Author: Minivan News

PPM candidates win six council by-elections by default

Candidates from the ruling Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) have won six out of nine council by-elections scheduled for August 1 after no other candidates stood for the vacant island and atoll council seats.

The six seats include the Meemu Dhiggaru constituency atoll council seat, and one seat from the Kaafu Maafushi, Vaavu Felidhoo, Haa Alif Muraidhoo, Thaa Madifushi, and Shaviyani Kanditheemu island councils.

By-elections will take place for vacant seats on the Haa Alif Dhidhoo, Haa Dhaal Naivaidhoo, and Noonu Hebadhoo island councils on August 1 between independent candidates and ruling party candidates.

The by-elections were triggered by the resignation of several island and atoll councillors.

In April, the ruling party was accused of vote buying after handing over air-conditioners to a school in Raa Atoll Alifushi, shortly before an island council by-election.

The opposition had also accused  the PPM of vote-buying and bribery in the Dhiggaru constituency parliamentary by-election earlier this month after the donation of x-ray machines and air conditioning units to the constituency.

President Abdulla Yameen had also pledged to provide a 140 kilo-watt power generator for Dhiggaru and urged constituents to vote for Faris to ensure development.

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Parliament approves three new ministers

The parliament today approved President Abdulla Yameen’s appointments of Iruthisham Adam as health minister, Ahmed Zuhoor as youth and sports minister, and Dr Ahmed Ziyad as Islamic minister.

All three nominees were approved unanimously with 66 votes in favour. Main opposition Maldivian Democratic Party MPs also voted to confirm the appointments.

In a cabinet reshuffle in late May, President Yameen dismissed then-youth minister Mohamed Maleeh Jamal, replaced him with then-health minister Ahmed Zuhoor, and promoted then-deputy gender minister Iruthisham Adam to the health minister.

The parliament has meanwhile also approved Dr Mohamed Asim, from Henveiru Vaijeheyge in Malé, as the new Maldivian ambassador to Bangladesh.

Asim’s nomination was approved with 67 votes in favour. He had previously served as ambassador to Sri Lanka and the United Kingdom.

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Feasibility study underway for iHavan project

US-based Boston Consulting Group (BCG) has launched the first phase of the iHavan project feasibility study.

Economic development minister Mohamed Saeed said yesterday that a team of specialists from BCG has started the “traffic-modelling” for the project, which he said is one of seven components to be completed in three months.

The government hired BCG as a project consultant in November last year.

Saeed told Haveeru that the American company will conduct a detailed study to determine how the components proposed by the government could be developed. The company will consult with boat building, bunkering, and docking companies, he said.

“Then we will know how a cruise terminal, bunkering, and docking can be developed in the Ihavandhippolhu seven degree channel,” he was quoted as saying.

The Ihavandhippolhu Integrated Development Project (iHavan) envisions the development of a special economic zone (SEZ) with relaxed regulations and tax incentives in the Maldives’ northernmost atoll.

The project involves the development of a transhipment port, an airport, offshore docking and bunkering facilities, an export processing zone, real estate businesses, and tourism facilities.

The iHavan project is also one of the government’s five ‘mega projects’ launched at an investment forum in Singapore last year. Earlier this month, a group of Saudi Arabian investors reportedly visited Ihavandhippolhu.

The Saudi Arabian government has also provided US$1 million as grant aid to finance the feasibility project.

Saeed has previously said that he Maldives could capitalise on its strategic location and the “trillions of dollars” worth of trade that passes through the seven degree channel.

The project also proposes to take advantage of more than 30 large cities which lie within a 4000km radius of the atoll as an export processing zones established in iHavan will enjoy duty free access to 1.7 billion people under the South Asian region the South Asian Free Trade Arrangement (SAFTA).

In March, the government signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Dubai Ports World to relocate the central commercial port from Malé to the industrial island of Thilafushi and develop the port as a free trade zone.

The government said at the time that a joint venture agreement will be signed with the global marine terminal operator in a month, but negotiations appear to have stalled.

The opposition has criticised the government’s failure to attract significant foreign investment despite assurances with the passage of the SEZ Act in August last year.

The government estimates that it will collect US $100 million in acquisition fees from the SEZs by August 2015.

Tourism minister Ahmed Adeeb told Minivan News in April that the government is “looking for serious investors,” noting that the minimum investment for a SEZ stands at US$ 150 million.

“I think we will meet budget targets. Some investors are prepared to pay a US $100 million acquisition fee on a single project,” he said.

