Author: Ahmed Nazeer

Fraudulent party registrations force EC to issue fingerprint forms

The Elections Commission (EC) has released a new political party registration form to avoid a recurrent problem of people being registered for political parties without their knowledge.

President of the EC Fuad Thaufeeq said the commission had uncovered an estimated 900-1100 people registered to political parties without their knowledge, “from all political parties.”

Fuad said the commission had sent notice to all the political parties that they would not accept any other registration form than the new form.

”Before all the parties had their own registration forms,” Fuad said. ”Those forms only required the person’s name and identity card number.”

Fuad said the new form required the person’s fingerprint, two witnesses and their signature.

”If anyone complains about the registrations [from now on] we can check the fingerprint through the police fingerprint database,” he said. ”If a form is presented with the wrong fingerprint we can identify the person and charge him with forgery, giving false information and signing another person’s signature.”

He said that the commission was contemplating creating a law concerning false registration.

”We cannot charge anybody over the 900-1100 false registrations,” he said, ”but hereafter we can identify it and treat it as a serious issue.”

He said the new registration form was now effective.

Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) MP Ahmed Mahloof said that he was pleased with the new procedure.

Mahloof claimed that there were many recent complaints by DRP members that they had been registered instead as members of the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP).

”They have stolen lots of our people,” he claimed. ”MDP would not even have a membership of 25,000 people.”

MDP MP Ahmed Easa said the new procedure was good and would avoid false registration.

Easa said MDP had received many complaints from people that they were registered in a political party without their knowledge.

”This form will make it more difficult for people to be registered in political parties,” he said.

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Parliament passes bill on broadcasting corporation

The parliament yesterday passed a bill establishing a broadcasting corporation, with board members to be appointed by parliament and responsible for controlling public media TVM and Voice of Maldives.

The bill effectively gives legal weight and parliamentary backing to the Maldives National Broadcasting Corporation (MNBC), which already runs state media.

Out of 69 MPs present, 42 voted to pass the bill. The bill was presented to the parliament by the government, with MPs attempting to introduce 35, but during the vote only 18 amendments were passed.

Spokesperson for the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) Parliamentary group Mohamed Shifaz said he was happy with the broadcasting bill but was unhappy on how the broadcasting corporation bill was passed.

Shifaz said that according to the bill the board members would be appointed by the parliament.

”The parliament will be appointing people for the board,” Shifaz said. “Parliament will do the interviewing and select people.”

Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) MP Ahmed Mahloof said he was “very happy” with the bill, suggesting consternation within the MDP over the appointment of board members was “because TVM is the only media now which promotes the government.”

Mahloof said the MDP MPs were worried that if TVM became independent, “there will be no one to promote the MDP.”

”TVM would never report anything negative to the governemnt,” he said. ”It always promotes the government, that’s why they are worried that TVM might become independent when the parliament appoints board members for the broadcasting corporation.”

He said if the bill was approved by the president, media in the Maldives would become “free and independent.”

MDP MP Ahmed Easa said that appointing the board members by the parliament, announcing for interested applicants for the position and interviewing the applicants by the parliament made the parliament “a place where business is done.”

Easa said that the opposition MPs passed the bill because “they want to change the public media the way they want to.”

”It is fine if the parliament monitors the board,” he said, ”but if they are appointing people for the board that means the parliament is [participating in] the country’s business community.”

DRP MP Abdulla Mausoom said the bill was passed with majority support of MPs.

Mausoom said the President Mohamed Nasheed should “be very happy” with the way the bill was passed claiming that many people blamed the government for attempting to control the media.

”Now the president can say he has no power over the media,” Mausoom said.

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Convicted terrorist escapes DPRS on motorbike

A man sentenced for six years for charges of terrorism relating to the Himandhoo incident escaped yesterday as he was being transferred from the court to Malé Prison.

Spokesperson for the Juvenile Court Zaeema Nasheed identified the man as Hussein Nishan, 18, of Roze Hose in Himandhoo of North Ari Atoll.

Zaeema said that the man escaped by the time he was transferred to Male’ prison by a court officer from the Juvenile Court yesterday around 3:00pm.

”A court officer took him to the Department of Penitentiary and Rehabilitation Service (DPRS) and the department requested a court officer to take him to Male’ jail,” she said. ”It is the responsibility of the DPRS to take prisoners to the place where they are to be kept.”

She said Nishan fled on a motor-bike which stopped near Galolhu Male’ Hiya.

”The court officer immediately informed us about the incident,” Zaeema said, adding the department “immediately informed the police.”

She said the court officer did not manage to see the registration number of the motor bike.

Zaeema said there had several recent cases where prisoners had escaped custody, but noted that this was the most recent incident.

”We do not have a vehicle at the court [to transfer prisoners,” she said, ”and we have very low security procedures.”

She said Nishan was charged for terrorism in 2007 for attacking the Armed Forces of Maldives in Himandhoo when he was only 16 years old.

”The case was sent to the court by the Prosecutor General’s office on 24 July 2008.”

