Parliament’s Speaker Abdulla Shahid canceled Wednesday’s Majlis session after six minutes, according to a report in Haveeru.
Shahid cancelled the sitting because he said it would be unable to produce any positive results, given the current political deadlock between the parties.
Instead, Shahid said he wished to speak privately with party leaders. He said discussions were also held with Independent MPs.
The next sitting would be held Monday, he said.
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(0)The President’s Office has announced a swearing-in ceremony for the new cabinet at 2:45pm this afternoon.
Yesterday, Political Advisor Hassan Afeef said the new cabinet would only be proposed when the government had “reached an understanding with the opposition parties in the Majlis.”
The new cabinet must be endorsed by the opposition-majority parliament, according to the Constitution. The executive has been deadlocked with the legislature following the arrest of two MPs and allegations of corruption.
Meanwhile, Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa arrived in the Maldives this morning on a state visit.
President Rajapaksa will meet with President Nasheed, former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, Parliament Speaker Abdulla Shahid, and Chief Justice Abdulla Saeed.
(0)Dislikes(0)The attitudes and social behaviour of men will have to change if they are to compete successfully against women in the modern global economy, claims Hanna Rosin in the latest edition of The Atlantic.
“With few exceptions, the greater the power of women, the greater the country’s economic success,” Rosin writes. “Aid agencies have started to recognize this relationship and have pushed to institute political quotas in about 100 countries, essentially forcing women into power in an effort to improve those countries’ fortunes…
“Last year, Iceland elected Prime Minister Johanna Sigurdardottir, the world’s first openly lesbian head of state, who campaigned explicitly against the male elite she claimed had destroyed the nation’s banking system, and who vowed to end the “age of testosterone”…
“Researchers have started looking into the relationship between testosterone and excessive risk, and wondering if groups of men, in some basic hormonal way, spur each other to make reckless decisions. The picture emerging is a mirror image of the traditional gender map: men and markets on the side of the irrational and overemotional, and women on the side of the cool and levelheaded.”
(0)Dislikes(0)A new cabinet will be proposed when the government reaches an agreement or understanding with the opposition parties in the Majlis, said the President’s political advisor Hassan Afeef at the daily President’s office news conference, reports Miadhu.
Afeef described the departing cabinet as ‘dynamic, brilliant and hard-working’, and said the government wants any new cabinet members to be endorsed by the opposition dominated Majlis.
(0)Dislikes(0)Despite scientific evidence and dire warnings, developed countries are destroying the current controls on global warming, reports Indian magazine Frontline.
‘The “pledge and review” scheme was the handiwork of the U.S., which was against accepting any legally binding commitment on emission reductions,’ writes Frontline’s R. Ramachandran. ‘Acting behind the scenes since mid-2009 and with active help from other developed countries which did not want to commit to a second commitment period such as Australia, Canada, Japan and Russia, the U.S. succeeded in having the scheme formalised as a “political agreement” at Copenhagen.’
(0)Dislikes(0)Professor Tim Naish, the lead author of the next international climate change assessment due for release in 2014, is predicting a one metre rise in sea levels over the next 90 years. This will be a doubling of the present rate of sea-level rise, but a slower rate rise than predicted by other researchers.
Prof. Naish has been appointed lead author by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. His forecast is based on rock cores drilled from the Antarctic coastline that provide evidence of the earth’s geological condition 4 million years ago when the climate was similar to the ‘climate we are heading towards in the next century with global warming,’ he says.
During that ancient period, the West Antarctic ice sheet melted and raised seas by a total of five metres, and the Greenland ice sheet melted adding another seven metres, says Prof. Naish, who is director of New Zealand’s Antarctic Research Centre at Victoria University in Wellington.
Prof. Naish’s latest findings will be presented at the Australian Earth Sciences Convention in Canberra 4-8 July 2010.
(0)Dislikes(0)The prices of staple foodstuffs will “go up dramatically” if amendments to the Public Finance Act are ratified, warns the State Trading Organisation (STO).
At the now daily President’s Office press conference yesterday, Undersecretary Ibrahim Rasheed revealed that the STO has informed President Mohamed Nasheed that prices would spike if the government ceased its subsidies.
“Until subsidies can be given again through new legislation, subsidies given by the government for foodstuffs will become illegal (if the amendments are ratified),” he said. “Therefore, if this amendment becomes law, a kilo of rice will be at Rf9.75, a kilo of flour Rf6.12, a kilo of sugar Rf8.01.”
In 2009, the government provided over Rf139 million in food subsidies to STO to control prices of staple foods.
