Author: Neil Merrett

Authorities hail Maldives World Tourism Awards ceremony as industry “milestone”

The Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture has claimed the Maldives’  selection as host for the Indian Ocean World Travel Awards (WTA) ceremony next month is a “milestone” in the 40 year history of the nation’s holiday industry.

Deputy Tourism Minister Mohamed Maleeh Jamal said the ceremony, which will take place at the Paradise Island Resort and Spa in North Male’ Atoll on May 12, paves the way for further high-profile events to be held in the Maldives in future.

Maleeh told Minivan News that hosting the WTA, described by the Maldives Marketing and PR Corporation (MMPRC) as the “Oscars” of the global tourism industry, would open up a wealth of opportunities for event hosting at resorts and other facilities in the country.

MICE tourism

He added that the ceremony would send a message to the world that the country was able to provide meetings, incentives, conferencing and exhibitions (MICE) tourism in a luxury and private setting that was unique from other destinations.

“Over the past 40 years, we have been known as a honeymooners spot, a surf spot and a luxury holiday destination. This will add another area for the industry,” the deputy tourism minister said.

Maleeh said that with the MICE tourism segment last year valued as a trillion US Dollar business segment, securing even a small proportion of the market would be a welcome boost to the country’s tourism industry.

Arrivals to the country were found to have posted double-digit growth during the first quarter of 2013 over the same period last year.

The results were a notable improvement on arrivals recorded during the first three months of 2012, which were negatively impacted by global headlines focused on political turmoil following the controversial transfer of power that brought the current government to office in February the same year.

Considering the number of resorts with conference facilities already operating in the Maldives, Maleeh praised the potential for MICE tourism in the Maldives, despite adding that the industry was very much at a “starting point” in the country.

However, in addressing challenges such as logistics that have previously limited event hosting to areas surrounding Male’, Maleeh claimed that the emergence of a number of regional airports around the country would open up a wider number of properties and businesses to potentially benefit.

“Event-based tourism will also see growing amounts of business for local companies as well, such as for lighting specialists and performers,” he added.

Beyond next month’s ceremony, Maleeh said that senior representatives from the World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) were also scheduled to travel to the Maldives in September for a special panel discussion.  The event was similarly anticipated to boost the country’s reputation for event hosting, according to the tourism ministry.

Eventful past

Outside of the Maldives resort industry, some local promotion groups have previously complained that challenges still remain in trying to bring high-profile events and entertainment to the wider country.

Back in November, 2012, a concert by Chris de Burgh – the singer/songwriter famed for the 1980′s global super-hit ‘Lady in Red’ – attracted 1500 people to Galolhu National Stadium in Male’.

Organisers claimed at the time the event was one of the largest shows of its kind held in the Maldives over the last decade, especially considering ongoing difficulties in securing international artists to play in the archipelago nation.

The team behind the event claimed the concert was therefore an important step towards paving the way for world famous artists to perform in the country.

Mohamed Shinan, event coordinator with local promotion company Think Advertising, said the Maldives has traditionally struggled to cover the fees of high-profile performers when trying to bring concerts to the Maldives.

However, Shinan said that organisers had been happy with the eventual turnout for the concert.

“Including the sizable audience in the standing section, we estimate some 1,500 people were in attendance, which is not bad for an artist like Chris de Burgh. Most young people only know him for the one song.”

Two months earlier, the organisers of the 2012 Hotel Asia Exhibition and International Culinary Challenge held at Male’s Dharubaaruge conference centre claimed they were at maximum capacity in terms of the number of regional and international exhibitors in attendance.

Husnie Rauf, Senior Manager of Maldives Exhibition and Conference Services (MECS), said the company had been “surprised” by the interest shown from exhibitors taking part in the annual show, which attempts to link the country’s secluded resort industry and local hotel trade with “world class” suppliers.

Over the last three years, the Maldives has played host to several high-profile regional and international events including the 17th SAARC Summit in Addu City, and the Hay Festival Maldives, held at the presidential retreat of Aarah back in October 2010.

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Pro-Sharia march held in Male’

Men and women of various ages marched through the streets of Male’ yesterday (April 19), calling for Islamic Sharia to be fully implemented in the Maldives.

Yesterday’s march, which organisers claimed had no political backing, was said to have been led by a group of young people calling for Sharia to be fully implemented to protect the Maldives from “calamities” that it is presently facing, according to local media.