The first SEZ project is likely to be the Thilafushi port project with Dubai Ports World, Adeeb said, followed by the iHavan project.

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Supreme Court bans clubs and associations within judiciary

The Supreme Court has prohibited employees of the judiciary from forming clubs and associations.

In an open letter released today, the apex court said staff at courts can organise fraternal or social activities after informing the department of judicial administration (DJA), but forming clubs or associations is not permitted.

“It is not permitted to create a club or association under any name in any court,” reads the letter signed by Chief Justice Abdulla Saeed.

In February, the Supreme Court issued a circular stating that the judiciary’s staff could only form associations or clubs in accordance with a policy set by the Supreme Court and that their activities must be overseen by the Supreme Court-controlled DJA.

The circular was issued hours an annual inter-court futsal tournament called the ‘Judiciary Cup’ began in Malè.

Participants of the tournament told Minivan News at the time that they went ahead after deciding that the circular would only apply to future activities.

 

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Disgraced ex CSC chair to be appointed high commissioner to Malaysia

President Abdulla Yameen has nominated the disgraced former chairperson of the Civil Service Commission (CSC) as the new high commissioner to Malaysia.

Mohamed Fahmy Hassan was removed from the CSC by parliament in 2012 after he was found to have sexually harassed a female staff member, but the Supreme Court had blocked the dismissal as “unconstitutional.”

Upon assuming office in November 2013, President Yameen appointed Fahmy as the deputy high commissioner to Malaysia.

In late May, the foreign ministry recalled former high commissioner Mohamed Fayaz from Malaysia saying he had failed to “adequately promote Maldives’ foreign policy interests in Malaysia.”

Fahmy was nominated for parliamentary approval today. The parliament will vote on the appointment following evaluation of the nominee by the national security committee.

The Supreme Court overruling parliament’s dismissal of Fahmy had meanwhile led to both Fahmy and his replacement Fathimath Reeni Abdul Sattar arriving for work.

The CSC eventually blocked Fahmy from accessing its offices in September 2013. A source said Fahmy’s fingerprint access was rescinded after the former commissioner continued to come to the office for a few minutes every day.

Fahmy was alleged to have called a female staff member over to him, taken her hand and asked her to stand in front of him so that others in the office could not see, and caressed her stomach saying ”it won’t do for a beautiful single woman like you to get fat.”

According to local media, the woman told her family about the incident, who then called Fahmy. Fahmy then sent her a text message apologising for the incident, reportedly stating, ”I work very closely with everyone. But I have learned my lesson this time.”

In response to the allegations, Fahmy told Minivan News previously that the female staff member had made up the allegation after she learned she had not won a scholarship to Singapore offered by the CSC.

Correction: this article previously said that President Yameen had appointed Fahmy as high commissioner to Malaysia. This is incorrect. The president had only nominated Fahmy’s name.

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Ministerial task force formed to combat dengue outbreak

A ministerial task force was convened today to formulate a national level response to a dengue outbreak across the Maldives.

An 18-year-old pregnant Maldivian woman and a migrant worker died of dengue fever in the past week while the Health Protection Agency (HPA) warned of an increase in the incidence of the mosquito-borne disease.

The government began mosquito fogging in Malé and the atolls this morning.

Some 374 cases of dengue has been reported so far this year, of which 125 were reported from Malé and 112 were reported in June.

Health minister Iruthisham Adam, home minister Umar Naseer, and defence minister Moosa Ali Jaleel attended the high-level meeting today along with a number of senior government officials, police officers, and officials from the Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital (IGMH).

The health minister said mosquito fogging will take place in the capital and affected atolls for the next seven days. The ministry is also cleaning out mosquito breeding sites in collaboration with the housing ministry, environment ministry, home ministry, and the security services.

Last year, the health ministry said dengue fever has become endemic in the Maldives since 2004 with annual outbreaks.

A relatively severe outbreak of dengue in 2011 saw a record high 12 fatalities.

A total of 1,083 dengue cases were reported in the Maldives in 2012. The HPA has previously said that construction workers face an increased risk.

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Joyous celebrations on MDP’s tenth anniversary

Photo by Ahmed Azim

Supporters of the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) held a joyous celebration of its tenth anniversary with a march in the capital Malé on Friday night.

Hundreds clad in yellow t-shirts and carrying yellow flags danced on the streets of Malé to live music. There were multiple lorries carrying a DJ, a mirror ball and a band of drummers.

The MDP is the first political party to register in the Maldives. With 46,608 members, it is the largest political party in the country.

