” he said.

The main opposition party however decided yesterday not to impose a three-line whip on proceeding with the tax bills at the committee stage, Thasmeen said.

“Our final decision will be made after the bill is accepted based on how it is shaped in the final stages,” he explained. “We will question the government during [the committee review] process and they will not get our cooperation unless they are ready to shape the bill the way we want.”

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DRP to reject Dr Didi’s reappointment as Fisheries Minister

The main opposition Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) will vote against approving the reappointment of Dr Ibrahim Didi as Fisheries Minister, DRP Leader Ahmed Thasmeen Ali declared today.

Dr Didi, newly-elected President of the ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), was appointed Minister of Fisheries and Agriculture by President Mohamed Nasheed this morning, one year after Dr Didi resigned along with the entire cabinet.

Speaking to press outside parliament today, Minority Leader Thasmeen said that the DRP decided not to endorse the appointment as Dr Didi was among seven ministerial appointees who did not receive parliamentary consent in November.

The DRP Leader argued that Dr Didi “lacked sincerity” for accepting the post after pledging to devote all his time to managing the party in his campaign for the MDP presidency.

Thasmeen“What he said [during the campaign] implied that persons in high posts could not sufficiently fulfill the responsibilities of the MDP presidency,” Thasmeen said. “What he said also implied that he would not accept a senior post that would make it difficult to work [as MDP president].”

Thasmeen urged “other opposition parties working with us” to vote with the DRP to reject Dr Didi’s reappointment.

Asked whether the party would approve the President’s nominee for Defence Minister, Tholhath Ibrahim, Thasmeen said that a decision would be made after evaluation by committee.

Dr Didi’s case was meanwhile “a matter of principle” as his appointment had already been rejected: “We do not accept the President appointing someone parliament has already rejected.”

The DRP MP for Kendhoo noted that the party had voted against the reappointment of MDP President Dr Ibrahim Didiformer Attorney General Dr Ahmed Ali Sawad for a second time.

Speaking to Minivan News today, Dr Didi said that the stated reasons for the DRP’s decision not to endorse his appointment was “completely without substance.”

“For the leader of the DRP to raise the issue on behalf of the MDP is questionable,” he said. “Is Thasmeen a member of the MDP?”

Dr Didi added that MDP members would not object to his reappointment as the decision was made by President Nasheed, “who is the leader of the MDP.”

Acting MDP Chairperson “Reeko” Moosa Manik has meanwhile congratulated Dr Didi on his reappointment to the cabinet.

Dr Didi insisted that his acceptance of the post did not contradict any campaign pledges.

“What I said was that I would not accept any political post that would hinder my work as MDP president,” he explained. “I was at the MDP office even this afternoon.”

He added that the ministerial duties would not create “any difficulty” to management of the party: “I’m the one who would know how I should plan my time.”

The DRP’s decision not to approve the President’s nominees was “very irresponsible,” Didi continued, as “they have not given a substantial reason for the rejection.”

Didi dismissed Thasmeen’s contention that the decision to reject the reappointment was a question of principle: “By ‘principles’ what he really means is ‘politics,'” he said.

“[When parliament rejected seven ministers in November] they were not able to show any evidence that I had failed to perform my duties as a minister” he stressed. “None of the reasons they have given relate to my performance [as former Fisheries Minister].”

The government wanted to work with “a strong and competitive opposition,” said Didi, “but the lack of such an opposition party continues to pose many serious challenges for us.”

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PA split from DRP forces reworking of committee composition

Speaker Abdulla Shahid urged parliamentary group (PG) leaders today to agree upon a revised composition for standing committees by the end of the day, following official notice of the People’s Alliance’s (PA) split from the main opposition Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP).

“Due to this change, according to the rules of procedure we have to carry out the task of allocating members to the Majlis’ standing committee,” he said, appealing for the parties to determine the composition by the end of the day. “A month and a half of this session has passed without any committees functioning.”