However, one local religious NGO has argued that Maldivian society was not presently ready to undergo such radical reforms to the nation’s legal system, arguing that any changes would need to be made gradually over a long period of time.

Commencing yesterday at 4:30pm by the social centre in the capital, the pro-Sharia march concluded just before 6:00pm at the artificial beach area.

A small number of demonstrators were in attendance, reported the Sun Online news website. Organisers have pledged that further pro-Sharia marches were anticipated in future.

Minister of Islamic Affairs Sheikh Mohamed Shaheem Ali Saeed and State Islamic Minister Mohamed Didi were not responding to calls at the time of press.

“Long process”

Co-founder of the Islamic Foundation of Maldives (IFM) Ibrahim Nazim, speaking in a personal capacity, told Minivan News that he believed demonstrators may have been affiliated with fellow religious NGOs in the country.

Nazim said key figures behind the demonstration would have likely been religious conservatives, who in some cases may have held more “radical” views of Islam.

In addressing the key aims of the march, he added that from a personal perspective, Maldivian society was not presently an environment conducive for Islamic Sharia to be implemented outright.

Nazim argued that implementing Sharia law correctly would be a long process for the country. He took the example of other Islamic nations such as Pakistan that had sought to implement a complete adherence to Sharia law in a short period of time, resulting in power struggles and other political complications as a result.

“This is not something we can just implement overnight, we will require people to change their attitudes before we are ready for such a change,” he suggested. “It will be a long process for the country.”

When contacted about the implementation of Sharia in the Maldives, President’s Office Media Secretary Masood Imad today recommended Minivan News contact the Islamic Ministry over religious issues concerning the state.

“I think it would be best to speak to the Islamic Ministry on this,” Masood said.

Meanwhile, a senior figure serving within the current government of President Dr Mohamed Waheed – speaking on condition of anonymity – argued that any significant changes to the country’s faith would always have to be made gradually and could not be made in a short period of time.

The source argued that the previous government of former President Mohamed Nasheed – which claimed to favour what it called a “more moderate and tolerant” form of Islam – had attempted to bring changes to the country’s perception of faith and religious conservatism in too short a period of time.

While claiming to personally favour a “more tolerant” interpretation of Islam, the source argued that the resulting opposition to the former government’s religious stance had likely led to the controversial transfer of power that saw former President Nasheed resign on February 7, 2012.  His resignation came on the back of a mutiny among sections of the police and military.

Islamic Sharia in the Maldives

Under article 142 of the Maldives’ Constitution, the judiciary is presently required to looked to turn to Islamic Sharia in any matters where the Constitution or the law is silent.

To this end, the country’s courts have in certain cases granted the death sentence to severe crimes such as murder, while also using punishments like flogging in certain sexual offence cases.

However, the acting Head of State under each of the last three governments has commuted death sentences to life sentences in every single case.

The last person to be judicially executed in the Maldives was Hakim Didi, who was executed by firing squad in 1953 after being found guilty of conspiracy to murder using black magic.

Legal Reform

In December 2012, former Attorney General Azima Shukoor drafted a bill outlining how the death sentence should be executed in the Maldives as part of ongoing consultations on enacting such a punishment.

Lethal injection was identified as the state’s preferred method of capital punishment in the bill, while further consultations were being taken on possibly removing the serving Head of State’s right to commute death sentences upheld by the Supreme Court.

Earlier this year, the government of President Dr Mohamed Waheed had pledged to review the possibility of legal reforms to bring an end to the use of punishments like flogging in the country’s justice system.

Addressing the scale of these potential reforms, President’s Office Media Secretary Masood said last month that all authorities involved in the process would have to tread “a very fine line” in order to tackle long standing “traditions” and beliefs in the country.

“Reforms must be undertaken, but this must be done gradually considering we are dealing with a process embedded in society,” he said, discussing the government’s commitments to bring an end to sentences like flogging. “A certain amount of compromise may be needed.”

The wider Maldives legal system has itself been brought under the spotlight after former President Nasheed controversially detained the Criminal Court Chief Judge last year.

Nasheed’s government argued the decision was necessary as the judge in question had become a threat to “national security” after ordering investigations into his own alleged misconduct halted.

