Author: Minivan News

Parliament sitting cancelled over loss of quorum

Today’s sitting of parliament was cancelled by Deputy Speaker Ahmed Nazim – presiding in the absence of Speaker Abdulla Shahid – after the minimum number of MPs to hold the session failed to attend when the sitting restarted at 11:00am.

Quorum was first lost an hour into the sitting, which began at 9:00am. The sitting was called off when quorum was not met after an adjournment of 30 minutes.

Before the cancellation, preliminary debate continued on a resolution submitted by Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) MP Ahmed Sameer calling for an inquiry into the government obtaining a MVR 300 million loan from the Bank of the Maldives in alleged violation of the Public Finance Act.

Debate also took place on a bill proposed by Independent MP for Kulhudhufushi South Mohamed ‘Kutti’ Nasheed specifying guidelines on exercising the right to remain silent.

Several MPs contended that the bill contravened constitutional clauses on the rights of the accused. However, other MPs argued that the law was necessary to combat rising crime rates.

MP Nasheed meanwhile explained that the legislation specifies circumstances where the right to remain silent could not be exercised.

Meanwhile, Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) MP Ahmed Mahloof said on his Twitter account that a number of people were unable to travel to Male’ after the Eid holidays due to bad weather.

“We are stuck in Mulah,” he tweeted. A PPM team including a number of MPs were in Meemu atoll ahead of Monday’s by-election for a vacant atoll council seat from the Mulaku constituency.

The PPM for Galolhu South urged the government to declare Tuesday a public holiday.

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Deadline extended for companies to submit annual reports

Financial authorities have extended the deadline for private and public companies to submit their latest annual reports and audit figures until November 22, local media has reported.

With the previous deadline set by the Economic Ministry set to expire tomorrow, authorities have reportedly decided to offer companies an extension for submitting their reports to take into account the recent Eid al-Adha holiday period, according to Haveeru.

Failure to meet these revised deadlines will result in fines of MVR10,000 and MVR 30,000 being imposed on the managing directors of private and public companies respectively.

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President Waheed pledges infrastructure projects for islands of Dhaalu Atoll

President Dr Mohamed Waheed Hassan Manik has pledged a number of infrastructure projects next year for several islands during a recent tour of Dhaalu atoll.

The former vice president was accompanied during the trip by Housing Minister Dr Mohamed Muizz and Tourism Minister Ahmed Adheeb as well as Independent MP for Dhaal Meedhoo Ahmed ‘Sun Travel’ Shiyam and Independent MP for Dhaal Kudahuvadhoo Ahmed Amir.

Addressing the people of Meedhoo on Saturday, Waheed pledged a land reclamation project next year to ease congestion, in addition to promising to include funds in the 2013 budget for a football stadium in the island.

Speaking at the rally in Meedhoo, MP Shiyam offered assurances to his constituents that the land reclamation project would commence next year.

Waheed’s tour of Dhaal atoll was reported extensively by the resort magnate’s radio station and affiliated website Sun Online. While the pledges were reported by the online news outlet owned by the resort owner MP, the press briefings on the President’s Office website made no mention of the promised infrastructure projects.

In his visit to the island of Badidhoo in Dhaal atoll, Waheed pledged to include funds in next year’s budget to construct a harbour in the island.

Assuring the people of Badidhoo that the project would commence next year, Waheed also promised that the government would restart a stalled project to construct additional classrooms in the island’s school “in the near future.”

Speaking to the people of Maa’ebudhoo on Sunday, Waheed meanwhile pledged to include funds in next year’s budget for a harbour project for the island.

Waheed also pledged a project to establish a sewerage system in the island but did not specify a date for commencement.

In his visit to Kudahuvadhoo on the same day – which was marked by an anti-government demonstration and the arrest of six protesters – Waheed pledged a land reclamation project for the island “early next year” ahead of the construction of an airport.

Waheed noted that a project for construction of a seawall was ongoing in Kudahuvadhoo and said that the government planned to issue soft loans for construction of houses, arguing that such a policy would be better than the construction of flats or housing units by the government.

“Several youth have obtained land tenures. But they are not able to build houses for long periods of time. The solution to this is not sudden construction of a bunch of flats. That’s not the solution. The real solution is to find ways for people to live, and to help them build houses,” he was quoted as saying.

In his last stop on the tour of Dhaalu atoll, Waheed told the people of Hulhudheli yesterday (Monday, October 29) that he would try to put together a project to establish a sewerage system in the island next year.

He added that the government’s utility company, Fenaka Corporation, would be instructed to upgrade the engine in the island’s powerhouse.

President Waheed and First Lady Madam Ilham Hussain arrived in Male’ in the late afternoon yesterday after concluding his trip.