Shahid noted that with the opposition coalition dissolved, 24 MPs remained to the DRP after the departure of PA’s seven MPs.

Article 101(b) of the parliamentary rules states the number of MPs each party has “should be taken as the basis” for determining the composition of committees.

Prior to the split, the combined strength of the DRP-PA entitled the opposition coalition to 39 percent of each of the 11-member committees, or four seats in each committee.

The ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) with its 34 MPs meanwhile commands five seats (45 percent) in each committee.

MP Ibrahim ‘Ibu’ Mohamed Solih, parliamentary group leader of the MDP, told Minivan News that PG leaders met today and “have reached an agreement.”

“I hope that it will be announced tomorrow,” he added.

Ibu Solih revealed that the ruling party had not demanded control of specific committees.

“In some committees, we have even let go of one of our five seats,” he said. “In any case, I hope the decision will be announced tomorrow.”

Much of the current parliament session that began in June has been consumed by disputes over committee composition, which was sparked by the defection of opposition MPs to the ruling party during the May recess.

The committee reshuffle was necessitated when the MDP became the majority party with 34 seats.

As all eight Independent MPs had a voting record favoring either the government or opposition, the parties had to agree upon which Independent MP would sit on which committee.

After weeks of forced cancellations and wrangling at the negotiation table, parliamentary group leaders reached a compromise to allow the opposition to retain control of the influential Public Accounts Committee and Government Oversight Committee.

The ruling party meanwhile won provisional control of the coveted ‘241’ Security Services Committee with MPs Ismail Abdul Hameed and Ali Mohamed chosen among three Independent MPs on the committee.

MPs of the DRP’s breakaway Z-faction however objected to both the compromise and the nature of the sitting where it was voted through, vowing to disrupt future sittings in protest.

Defending the party leadership at the time, DRP MP Rozaina Adam told press that the party had “sacrificed” its slots on some committees to allow Independents and DQP MP Riyaz Rasheed to have a seat.

Rozaina explained that two of the Independent MPs on the 241 committee were “two MPs that both sides believe to be neutral.”

Revised composition of the most influential standing committees as agreed upon on July 5,

Public Accounts Committee five seats for MDP; four seats for DRP-PA; one seat for Dhivehi Qaumee Party (DQP); Eydhafushi MP Ahmed “Redwave” Saleem as the Independent MP

Economics Committee – five seats for MDP; three seats for DRP-PA; one seat for Jumhooree Party (JP); one seat for DQP; Kaashidhoo MP Ismail Abdul Hameed as the Independent MP

Independent Institutions Committee – five seats for MDP; five seats for DRP-PA; Kulhudhufushi South MP Mohamed Nasheed as the Independent MP

Government Oversight Committee – five seats for MDP; five seats for DRP-PA; one seat for JP

National Development Committee – five seats for MDP; five seats for DRP-PA; Meedhoo MP Ahmed Shiyam Mohamed as the Independent MP

National Security Committee – five seats for MDP; four seats for DRP-PA; Dhuvafaru MP Mohamed Zubair and Guraidhoo MP Ibrahim Riza as the Independent MPs

Ethics Committee – four seats for MDP; four seats for DRP-PA; one seat for JP; Meedhoo MP Ahmed Shiyam Mohamed and Kudahuvadhoo MP Ahmed Amir as the Independent MPs

’241′ Security Services Committee – four seats for MDP; two seats for DRP-PA; one seat for JP; one seat for DQP; Guraidhoo MP Ibrahim Riza, Velidhoo MP Ali Mohamed and Kaashidhoo MP Ismail Abdul Hameed as the Independent MP

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Z-DRP requests PG investigate MDP MPs’ “act of terrorism”

Opposition MPs met with Prosecutor General (PG) Ahmed Muiz today to request criminal charges be pressed against MPs of the ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) for bolting the chamber doors and “hijacking parliament” on July 13.