A source in DPRS told Minivan News that the court officer went with Nishan to DPRS around 4:00pm yesterday.

”We told him to transfer Nishan to Male’ Jail,” he said, ”and when we called after a while to check where he was, Niham said that the man escaped.”

He added that Nishan had cooperated during the trial.

Sub-Inspector Ahmed Shiyam confirmed the case was reported to the police yesterday afternoon.

Shiyam said Nishan had not yet been found and added that the police are searching for him.

Spokesperson for the DRPS Moosa Rameez did not respond to Minivan News at time of press.

President Mohamed Nasheed has previously vowed to the people of Himandhoo that the government will grant clemency to Himandhoo inmates convicted for terrorism.

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”Expat or locals, both are human”: DRP calls on government to reopen water taps

Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) MP Ahmed Nihan has called on the government to reopen the closed public water taps in Malé by the end of this week.

Deputy Head of Malé Municipality Mohamed Arif told Minivan News yesterday that all but four of the 19 taps closed because they were “mostly being used by expats [and] not Maldivians.”

The water taps cost the municipality Rf3.5 million (US$270,000) last year, he said.

Today, Nihan said many people were complaining that the municipality’s decision was causing them difficulty.

”Expat or locals, both are human,” he said. ”Water is a basic fundamental right for any human being.”

”We want the government to keep at least eight taps available,” Nihan said, ”so that two are available for each district.”

He said the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) standards would not allow a country to keep its public water taps closed.

Nihan said he did not want the water from the taps to be used for car washing or business purposes.

”We are ready to go out on the streets and protest on this issue,” he said. ”If they do not reopen the taps by this week we will come out to the streets and will even take the issue to parliament.”

Nihan said the party was waiting so as to give some time for the government to reverse the decision.

”This shows how incapable and unable the government is to run this country,” he said. “They cannot even manage the public water taps.”

Head of Male’ Municipality Adam Manik said the government “might or might not” reopen four more taps.

”We do not want to know what the DRP wants,” Adam said. ‘We understand what the people want, and so far nobody has complained [to us] that they are having difficulties.”

Adam said there would be enough water available from the four open taps, and that he did not wish to comment on the issue further.

MDP MP Alhan Fahmy also said he did not want to comment on the issue while spokesperson for the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) Parliamentary group, Ahmed Shifaz did not respond to Minivan News at time of press.

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Closing public water taps “like drinking blood of the people”: Umar Naseer

Male’ Municipality has closed 14 public water taps across the city, leaving only four taps available.

Deputy Head of the Municipality Mohamed Arif said the taps were closed because the council had received many complaints about the taps, which were “not being used by Maldivians.”

”Most of the water is used by expats, for car washing and a very few poor locals,” Arif said. ”We have done surveys to check who has been using the water taps.”

Arif said the water taps cost the municipality Rf3.5 million (US$270,000) last year.

He said the water taps were established intending to help the poor locals who could not afford to pay the water bill.

”Our records show that only 10 per-cent of the people using the water taps were Maldivians,” he said.

”We receive many complaints from Ameer Ahmed School that people throw water at the students,” he said. ”We also have many complaints from people that they are having difficulties due to water spilt near the taps.”

Press Secretary for the president Mohamed Zuhair also said that the taps were used mainly by expats and for washing cars.

Vice president of Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party DRP Umar Naseer said that he was concerned about the issue as “a lot of people are unable to afford their water bill.”

”That’s why they stay in the queue for hours, ” he said. ”Closing the water taps is like drinking the blood of the people.”

Most people could not afford to drink bottled mineral water all the time, he noted.

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Lightning strike causes Rf384,000 damage to Hirilandhu

Lightning struck the l, lightning struck the 300 ft tall Wataniya antennae on the Island.

The island of Hirikandhu in Thaa Atoll suffered and estimated Rf384,000 (US$30,000) in electrical damages when a lightning bolt struck Wataniya antennae early on Saturday morning.

Councilor of Hirilandhu Mohamed Shakeeb said the lightning struck the 300 foot antennae around 4:00am in the morning.

”It was raining heavily and it was thundering non stop that night,” Shakeeb said. ”We switched off the generators providing electricity to the island at 3:00am, because they were having problems probably due to the rain.”

Shakeeb said there was no electricity on the island at all when the lightning hit.

”There was a electric line visible that night traveling across the Dhiraagu antennae and Wataniya antennae,” he said.

”All the televisions and computers which were plugged in to the sockets were damaged, cable TV lines were damaged and two channel lines at the power house were also damaged,” he said.

Communication over mobile phone and land lines run by both Dhiraagu and Wataniya were also down.

”We started receiving connection for mobile phones that afternoon and land line services last night,” Shakeeb said.

He said that last time lightning hit the island was 20 years ago “but there was no antennae there, only palm trees.”

Public Relations and Communication manager of Wataniya Niushad Shareef had not responded to Minivan News at time of press.