Nasheed is presently facing trial in the country over the abduction of the judge.

Following the commencement of the trial, Gabriela Knaul, United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Independence of Judges and Lawyers, earlier this year raised several concerns about the effectiveness of the wider Maldives legal system following a fact-finding mission.

Knaul stated back in February that upon conclusion of her mission meetings, she had found that the concept of independence of the judiciary has been “misconstrued and misinterpreted” by all actors, including the judiciary itself, in the Maldives.

Addendum: This article earlier attributed views of Co-founder of the Islamic Foundation of Maldives (IFM) Ibrahim Nazim to the organisation. He has subsequently clarified that his comments were made in a personal capacity.

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Speaker Shahid confirms switch to opposition MDP

Parliamentary Speaker Abdulla Shahid has today joined the opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) – days after resigning from the government-aligned Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP).

Following ongoing media speculation over the last week that the speaker was considering defecting to the MDP, Shahid today confirmed via his Twitter account that he had changed his political allegiance over concerns about the direction of the country’s democratic transition.


Shahid did not elaborate further when asked by Minivan News today if he believed his decision to switch parties would potentially lead to government-aligned MPs reconsidering their support for his speaker role.

“Strong and resolute”

Shahid’s former party, the DRP, today said that it did not wish to comment on the personal decision of someone who was no longer a member of the party.

DRP Deputy Leader Abdulla Mausoom told Minivan News that despite the defection of the speaker, the party would “remain solid, strong and resolute”.

Mausoom added that the government-aligned party did not presently have any intention to pursue a no-confidence motion against the speaker as a result of him switching parties.

“In the past, most of the no-confidence motions have been conducted by either the MDP or the Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM),” he claimed.

Mausoom alleged that previous no-confidence motions submitted from the two parties had been undertaken as a means of seeking vengeance against the speaker or other political figures – something he claimed the DRP would not do.

“We have not initiated a no-confidence motion. We believe that no confidence should only be taken on an issue of national importance,” he said.

However, he claimed that in cases where any politician – whether a speaker or cabinet minister – was deemed to be compromising national issues, then the party “would not hesitate” to take action.

Abdulla Yameen, Parliamentary Group Leader of the government-aligned PPM – the country’s second largest political party after the MDP and minority party of parliament – did not respond to calls from Minivan News about the speaker’s switch today.

Earlier this week, PPM MP Ahmed Nihan said he had worked with Shahid for many years and personally found him to be very capable in his position as speaker.

However, he added that he was not sure how his fellow party members or other government-aligned MPs might view a decision to switch to the opposition.

“Ideological shift”

Shahid’s switch comes almost exactly one year to the day that the opposition MDP submitted an unsuccessful no confidence motion against the speaker, accusing him of making decisions relating to significant parliamentary issues without discussing them with various political parties.

However, MDP MP and spokesperson Hamid Abdul Ghafoor today said that the speaker’s switch was strongly supported by the party’s “grass roots”.

Ghafoor claimed that Shahid’s arrival to the party reflected an “idealogical shift” in the country’s political arena that would bring many more supporters to the MDP who may have previously been sceptical about doing so.

“What [Shahid] is saying, I believe, is that the country needs stability,” he added.

Ghafoor claimed that he had not been made aware of any party moving to challenge Shahid’s position as speaker as a result of his decision to switch parties so far.

He said that the MDP would itself be holding a rally tomorrow night (April 19) dubbed ‘New Strength’. Shahid is believed to be among the speakers at the rally.

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JP rules out forming coalition with President Waheed ahead of elections

The Jumhoree Party (JP) has ruled out forming a coalition with fellow government-aligned parties ahead of presidential elections scheduled for September this year, despite its reported involvement in recent power sharing talks with President Dr Mohamed Waheed.

JP Spokesman Moosa Ramiz today told Minivan News that the party was not looking to form a coalition before the elections. He also slammed politicians that did not belong to the JP speaking on its behalf about possible coalition agreements.

Ramiz’s comments were made in response to reports in local media this week claiming Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) member Umar Naseer was conducting talks to form a coalition of various parties, including the JP, behind President Waheed.

Naseer told Sun Online that a so-called “broad coalition” was being discussed to help secure a first round election victory against the opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) candidate Mohamed Nasheed.