The march ended with cake cutting at the Artificial Beach.

At the center was Mariyam Manike, who triggered pro-democracy protests in 2003 by throwing off the funeral shrouds that covered her son’s tortured body. Evan Naseem, 19 years, was beaten to death by prison guards.


Photos by Ismail Humaam Hamid

MDP supporters marched on Malé’s thoroughfare Majeedhee Magu, but took a detour down the side streets near the residence of ex-president Mohamed Nasheed, who is currently under house arrest.

Nasheed was sentenced to 13-years in jail on terrorism charges in March. His arrest and imprisonment triggered a long political crisis with daily protests. The opposition leader’s transfer to house arrest appears to signal a thaw between the opposition and the government.

“As we celebrate our tenth anniversary, we are once again at a crossroads. Every member of this party is fully aware of where this country is at and what has happened to me. The courage we require for the journey ahead has been measured. Our destination is clear,” Nasheed said in a written message to his supporters.

“It is MDP members who are most aware of the journey we must make to our destination. There are none more experienced and more capable to undertake this journey.

“The path to realizing the dreams of the Maldivian people lie with organizing ourselves as political party. The Maldivian Democratic Party will change the Maldives.”

Supporters at the march celebrated the party’s achievements, including an end to torture in jails, the fight for civic freedoms, introduction of modern election campaigns and manifestos, decentralized governance and a tax regime.

The first president of the MDP, Ibrahim Ismail said: “Members of MDP, you should all be proud today, to have preserved against adversity and come this far.”

MDP Chairperson Ali Waheed missed out on the celebration as he is in the UK over fears he may be arrested and charged with terrorism.

Celebrations also took place all over the country, including in Addu City, the islands of Fuvahmulah, Kolamafushi, Alifushi, Bilehfahi, Naifaru and Isdhoo.

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President ratifies amendment to constitution

President Abdulla Yameen has ratified today a constitutional amendment setting new age limits of 30-65 years for presidency.

The parliament yesterday passed the first amendment to the constitution with overwhelming trip artisan support.

A total of 78 MPs of the ruling Progressive Party of Maldives-Maldives Development Alliance (PPM-MDA) coalition and the opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) and Jumhooree Party (JP) voted in favour of the proposed change.

The ruling coalition is seeking to replace vice-president Dr Mohamed Jameel Ahmed with tourism minister Ahmed Adeeb, who is 33 and ineligible for the post.

The constitution previously stated that presidential and vice presidential candidates must be 35 years of age.

Pro-government MPs have publicly accused Jameel of disloyalty and incompetence, but opposition politicians and some media outlets have claimed that President Abdulla Yameen is seeking a loyal deputy ahead of a life-threatening surgery.

Several PPM MPs have said that Adeeb will become the next vice president, but Jameel can only be replaced if he either resigns or is impeached with a two-third majority of parliament.

The revision to article 109(c) marks the first time the constitution has been changed since its adoption in August 2008.

The MDP and JP parliamentary groups issued three-line whips Tuesday night for its MPs to back the amendment, prompting speculation of a deal with the government, after former President Mohamed Nasheed’s house arrest was extended to eight weeks.

MDP parliamentary group leader Ibrahim Mohamed Solih has said that the main opposition party stood to gain more from backing the amendments than opposing it.

The amendment was submitted earlier this month by MDA MP Mohamed Ismail, who said during the preliminary debate that he proposed the 65-year cap as the president should be “young, intelligent, daring, active, and energetic.”

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Eight arrested for eating during daylight hours

Eight people have been arrested on suspicion of eating during daylight hours in the first five days of Ramadan.

Four were arrested from Thaa Atoll Dhiyamigili today, while another four were arrested in Malé this week. The police say they have received seven complaints over eating during daylight hours.

A court in Thaa Atoll Veymandhoo has detained the four men for three days. Three of the four arrested were arrested previously for drug abuse, the police said.

The criminal court in Malé on Friday extended the remand detention of three men arrested in Malé to seven days and one suspect to five days.

Some suspects were released after interrogation or with advice, a police media official said.

Consumption of food without a reasonable excuse during Ramadan is a criminal offence in the Maldives. The cases are usually proved with testimonies of eyewitnesses or the perpetrator. Those guilty are fined MVR150 for “disobedience to orders” under article 88 (a) of the 1968 penal code.

The criminal court has fined several people found guilty of eating or smoking during fasting hours.

In 2013, the police said they arrested on average two people a day for eating during daylight hours in Ramadan.

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