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MDP activist sentenced for contempt of court

A well-known activist of the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), Hussein Ilham of Happy Side in Galolhu, and his brother Abdulla Irushad, have been sentenced for contempt of court by Judge Aisha Shujoon Mohamed.

Ilham was sentenced for three months while  his brother received one month under Article 88(a) of the Penal Code for disrespecting the court.

The judge said that Hussein Ilham and Abdulla Irushad disrespected the court during an ongoing case involving real estate, and that there were people who had entered the court without being presented.

The verdict does not mention whether they both interrupted or if they were presented to the court.

Chairperson for MDP Mariya Ahmed Didi did not respond to Minivan News at time of press.

Vice president of opposition Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) Umar Naseer said that he was not surprised to hear that an MDP activist was sentenced.

”I am surprised to hear that they have been free all this time,” Umar said.

He said the judicial system was a very independent system and claimed ”MDP is trying to hijack it.”

He also accused all MDP members of”drinking alcohol and smoking marijuana.”

Press Secretary for the President’s Office Mohamed Zuhair said he was sorry to hear the news, but said he did not believe that it would bring the party’s reputation into disrepute.

”The judiciary system needs to be reformed,” he said, ”it needs more qualified and disciplined judges.”

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PG’s office sends corruption cases back to Auditor General’s office

The Prosecutor General’s office has returned cases against former government ministers forwarded several weeks ago by former Auditor General Ibrahim Naeem.

Naeem claimed that former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, together with many of his cabinet ministers and several members of the current government, had failed to declare details of their financial assets as required by the Constitution.

Deputy Prosecutor General Hussain Shameem said the cases was returned to the Auditor General’s Office “because they were not investigated sufficiently.”

Shameem said they should have been “properly investigated” by the Auditor General’s Office before being sent to the PG’s Office.

“People who were named in this report were not asked to submit their forms,” Shameem said. “[In addition] they were not informed about the criminal charges. It is unfair they had to hear about it from the media.”

He said the PG’s Office believed “they should be given an opportunity” to declare their assets and to further investigate the claims.

He added that the cases have not been dropped by his office, and “if they are sent back, we will proceed.”

Assistant Executive Director and interim head of the Auditor General’s office Mohamed Hussein said he could not give any information about the case.

Press Secretary for the President’s Office Mohamed Zuhair said the former Auditor General “did not make up this case on his own or without collecting information. He would have sent these cases to the PG after working with a team.”

Zuhair said parliament’s no-confidence decision on Naeem did not mean that the whole Audit office was corrupt.

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Hospital blunders highlight health system failures

When Fathimath Sudhuna checked into ADK hospital last Friday feeling faint and dizzy, she did not expect it would cause her condition to worsen.

She was asked by a doctor to complete two medical tests: a sugar test and a cholesterol test. Her husband, Ibrahim Shaukath, took her to the hospital pathology for the tests and was asked to wait outside.

“It took a long time for her to come out – I had to ask the nurse why it was taking so long,” Shaukath said.

When she came out he asked her why it had taken so long: she replied that a nurse had given her the wrong injection.

“It was an injection that was supposed to be given to a 15 year old patient,” he said.

Fathimath’s condition deteriorated and she became unable to stand. Shaukath complained that the hospital’s management “did not take it seriously and tried to ignore it, saying it would be ‘all right’.”

”I am not saying this to harm the hospital,” he said. ”I just want to prevent it  from happening to another person.”

Managing Director of ADK Hospital Ahmed Afaal said the incident had been reported and the hospital was investigating. He said he had no information about the patient’s condition worsening after the incident, and was reluctant to speak to the media.

IGMH blunder

A person assisting with a birth at Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital (IGMH) last week told Minivan News on condition of anonymity that surgeons had sewn one of the mother’s veins into her skin after an emergency cesarean to remove the baby.

”[The mother] told the doctors that she felt pain in the sewed area,” the assistant said, ”but the doctors did not care to look, they just said it would be all right.”

Three days later, when the woman removed the dressings on the wound, she discovered a red lump underneath.

”She ran to the hospital counter and yelled at them,” the assistant said. ”They started treating her and she was told the doctors had sewn a vein into her skin and blood was stuck in there.”

Another woman who also asked to remain anonymous told Minivan News that a doctor at IGMH had told her husband that he was a heart patient with a high risk of heart attack, and had treated him as such for two months.

Eventually the family sent him to India for medical treatment, where they found out “he did not have any problem with his heart.”

Yet another woman, who identified herself as Zainab, told Minivan News that her son, who was very weak after an attempted suicide and a motorbike accident, was sent home after a single IV.

”We begged them to keep him until he felt better,” she said, ”but they said he would be all right and told us to leave.”

She claimed that her son could not even walk when he was discharged.

Chief Executive Officer of IGMH Zubair Mohamed confirmed such cases had recently been reported to the hospital management.

”We encourage all our patients to complain at the Health Ministry when they face such problems,” Zubair said.

Zubair said everyday 99 per-cent of the patients left with no complaints.

”Doctors and nurses sometimes makes mistakes,” he said.

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