Former PPM Deputy Leader Naseer, who last month mounted an unsuccessful bid to become the party’s presidential candidate, was present during discussions held at the official residence of President Waheed on Tuesday (April 16) night – fuelling uncertainty over his own future political allegiance.

Naseer was this week given an ultimatum by the government-aligned PPM to ‘reform and realign’ with the party’s charter or face expulsion after he accused MP Abdulla Yameen – his sole rival in the party’s recent presidential primary – of “rigging” the vote in his favour.

After refusing to defend himself during a PPM disciplinary committee hearing this week into his comments, Naseer has told local media that he would be revealing his future political plans tomorrow (April 19).

PPM MP and Spokesperson Ahmed Mahloof was not responding to calls from Minivan News at time of press today. Meanwhile, a spokesperson for Umar Naseer this week said that he would not give any interviews to Minivan News.

Naseer has told local media following the meeting at President Waheed’s residence that discussions had been held with numerous parties over forming a coalition. He added that the PPM was welcome to join any such alliance of parties. Also pictured at the meeting was JP Leader and presidential candidate MP Gasim Ibrahim.

However, JP Spokesperson Ramiz today slammed Naseer for speculating about another party’s plans, while also rejecting any suggestion it would seek to stand during the elections in a coalition.

“My brief answer would be that we are not going to do this [form a coalition ahead of elections],” he said.  “What right has Umar Naseer got to speak about the plans of a party he is not a member of?”

According to the JP website, Gasim Ibrahim said  today that he would not consider becoming the running mate of any other presidential candidate.

Amidst reported talks to form a so-called broad coalition behind the current president, the fellow government-aligned Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) today said it refused to comment on potential presidential elections campaigns or comments made by other parties in the run up to the election.

Speaking to Minivan News, DRP Deputy Leader Dr Abdulla Mausoom claimed that unlike other political parties in the country, it was the only party that had not changed its actions or political positions over the last three to five years.

Without mentioning any specific names, Mausoom alleged that senior political figures in the country who had changed their positions and even political allegiances numerous times over the last half decade were a key contributor to a perceived loss of faith among the public in the country’s elected representatives.

Addressing rumours of the efforts to form a coalition behind the current president, opposition MDP MP Hamid Abdul Ghafoor meanwhile said he believed that there had been a shift in the country’s political allegiances in recent weeks ahead of September’s elections.

According to Ghafoor, this shift had lead to the formation of two separate factions in the coalition government of President Waheed, which MDP supporters maintain was brought to power in a “coup d’etat” after former President Nasheed resigned from office following a mutiny by sections of the police and military.

“We are seeing strong lines being drawn between those who backed the coup, and those opposing it,” he said. “There is a regrouping into two factions of the current dictatorship, then there is us.”

Ghafoor claimed that in the current political climate, the MDP was itself committed to trying to reach a transitional arrangement where the majority of members in parliament would believe it was in their interest to remove President Waheed from office – thereby facilitating early elections.

Despite the MDP’s aims, the government-aligned Dhivehi Qaumee Party (DQP) (DQP) this month formally entered into a coalition with the President’s own Gaumee Iththihaadh Party (GIP) ahead of the elections.

Both the DQP and GIP are small political parties currently facing potential dissolution for lacking the minimum requirement of 10,000 members as stipulated in the recently passed Political Parties Act.

DQP Leader and President Waheed’s Special Advisor Dr Hassan Saeed claimed this week that all political parties, except the opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), were welcome to join the coalition.

Dr Saeed was not responding to calls from Minivan News today.

The religious conservative Adhaalath Party has also publicly pledged its support to President Waheed, last month announcing plans to form a coalition with the GIP.

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Finance Minister confident MPs will back wider revenue measures

Finance Minister Abdulla Jihad has expressed confidence that MPs will approve a raft of measures to raise state revenue, even after they narrowly rejected government proposals to increase an airport service charge yesterday (April 16).

Hiking the airport service charge from US$18 to US$30 for international passengers was among a raft of measures proposed by the Finance Ministry within the estimated 2013 budget in order to raise MVR 1.8 billion (US$116 million) in new income.

The finance minister told MPs in December 2012 that additional revenue was needed to finance the fiscal deficit and rein in soaring public debt, which was projected to reach MVR 31 billion (US$2 billion) or 82 percent of GDP by the end of 2013.