According to STO, the price of a kilo of rice or flour will increase threefold while the price of a kilo of sugar will double.
Rasheed accused opposition MPs of attempting to block government services and aid in order to foster negative public perception and shift blame to the administration.
“Even for greed of power, this is too much,” he said.
The parliament’s amendment bill to the Public Finance Act, which was voted through in June, was cited by the cabinet as one of the main reasons for their resignation.
“Act of deception”
In a press release today, the main opposition Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) denies that government subsidies will have to be discontinued.
Condemning the claim as “an act of deception”, the statement accuses the government of trying to “mislead the public,” undermine public confidence in MPs and “light fires of hatred.”
“The reality is that while President Nasheed’s government does not have the capability to provide the services required by citizens, this is a cheap propaganda activity to incite fear among the public by using the State Trading Organisation and other such institutions,” it reads.
The amendments
According to the amendment proposed to article seven of the Public Finance Act, “any relief, benefit or subsidy by the state” must be given in accordance with laws passed by the People’s Majlis.
Legislation governing the issuance of subsidies and other state benefits has not yet been proposed to parliament.
The amendment to article 10(a) reads that financial benefits provided by the government in order to pursue its policies must also be issued in line with laws passed by parliament.
However, article 10(c) of the amendment bill states that the government could grant “some financial assistance” from the emergency funds allocated in the state budget under certain circumstances, such as to provide relief after natural disasters.
Meanwhile, 10(d) states that assistance could still be given “if the government believes providing financial assistance to a businessman or a business facing financial difficulties was in the public interest” or if the financial difficulty is believed to impact “the lives of a sufficiently large number of people in society”.
Moreover, article 34(c) stipulates that the government must implement recommendations of the parliamentary committee that reviews the state budget.
Addressing press after the resignation of the cabinet, President Nasheed announced that he would veto the amendments as it would make it “impossible for the government to function” and because “MPs themselves could see that it was proposed without the slightest consideration.”
Article 91(b) of the constitution states that any bill returned to parliament “shall be assented to by the President and published in the Government Gazette if the Bill, after reconsideration, is passed without any amendments, by a majority of the total membership of the People’s Majlis.”
“In my view, these things are happening because a few members of the People’s Majlis are working to preserve their self-interest,” Nasheed said. “If you look at the latest amendment to the public finance law you will see very clearly what’s written in those amendments. It is very clear that those amendments have provisions that directly involve Majlis members’ interest. So what I see here is that we can’t allow [people to] destroy the constitution of the Maldives and render it powerless while hiding behind the protection of the Majlis.”
(0)Dislikes(0)The Maldives print, television and Internet media have identified the voices and names in three voice recordings made available on the Internet yesterday.
The voices were those of Kuludufushi-South MP Mohamed ‘Kutti’ Nasheed, Dhiggaru MP and Majlis deputy speaker Ahmed Nazim, Mulaku MP and leader of the People’s Alliance party Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom, and Maamigili MP and Jumhooree party leader Gasim ‘Buruma’ Ibrahim, says the Maldives media.
Gasim Ibrahim is chairperson of the permanent Majlis committee for economic affairs, and chairperson of the Majlis sub-committee considering the Tourism Goods and Services bill and the Business Profit Tax bill. Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom is the younger brother of former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom and heads the permanent Majlis committee for national security. Both Gasim and Yameen were arrested and charged with bribery and treason last week.
Mohamed ‘Kutti’ Nasheed admits that he took part in the conversations in his personal Internet blog where he says a conversation he had with Gasim Ibrahim was not about raising money to bribe Majlis members.
(1)Dislikes(0)Three recordings of discussions between Majlis members referring to other members and officials, including a plan to cease work on the Tax bills in the Majlis, have appeared on the Internet.
The People’s Alliances party (PA) leader Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom told Minivan news this afternoon that a voice in the sound clips might be his, but the conversations were ”not to borrow money to bribe MPs… [rather] As friends, we might help each other,” he said.
Yameen said the discussions ”would be a recording of a telephone call”, and were potentially taped by either the Police or by the Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF). ”We have sent a letter to the telecommunications authority to clarify whether they gave permission to record any of their telephone calls,” he said. ”It is unlawful to record private phone calls.”
However, the Police denied Yameen’s claims. ”The Police will never record anyone’s phone calls,” said sub-Inspector Ahmed Shiyam. The police had no connection with the leaked voice recordings, he said.
The People’s Alliance party secretary-general Ibrahim Shareef said that he could not say whether the voice in the clips was Yameen’s. ”Personal calls should not be recorded,” Shareef said. ”We do not have anything to say regarding this. Yameen himself will be the best person to ask. This is a personal issue.”