Upon his return, the President tweeted with a picture of a procession welcoming him to an island: “Just returned from a visit to Dhaal Atoll and Faaf Nilandhoo having spent Eid Al Adh’aa with the people.”

While the President pledged infrastructure projects and told the people of Meedhoo that the economy was “doing fine” and that there was no cause to “worry about the economy being in a slump,” Finance Minister Abdulla Jihad told Sun Online that the government was unprepared to meet its recurrent expenditure – including salaries – for the final three months of 2012 without a US$25 million loan promised by the Indian government.

Moreover, addressing the people of Nilandhoo in Faafu atoll – the first stop of the tour – Waheed reportedly said that borrowing large sums of money from foreign parties in order to run the government would not be the policy of his government.

According to Sun Online, “the President said that that his policy is to meet the expenditure of the government with government income. He also said that his priorities are decided on the basis of what is necessary for the country.”

“We are trying to secure sources of income for the nation. I will not try to run the government by securing huge loans from foreign parties. We are trying to spend from what we earn,” Waheed was quoted as saying.

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Reconciliation out of question amid continuing instability: Eurasia Review

The CNI report absolving the present government, its security forces and the politicians of any wrong doing must have come as a big shock to former President Nasheed. It was unexpected and unreal. This should again prove to Nasheed that in politics idealism does not pay, writes Dr S Chandrasekharan for the Eurasia Review.

The immediate reaction of Nasheed was one of disbelief. He said that: “it left Maldives in a very awkward and in many ways a very comical situation when toppling the government by brute force is taken to be a very reasonable course of action.”

Nasheed’s hopes that elections will be held early will not be fulfilled when the present government under President Waheed and former president Gayoom who is the adviser from behind the scenes will ensure that Nasheed is prevented at any cost from contesting the next elections.

In this, it appears that the judiciary will also go against Nasheed with a vengeance. It is known that the judiciary in the current dispensation is the weakest link in Maldives. One should read in detail the book by Aishath Velezinee –“The Failed Silent Coup,” that describes how the judicial commission with outside help managed to make incompetent judges get permanent positions in the judicial system!

Nasheed made the biggest mistake in allowing this fraud to be perpetrated when he was in a justifiable position to take action. Instead he overreached subsequently in arresting the Chief Criminal Judge Abdulla which finally resulted in the coup.

Nasheed should take note of the following:

1. The present government is stacked with pro Gayoom people in important positions and will do everything to marginalise Nasheed and his MDP. One should look at the following list of people in important positions in the present government. They are all Gayoom’s people!

  • Dunya Maumoon – Minister of State for Foreign Affairs (Gayoom’s daughter)
  • Ghassan Maumoon- Minister of State for Human Resources (Gayoom’s son)
  • Abdul Samad Abdulla – Minister of Foreign Affairs (PPM member)
  • Abdulla Jihad – Minister of Finance and Treasury (Gayoom’s former Finance Minister)
  • Mohamed Waheed Deen – Vice President (Gayoom’s former Attorney General)
  • Azima Shakooru – Attorney General (former Attorney General under Gayoom in 2007)
  • Mohamed Husain Sharif Mundu – Minister of Youth Affairs (PPM Spokesperson)
  • Ismail Shafeeu – CoNI co-chair (Gayoom’s former Minister of Defence and National Security)
  • Ahmed Mujuthaba – Mediator in all-party talks (Gayoom’s former Minister of Tourism)

Waheed’s government will not go for any dialogue unless it is on their terms. There are pious hopes from analysts in India, the media and even some from the Indian establishment that dialogue is the best way forward to resolve the present crisis in Maldives. Soon after the CNI report, the MDP made an offer to join the present coalition government. This was summarily dismissed both by President Waheed who was outside the country and the government spokesman Abas Adil Riza who derisively rejected it with his comment that the “attempt of MDP to join the government lacked sincerity.”

Reconciliation is therefore out of question and there should concerns for continuing instability in Maldives. The brutal killing recently of PPM MP Dr Afrasheem, considered as an Islamic moderate, should be cause for concern.

Full story

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Garbage dump fire spreads smoke across Male’

Smoke continued to spread into Male’ city from a fire at the garbage dump behind the STO petrol shed three days after the fire broke out on Friday afternoon.

Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) Lieutenant Abdulla Ali told Sun Online on Sunday that despite continuous efforts to control the fire, the bottom of the garbage pile continued to burn.

The task was made harder as the waste pile contained substances that catch fire easily, the MNDF media official explained.

“We have controlled the fire. We have resumed extinguishing efforts after it started burning again today. But the area is filled with waste, making it difficult to put the fire out,” Ali was quoted as saying.