After yesterday’s rejection of the service charge increase, Jihad told Minivan News that he was of the belief parliamentarians would back other proposed measures that he has previously claimed will be vital in balancing the state budget.

These measures include hiking Tourism Goods and Services Tax (T-GST) to 15 percent, introducing GST for telecom services, and “selectively” reversing import duty reductions.

Despite expressing optimism that these reforms would be passed, Jihad stressed that he had personally received no feedback from MPs or political representatives regarding the exact level of support for such measures at time of press.

During the parliamentary debate on increasing the airport service charge this week, MPs of the opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) and government-aligned Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) both opposed the proposed hike.

MPs of both the majority and minority parties alleged that President Dr Mohamed Waheed planned to use an expected MVR185 million (US$12 million) from raising the departure tax to finance his presidential campaign before the increase was rejected.

“Significant” impact

Jihad today expressed concern that the Majlis’ rejection of hiking the airport service charge would significantly impact state revenues.

Speaking to newspaper Haveeru, Jihad said that budget forecasts has been designed with the increased airport charge in mind, with yesterday’s vote meaning a “significant amount” of funds would be lost from state revenue.

“If the amendments for the import duty are not passed, we will find it extremely difficult to manage the budgets of institutions. So it’s critical that the parliament expedites work on the bills and support them,” he was quoted as telling local newspaper Haveeru.

Jihad later told Minivan News that longer-term tax measures were already being considered as an alternative to cover any shortfall as a result of the airport charge not being increased.

He also did not rule out the possibility of resubmitting a proposal to increase the airport service charge at a later date – although no such decision had been made as yet.

The Parliamentary Group leaders of the country’s largest two parties could not be reached for comment today on the finance minister’s claims.

Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) Parliament Group Leader Ibrahim Mohamed Solih (Ibu Solih) had his phone switched when contacted by Minivan News.  Solih’s PPM counterpart, presidential candidate Abdulla Yameen, was not responding to calls at time of press.

MDP MP and Spokesperson Hamid Abdul Ghafoor claimed the party would look to review all measures proposed in parliament to try and increase revenue on a “case-by-case” basis.

However, he claimed that the opposition party remained “skeptical” about any financial measures being proposed by the administration of President Waheed, accusing the government of pushing the country towards bankruptcy.

Fiscal responsibility

Despite rejecting an increased airport service charge, legislation on fiscal responsibility submitted in 2011 by the previous government was passed with 42 votes in favour and 10 against at a sitting of parliament on Monday (April 15).

If the bill is ratified, the government would be prohibited by law from obtaining loans after January 1, 2016 to finance recurrent expenditure or loan repayment.

The bill also sets limits on government spending and public debt based on proportion of GDP, mandating the government to not allow public debt to exceed 60 percent of GDP.

Borrowing from the central bank or Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA) should not exceed seven percent of the projected revenue for the year, while such loans would have to be paid back in a six-month period.

Moreover, a statement outlining the government’s mid-term fiscal policy must be submitted annually to parliament at the end of the financial year in July.

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Health Ministry conducts “routine” TB screening at Maafushi prison after inmate diagnosed

The Ministry of Health today confirmed it has conducted a routine tuberculosis (TB) screening of staff and inmates at Maafushi prison after a single case of the disease was diagnosed at the facility.

Health Minister Dr Ahmed Jamsheed Mohamed today told Minivan News that a screening for TB had been undertaken at the prison, but added that just a single inmate had tested positive and been diagnosed with the disease.

The screening comes a month after the country’s Health Protection Agency (HPA) warned that a drug resistant strain of TB had been found in the Maldives, posing a “quite a serious” health threat for authorities to deal with.

However, Dr Jamsheed said today that there was no information at present to suggest the single case of TB detected at Maafushi Prison was a drug resistant form of the disease.

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), TB is an infectious bacterial disease that can be transmitted via droplets in the throat and lungs of an infected person.

Despite praising authorities for their efforts to eradicate the disease across the Maldives in recent years, the WHO has expressed concern that drug-resistant strains of TB have become a major public health problem resulting from patients not fully completing the recommended six-month course of treatment.

New challenges

The Ministry of Health released a report earlier this year concluding that authorities in the Maldives were facing new challenges controlling the disease.

