Neil Merrett – Page 28 – Minivan News

Maldives identifies “first” child HIV infection

Senior health figures have called on the government, NGOs and members of the private sector to help step up attempts to promote AIDS prevention in the country after authorities discovered that a two year-old child had tested HIV positive earlier this year.

While accepting that HIV infection rates remained relatively low in the Maldives, Minister of State for Health Lubna Zahir Hussain said that efforts needed to be increased across all sectors of society to tackle attitudes towards high-risk behaviours that allow the virus to be transmitted.

Lubna heads the National Drug Agency (NDA). Her comments followed the hosting of a special NDA workshop on HIV prevention held on December 1 to commemorate World AIDS Day. The workshop was focused particularly on the HIV infection through drug abuse.

Though statistics indicate HIV infection rates have been limited in the Maldives over the space of the last two decades, health officials in the Maldives have begun to raise concerns about the risk of cases spreading across the country.

In October Minister of Health Dr Ahmed Jamsheed Mohamed claimed it was only through “incredible luck” that HIV had not spread across the Maldives, considering the prolific levels of unprotected sex and intravenous drug use.

Addressing concerns raised by Health Minister Jamsheed about the potential scope for HIV to spread beyond high-risk communities such as drug users, Lubna said greater effort was needed to address attitudes of the general public to the spread of the virus.

“I think what the health minister was saying is that it is not only people living bad lifestyles that are at risk [of HIV infection],” she said, reiterating concerns about the number of young people engaged in intravenous drug use and potentially dangerous sexual practices.

She spoke about a child who was suspected of having been infected from her mother at birth.

“We were first made aware of the case in April 2012 and as far as I know, this is the first case [of a child in the Maldives being born HIV positive],” she said. “However, I think it is important for the public to know the reality of the situation right now, whilst respecting [the child’s] privacy and well being.”

Lubna said she was ultimately encouraged by the work of the country’s health authorities in trying to address the HIV risk from national attitudes towards sex and drug use in the country, yet warned against complacency.

“This doesn’t mean that we continue to work at this pace to try and address attitudes towards AIDS and its spread,” she said.

Lubna called on civil society, the business community and government to speed up efforts to hold awareness and education events about the dangers posed through unprotected sex and intravenous drug use, and to promote preventative measures to reduce the national HIV risk.

Attempts have been made to work with local drug NGOs such as Male’-based Journey on running special outreach programs and blood tests to try and monitor and manage infection rates.

However Lubna said that drug use was not the only area of concern in trying to curb HIV infection.

“Prostitution is another area that needs to be looked into. Awareness work in this area needs to be seen immediately,” she said.

She said greater awareness was needed not just among the general public, but by government authorities and law enforcement agencies.

First Lady’s concerns

During the NDA workshop, First Lady Ilham Hussain stressed that growing numbers of the country’s youth were subjected to dangerous habits that could potentially lead to HIV infection. She highlighted recreational drug use in particular as the leading cause of the virus spreading nationally.

“Incredible luck”

Speaking earlier this year on the issue of HIV infection rates, Health Minister Jamsheed said that although the Maldives had remained on the HIV less-prevalent category since the first HIV positive case was found in 1991, “all the habits that may lead to the spread of HIV is excessively in practice here,” stating that it was only through “incredible luck” that the disease had not already spread widely throughout the country.

“What has always worried me most is that there is a large drug community, and that the virus might find its way into this group, especially the IV drug users. Once it does, it will spread like wild fire,” he said at the time.

“I don’t think this is too far off now. We have already identified one IV drug user who has been infected with HIV. What’s left is to see how much this has spread,” Jamsheed revealed.

Jamsheed said that he believed there were issues which needed to be opened to a “national debate” in order to move forward and take stronger preventive measures.

“We can simply stay inactive and keep talking for any amount of time by assuming the moral highground,’ Jamsheed said at Sunday’s press conference.

“That is to claim that we are Muslims, and by living in a Muslim state in Muslim ways we are doubtless protected from this disease. But that is never the reality anywhere in the world,” he said.