Jumhooree party leader MP Gasim Ibrahim did not respond to Minivan News’ calls at the time of publication.
The second recording below is between the South Kulhudufushi MP Mohamed ‘Kutti’ Nasheed and MP Gasim Ibrahim, according to ‘Kutti’ Nasheed’s personal blog. Nasheed says that the request for cash from Gasim was made months ago. In his blog, Nasheed denies that the cash had anything to do with voting in the Majlis.
Recording:1 Transcript below | Audio in Dhivehi – mp3 file
Voice1: We have the original now.
Voice2: So if we put this through the ACC [Anti-Corruption Commission] tomorrow morning, how soon will the ACC release a statement?
Voice1: It should be released tomorrow. They are coming tonight. Two ACC commissioners are in Malaysia. The President [of ACC] is here. Our friend Hoara Waheed is there. I have directly given all warnings through him… in prelude to this… that this is a must. I have also passed the number to Gasim. Seems Gasim will maintain connection.
Voice2: Have we been able to get anything from Gasim yet?
Voice1: He said Rose matter is sealed. He worked very hard. He took Rose to Paradise yesterday evening at 6. And he came to that meeting at around 9.30 -10 and said “final”. That it’s done.
Voice2: So that means?
Voice1: It’s the one million matter. Isn’t it?
Voice2: Yeah.
Voice1: He tried a funny story with me. After Friday prayers yesterday, I went to Gasim’s house…
Voice2: So Rose is joining Jumhooree Party now?
Voice1: No it’s not that… It is just for these matters…
Voice2: In that case, Nazim, why don’t we take Rose, with this million?
Voice1: Yeah. Rose knows now. And I have asked Maniku to complete the deal. With one million given there is still two million… So what happens now is… I mentioned everything that there was doubt about. I wasn’t able to talk to Gasim later. He has said everything will be Ok…100% and not to worry.
Voice2: What are you telling Maniku?
Voice1: I went to Maniku… Gasim is going to see Hassan Saeed at 2.30.
Recording:2 Transcript below | Audio in Dhivehi –mp3 file
MP ‘Kutti’ Nasheed: And again, it is three months since I have been trying to get myself out of that.
MP Gasim Ibrahim: Finishing it now.
MP ‘Kutti’ Nasheed: Are you still in the office, … mean … in the Majlis?
MP Gasim Ibrahim: I came at six o’clock and since then, now finishing and leaving now. Continuing tomorrow.
MP ‘Kutti’ Nasheed: Yeah, OK.
MP Gasim Ibrahim: What happened?
MP ‘Kutti’ Nasheed: I contacted, this is just… how is your situation in relation to flow?
MP Gasim Ibrahim: Why?
MP ‘Kutti’ Nasheed: I need some cash.
MP Gasim Ibrahim: Yeah, ok… How much?
MP ‘Kutti’ Nasheed: I need it very much.
MP Gasim Ibrahim: Have you got someone to come over here?
MP ‘Kutti’ Nasheed: Here, at this time, there’s no one.
MP Gasim Ibrahim: Yeah it is…
MP ‘Kutti’ Nasheed: Yes, tomorrow morning will be fine. It’s not a problem.
MP Gasim Ibrahim: People will see it there, will be watched, won’t it?
MP ‘Kutti’ Nasheed: OK, I will try and arrange someone from there to go to Villa, is that ok?
Recording:3 Transcript below | Audio in Dhivehi – mp3 file file
Voice2: Yes, what is it?
Voice1 (?): Dilute, Thasmeen is working to dilute… Nasheed, could you please tell that story.
MP ‘Kutti’ Nasheed: Yes, I was contacted just then…. You have seen the first draft, haven’t you?
Voice2: I haven’t seen it yet, not yet.
MP ‘Kutti’ Nasheed: OK, the first draft states specific actions that will be taken. I will, for your convenience, read it for you right now, those bits.
Voice2: OK read.
MP ‘Kutti’ Nasheed: It was agreed that to prevent the government from doing what it is trying to do, to take a number of steps all at once.
These steps include meeting with those who submitted the [airport] bids, and clearly explaining to them the common Maldivian view on this, and the view of the political parties.
The Financial Act Amendments Bill, which is in the finishing stages, is to be pushed fast through the Majlis.
Submit a no-confidence motion to the Majlis for a decision regarding the Minister for Finance Ali Hashim and the Minister for Civil Aviation Mahmood Razee who is responsible for the privatisation.
And until all these things are done, to cease all work on the tax bills submitted by the government to the Majlis.
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