HPA Public Health Program Officer Shina Ahmed told Minivan News shortly after the report’s publication in March 2013 that although the new strain of TB was “quite serious”, thus far cases of the disease in the Maldives were not resistant to every drug available to patients.

“We have had a few cases come in now with the new strain. The most important thing we have to do is to continue and complete the course of treatment,” Shina said at the time.

“Most of these drug-resistant strains are caused by patients stopping the treatment. We have enough drug supplies to give to them, but because the course goes on for six months, patients tend to go off taking the treatment towards the end.”

In April 2012, staff at the Maldives Criminal Court were screened by health authorities for TB after an employee was found to have tested positive for the disease.

Control programs

International health authorities have previously observed that the Maldives had achieved notable success in TB control since the establishment of a national control program by the Department of Public Health in 1976.

Maldives has an estimated incidence of 47 per 100,000 population of all forms of TB and has sustained meeting the global targets for TB control since 1996, according to the WHO’s communicable disease department for South East Asia.

Tuberculosis, which had a prevalence in the Maldives of 35 cases per thousand people in 1974, declined to about 0.66 per 1000 by 1996, according to the findings.

However, last year the Health Ministry raised concerns over the growing number of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) cases in the Maldives.

The rate of TB prevalence among the country’s expatriate population is also reportedly on the rise as well.  “A large migrant workforce from high TB-burden countries,” continues to identified by the WHO as major challenge for local health bodies.

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“Vast majority” of PPM members will remain loyal to former President Gayoom: MP Nihan

Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) MP Ahmed Nihan has claimed the “vast majority” of supporters will remain loyal to the party despite uncertainty over the future allegiance of senior figures like Umar Naseer and Deputy Leader Ilham Ahmed.

MP Nihan told Minivan News today that should either Naseer or MP Ilham leave the PPM, most members would still remain loyal due to their support for former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom and the principles under which he founded the government-aligned party.

The comments were made as the PPM’s internal disciplinary council yesterday concluded a hearing against Umar Naseer, who recently lost out on standing as the party’s presidential candidate during its primary.

He later alleged that his sole opponent in the contest, MP Abdulla Yameen; was backed by the Gayoom family and PPM parliamentary group, controlled all of the party’s organs, including the council and election committee, and had “rigged” the primary in his favour by ballot stuffing, falsifying the count and “pouring black money” to buy votes.

He further alleged that criminal gangs, convicts and drug smuggling “networks” were part of Yameen’s campaign team.

Yameen, who is also half brother of former President Gayoom, denied the accusations, while the PPM later asked Umar to apologise for his remarks or face disciplinary action.

Umar’s case was yesterday (April 14) sent to the PPM Council’s for a decision on whether he should face expulsion from the party after refusing to apologise to Yameen or defend himself at the subsequent disciplinary hearing.

Nihan added that the next council meeting concerning Umar’s position in the PPM was “expected shortly”, although no decision had yet been taken over whether he would be allowed to remain with the party.

Despite the party’s rhetoric, Umar was quoted in local media today as claiming he would reveal his future political plans at a rally scheduled for Friday (April 19).

“I will let my supporters know the path I have chosen,” he was quoted as telling Haveeru.

Meanwhile, Ilham Ahmed today announced his decision to resign his vice presidency role within the PPM, refusing to provide further details to local media at the time.

Loyalty

MP Nihan claimed that the resignation was not thought to be related to Umar Naseer’s disciplinary hearing yesterday.

He went on to state that Ilham had in the past been a strong supporter of Gayoom dating back to before the PPM was founded after a number of its MPs broke away from the Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP).

“He was elected with the blessing of Maumoon. Ilham has always played the political game well,” said Nihan.

Taking the example of other previous Gayoom supporters such as MP Ali Waheed – who eventually joined the opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) – Nihan alleged that some in the party believed Ilham had strong business links with presidential candidate and MP for the fellow government-aligned Jumhoree Party (JP), Gasim Ibrahim.

“We heard Ilham’s been connected with Gasim for sometime now,” he added.

Nihan said that both Ilham and Umar currently remained with the party and could play a significant role ahead of presidential elections scheduled for September.

However, Nihan said that should they both defect to other political parties, he did not expect more than several hundred PPM members to leave with them.

He added that even in the case of a possible defection from the two senior party members, both would also be limited in terms of viable political parties they could side with. Nihan also questioned the stability of forming political coalitions in the Maldives.