Residents in the Henveiru district near the waste disposal site have complained of the smoke and stench emanating from the garbage dump, Sun Online noted.

Meanwhile, the MNDF media official told private broadcaster Raajje TV today that the fire has been completely extinguished around 12:30pm and that smoke was no longer coming out of the bottom of the pile.

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80 percent of land vehicles insured

The Transport Ministry has revealed that 80 percent of land vehicles have been insured following an announcement of a requirement for third party insurance, reports Sun Online.

Transport Authority Chairman Abdul Rasheed Nafiz explained that 20 percent of registered land vehicles remained uninsured due to lack of documents.

Owners of uninsured vehicles are being fined MVR 750 under the current regulations, Nafiz said.

The insurance premiums are divided into four categories, based on the type of vehicle: MVR 150 for 50cc motorcycles; MVR 175 for 50Ccc to 250cc motorcycles; MVR400 for over 250cc motorcycles; MVR750 for private cars; MVR1,000 for taxis; MVR1,500 for leased vehicles; and MVR2,000 for vehicles used for other purposes.

Companies that provide third-party insurance in the Maldives are Ceylinco Insurance, Allied Insurance, Amana Takaful and Sri Lankan Insurance.

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Police make drug busts in Noonu, Raa Atolls

Police have arrested two men in possession of illegal narcotics from Noonu and Raa Atolls based on intelligence information.

On October 21, a 28 year-old was taken into custody from Noonu Lhohi based on intelligence information received by the Noonu Manadhoo Police Station. The suspect was arrested at the harbour after he alighted from a boat that arrived from Lhaviyani atoll.

When the suspected was searched, police discovered five packets of heroin and 16 packets of hash oil under the soles of his sandals.

Meanwhile, a 20 year-old was arrested from Raa Ungoofaru yesterday with three packets of hash oil based on a tip-off to the Ungoofaru Police Station.

The suspect had arrived in Ungoofaru from Madduvari on the Raa Atoll south ferry and was about to take the north ferry from Ungoofaru when he was taken into custody.

The cases are being investigated by the Noonu and Raa Atoll Police Stations.

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Government threatens legal action against parliament

President’s Office Spokesperson Abbas Adil Riza has threatened legal action “using all the powers of the government” against the People’s Majlis to “bring parliament back to the right path” in an appearance on government-aligned private broadcaster DhiTV on October 25.

Referring to parliament’s General Affairs Committee approving an amendment to the rules of procedure to conduct no-confidence motions through secret ballot, Riza said that the government could not “turn a blind eye” to what he contended was a move that violated the constitution.

“The constitution and parliamentary rules of procedure clearly state which votes are to be conducted through secret ballot. The rest of the votes should be open,” he claimed.

Riza went on to heavily criticise the committee decision, insisting that it violated the parliamentary rules on conducting committees meetings and votes.

The formerly ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) has submitted no-confidence motions against both Home Minister Dr Mohamed Jameel Ahmed and President Dr Mohamed Waheed Hassan Manik.

While the motion against Home Minister Jameel has been tabled in the agenda for November 14, the impeachment motion has yet to be tabled.

The MDP-dominated General Affairs Committee approved the amendment for a secret ballot last week with four votes in favour and none against, committee chair and Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) MP for mid-Henveiru Ali Azim told local media. Only five MPs reportedly attended the committee meeting last week.

The amendment to parliament’s standing orders or rules of procedure would have to be approved in a vote at the Majlis floor to become official.

While a minister can be removed from his post through a simple majority of the 77 MPs in parliament, a two-thirds majority or 52 votes would be needed to impeach a sitting president.

Meanwhile, responding to Riza today, MDP Spokesperson and Henveiru South MP Hamid Abdul Gafoor told Minivan News that the party believed the remarks constituted a threat to violate separation of powers.

“It is simply second nature for the 7/2 police and military-backed coup-invoked dictatorship to use force to stay afloat,” the MP said.

Hamid had earlier tweeted that Abbas’s remarks were “open threats of use of force to stop secret ballot.”

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Elections Commission begins preparation for 2013 presidential elections

The Elections Commission (EC) has launched a campaign to amend and update the voter registry in preparation for the upcoming presidential election in 2013.

According to a press release on the commission’s website, the campaign involves providing a list of eligible voters to every household in Male’.

The first phase of the campaign will target households in the Galolhu ward of the capital, during which a copy of registered voters of the household will be mailed through post on October 30 and 31.

The EC urged members of the public with a complaint regarding the registry to call the EC’s toll free number 1414.

The household registries would also be made available after verifying the house owner’s information through email, fax or the EC help desk. In addition to the EC office, a help desk has been set up at the Male’ City Council.

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