Speaking to press outside the Prosecutor General’s Office, MP Ahmed Mahlouf said that the opposition MPs considered the incident an “act of terrorism” and “a serious criminal offence.”

“In addition, because neither the army nor police took any action against MDP members protesting outside the parliament building, where gatherings are illegal, we also submitted that complaint,” he said.

He added that the MPs requested an investigation into MDP activists locking parliament gates with chains “as a serious issue.”

PG Muiz with MP Hamdhoon Hameed
PG Muiz with MP Hamdhoon Hameed

Speaking to Minivan News today, MP Ibrahim ‘Ibu’ Mohamed Solih, parliamentary group leader of the ruling party, said that the opposition MPs’ decision to take matters up with the PG was “regrettable.”

“There are internal arrangements [within parliament] to deal with such matters,” he explained. “If there was an issue of privileges or ethics, we have a privileges committee and an ethics committee that can investigate [complaints].”

Ibu Solih insisted that there was no criminal element to the disturbances in parliament last week.

Z-DRP MPs Mahlouf, Ilham Ahmed, Ali Arif and Ahmed Nihan were joined at the meeting this afternoon by MPs of the minority opposition Jumhooree Party, People’s Alliance and Dhivehi Qaumee Party.

Mahlouf told reporters that “rocks and water bottles” hurled into the building caused harm to both MPs and officers of the Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF).

He claimed that PA MP Abdul Raheem Abdulla was hit by a rock while an MNDF officer’s eyes were “seriously hurt” by a projectile.

The DRP MP for Galolhu South noted that neither the MNDF nor police moved to offer protection to Deputy Speaker Ahmed Nazim “an hour and a half after the hijacking.”

“After the sitting finished, for the security forces to stand by and do nothing while the Deputy Speaker and MPs were hijacked in there is a very serious problem,” he said.

Asked if any MP was directly prevented from leaving the chamber that day, Mahlouf said that he “tried to get out [of the chamber] but couldn’t do it.”

“My grandmother was at the ICU at the time and I couldn’t go there,” he said. “We couldn’t even go to the toilet. We have videos of all of this and we have even shared some with the media.”

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Tourist facilities given 3-months to pay outstanding rent, fines

The Ministry of Tourism has warned tourist resorts, hotels and guest houses with outstanding debts to settle at least 25 percent of unpaid rent and fines by July 20, 2011 or face the revoking of licenses.

According to a statement released by the ministry Thursday, operating licenses granted by the ministry will be revoked or withheld if the overdue amounts owed to the state were not paid in full during the next three months.

“If the monies owed by July 20, 2011 is not paid in the next three months from July 12, 2011, the cases [of non-payment of rent and fines] will be forwarded to the Ministry of Finance and Treasury,” the statement said.

It adds that the resorts, hotels and guest houses with unpaid rent and fines have been informed of the government’s decision.

Local media meanwhile reported that the tourism companies owed a total of US$20 million to the government.

Tourism Ministry Deputy Director General Hassan Zameer told Minivan News today that the Maldives Inland Revenue Authority (MIRA) was responsible for tax collection and would be calculating the figure owed as of July 20.

Zameer however confirmed that the rent and fines for non-payment were owed by a total of 10 resorts.

Asked if the ministry was receiving cooperation from the tourist businesses, Zameer said that it was “hard to say they’ve been cooperating because the measure we’ve taken was of the last resort.”

The businesses were given “a final warning” on July 5, he explained, after which the cabinet decided to give a 90-day notice as stipulated in the tourism laws.

MIRA has meanwhile sued six of the companies to recover outstanding rent and fines. The cases are ongoing at the Civil Court.

According to MIRA’s quarterly report for June, a total of Rf1.2 billion (US$93 million) was collected in the second quarter, 81 percent of which were dollar receipts.

Tourism land rent, tourism goods and services tax (TGST) and tourism tax represents 23 percent, 17 percent and 16 percent respectively of total revenue.

A total of Rf521.5 million (US$40.5 million) was collected as tax revenue in the month of June.

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