“The Maldives will not be stable under a coalition,” he said. “We also have to consider the international community in all this, such as the UK, and our neighbours in India and Sri Lanka, there is a big struggle at present.”

MP Ahmed was not responding to calls at time of press, while a spokesperson for Umar Naseer claimed he “did not give interviews to Minivan News.”

When contacted earlier today, the PPM office in Male’ said it did not “know anything” regarding Umar Naseer’s hearing.

“Unprecedented move”

Addressing developments within the PPM today, MDP MP and Spokesperson Hamid Abdul Ghafoor claimed that the government-aligned party had used the People’s Majlis to attack President Dr Mohamed Waheed in what he claimed was an “unprecedented” move.

Hamid argued that amidst speculation over the respective futures of Umar Naseer and Ilham Ahmed, the PPM was finding itself “alone” politically, while the president was by contrast expanding a coalition of parties ahead of September’s elections.

“Political entities – aside from MDP – are all remnants of the past. They are products of the past dictatorship, and they are now splintering. It’s a classic example of a dictatorship breaking up, fragmenting,” he claimed.

“It’s a [Gayoom] family thing being played out politically. His family is split in two between backing Waheed or the PPM and Gayoom is keeping both sides afloat, so he can play the game to the end and win.”

Parliamentary criticism

Meanwhile, Two PPM MPs publicly criticised President Waheed at today’s sitting of parliament, with MP Ali Arif slamming the country’s leader for “harassing” the legislature. He also accused President Waheed of discontinuing public services and development projects, while using state funds to finance his election campaign, according to local media.

PPM MP Shifag ‘Histo’ Mufeed, formerly of the MDP, alleged that the president was planning to use an expected MVR185 million (US$12 million) from raising the airport departure tax to US$30 for his presidential campaign.

“I think this is the biggest atrocity after the Nexbis atrocity,” Shifag said, referring to ongoing legal wrangling over an agreement to use a border control system provided by a Malaysia-based IT firm that was approved by the government.

The implementation of a similar Airport Development Charge (ADC) by Indian infrastructure group GMR was previously a major point of contention for senior figures in the Waheed administration, eventually paving the way for the US$511 million foreign investment project to be declared void by the government last year.

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GMR-Maldives arbitration to begin mid 2014: Attorney General’s Office

The Attorney General’s (AG’s) Office has confirmed that an arbitration case concerning the government’s decision to void its concession agreement with Indian Infrastructure giant GMR will begin by the middle of next year.

Deputy Solicitor General Ahmed Usham today told Minivan News that both parties had agreed to commence proceedings by the middle of 2014 and were now waiting on arbitrators to confirm the exact schedule for when their respective cases would be presented.

The initial agreement was reached after representatives for the state and GMR met in London, England on April 10 for a preliminary procedural meeting.  A timetable was agreed upon for holding hearings over the cancellation of a US$511 million contract to develop and manage a new terminal at Ibrahim Nasir International Airport (INIA).

Usham said that the hearing in London last week had been focused solely on establishing a timetable for when arbitration will begin proper in Singapore.

“It is quite straight forward in these procedural hearings.  We discussed the schedule for hearings, such as when cases would be presented, as well as when parties can reply and make counter claims,” he said. “These arbitrators are quite busy, so it can be difficult to manage time in their schedules.”

The AG’s Office has previously claimed that the Maldives will be represented by Singapore National University Professor M Sonaraja, while former Chief Justice of the UK, Lord Nicholas Addison Phillips, will represent GMR.

The arbitrator mutually agreed by both GMR and the government is retired senior UK Judge, Lord Leonard Hubert Hoffman.

Concession agreement

In 2010, GMR-Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad (MAHB) consortium, the government of former President Mohamed Nasheed and Maldives Airport Company Limited (MACL) entered into a 25-year concession agreement worth US$511 million (MVR 7.787 billion). The agreement charged the GMR-MAHB Consortium with the management and upgrading of INIA within the 25 year contract period.

However, in November 2012, the government of President Dr Mohamed Waheed Hassan Manik declared the developer’s concession agreement void and ordered it to leave the country within seven days.

A last minute injunction from the Singapore High Court during arbitration proceedings was overturned on December 6, after Singapore’s Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon declared that “the Maldives government has the power to do what it wants, including expropriating the airport.”

GMR is seeking US$800 million in compensation for the sudden termination, while the Maldivian government is contending that it owes nothing as the contract was void ab initio – meaning the contract was invalid from the outset.

Should the argument of void ab initio fail, the government has claimed the second legal grounds on which it would argue in favour of termination of the contract would be that the contract had been ‘frustrated’.

‘Frustration of a contract’ is an English contract law doctrine which acts as a device to set aside contracts where an unforeseen event either renders contractual obligations impossible, or radically changes the party’s principle purpose for entering into the contract.

“The government has given a seven day notice to GMR to leave the airport. The agreement states that GMR should be given a 30 day notice but the government believes that since the contract is void, it need not be followed,” said then Attorney General Azima Shukoor.

The awarding of the bid in 2010 was overseen by the World Bank’s International Finance Corporation (IFC), which the Waheed government has accused of being “negligent” and “irresponsible”.

Should the matter be decided in the government’s favour, uncertainty remains as to the potential impact on foreign investor sentiment given the prospect of sudden asset seizure under the ‘void ab initio’ precedent.

If decided in GMR’s favour, the outcome of the case could potentially see the Maldives facing sovereign bankruptcy, with millions of dollars in additional debt emptying the state’s already dwindling reserves, crippling the country’s ability to obtain further credit, and potentially sparking an economic or currency crisis.

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Military consolidation expected to dominate Defence Minister Nazim’s India visit

Defence Minister Mohamed Nazim is expected to commence talks today with his Indian counterpart on strengthening military ties between the two nations.  The talks will be the most senior meeting of ministers between the two countries since reports of bilateral tensions earlier this year, according to the Times of India.

As part of his visit to India, Nazim is expected to meet with Indian Defence Minister Shri A K Anthony to discuss establishing further defence collaboration, as well as the possibility of extending Indian coastal radar systems across the Maldives.

Nazim’s visit comes after Defence Minister Anthony travelled to the Maldives last year to open the ‘SenaHiya’ Military Hospital in Male’, where he spoke of expanding cooperation on naval security and preventing drug trafficking.

The ceremony in September 2012, was held at a time when international media was playing up a perceived strengthening of relations between the Maldives and China, drawing attention to the potential geopolitical implications for neighbouring India.

According to the Times of India, Nazim is the first senior government minister to visit the India since the country was accused of becoming embroiled in the Maldives’ domestic politics earlier this year.

Both Nazim and President’s Office Media Secretary Masood Imad were not responding to calls from Minivan News as time of press.

Reported tensions

Back in February, Maldives political figures from several government-aligned parties criticised the Indian High Commission after former President Nasheed was allowed to seek refuge on its premises from police seeking to present him to the Hulhumale’ Magistrate Court.

Nasheed remained in the high commission’s chancery building on Sosun Magu in Male’ for 11 consecutive days, maintaining that charges against him for detaining a chief Criminal Court Judge were a politically motivated attempt to prevent him from contesting in presidential elections scheduled for this year.

Indian officials at the time rejected accusations of taking sides in the country’s domestic affairs, maintaining that India only favoured “inclusive elections”.

After Nasheed was allowed into the building, Home Minister Dr Mohamed Jameel implied through social media that India was meddling in the Maldives’ internal affairs, stating at the time: “What’s happening now gives us an indication of the extent and level of interest some countries prepared to take in our internal matters”.

“I would strongly urge everyone to let our institutions deal with the challenges, allow Maldives to uphold rule of law,” he tweeted.

Just a month before Nasheed went into the high commission building, Maldivian authorities denied that the country’s foreign minister had been snubbed by the Indian government after it rejected an official request to meet.

The reported snub came as Maldivian local media were issued a list of 11 grievances from the Indian High Commission concerning the treatment of Indian nationals in the country.

“Unshakable” relationship

However, the new Indian High Commissioner to the Maldives Rajeev Shahare last week emphasised the “unshakable” long-standing relationship between between both countries during a meeting with local media (April 10).

Shahare at the time stressed there had been no change in the relationship between the Maldives and India, despite media reports of increased tension between both nations.

“In any relationship there are highs and lows, but the relationship carries on its course normally,” he said.  “Engagement between the Maldives and India has been constant. We are pretty much on course.”

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