Jamsheed said it was unrealistic to assume all Muslims to live as “perfect Muslims”, and that even if they were, there was still a chance of infection. He stated that HIV is not transferred through sexual activity or visits to prostitutes alone.

In 2011, a total of 18 HIV positive cases were reported, out of which one was of a local. Between 1991 and 2011, 15 HIV cases were reported among Maldivians, while 168 cases of expatriate workers were also filed. Two out of the 15 cases were female, and all patients cited heterosexual transmission as the cause of infection.

Likes

(0)Dislikes

(0)

Express ferry suspended after Finnish tourist dies in speedboat collision

A collision between two speed boats on Sunday evening left a Finnish tourist dead and nine other people injured.

The collision occurred between an express speedboat service to the island of Hulhumale’ – which is located near to the capital of Male’ – and another vessel belonging to the Bandos Island Resort and Spa property.

Police Spokesperson Hassan Haneef told Minivan News that a Finnish national had died following the collision, while eight Maldivians also received minor injuries. A 29-year old local woman was also injured in the incident, receiving what police described as severe head injuries. Authorities said her condition was now improving.

Haneef claimed that the matter was being treated as an accident until the exact cause of the incident could be identified. He added that existing transport regulations remained in place for all speed boat services following the incident.

However, a spokesperson for the Maldives Transport and Contracting Company (MTCC) said it had temporarily suspended its express speedboat service between Hulhumale’ and Male’ while it reviewed guest safety procedures.

“We believe we need to do some work on safety,” a company spokesperson told Minivan News. “We will be working with transport authorities, the Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) and the police on the matter and will resume the services after that.”

Dhoni services will continue to run between Male’ and Hulhumale’ as normal, the MTCC added.

Asked to clarify its view on the collision, the state-owned company declined to comment on the incident until investigations were carried out both by itself and police.

Bandos Island Resort and Spa, which operated the other speedboat involved in the collision, said it did not wish to comment on the issue at the time when contacted by Minivan News.

“We are not in a situation to discuss the incident,” a spokesperson for the resort said today. “We are waiting for police to complete their investigations.”

The incident occurred around 8:25pm near the island of Dhoonidhoo in Kaafu Atoll.

Likes

(0)Dislikes

(0)

PPM candidate Ibrahim Ameen takes parliamentary seat in Ungoofaaru by-election

The Progressive Party of Madives (PPM) candidate Ibrahim Ameen has secured the parliamentary seat representing the Ungoofaaru constituency in Raa Atoll that was previously held by his brother, the murdered MP Dr Afrasheem Ali.

According to provisional results from the Elections Commission (EC), Ameen took the seat with 1159 votes in polling held on the islands of Ungoofaaru, Hulhuduffaaru, and Maakurathu, all in Raa Atoll, as well as a special polling station in Male’. He defeated Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) candidate Dr Ahmed Ashraf who had 1078 votes.

There was some polling success however for the MDP during the day. The party’s candidate, Ashiya Hussain took the vacant island council seat for Keyodhoo in Vaavu Atoll with 221 votes, narrowly beating the Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party’s (DRP’s) candidate Ahmed Fayaz, who had 219 votes.

With 15 minutes left before polling booths were closed around the country, EC President Fuad Thaufeeq said an estimated 83 percent of eligible voters had turned out to cast their ballots. Voters in the queue to vote before the polls closure at 4:00pm this afternoon were still allowed to vote, according to the EC.

Thaufeeq claimed that voting had gone “quite smoothly” at all the corresponding polling stations, with the majority of complaints it had received concerned with campaigning tactics being used the previous day.

“We had received some complaints that campaigning was continuing to take place past 6:00pm yesterday,” he said, referring to a practice outlawed under elections rules. “Other than that everything is going smoothly in the atoll.”

The Ungoofaaru by-election had been scheduled earlier this year following the murder of PPM MP Dr Afrasheem in Male’ in early October.

Earlier this week, Commissioner of Police Abdulla Riyaz said the Maldives Police Service (MPS) believed it was “not the right time” to reveal the details behind the murder of Dr Afrasheem.

Speaking to Minivan News today, EC President Thaufeeq said that despite the circumstances behind the by-election for the Ungoofaaru constituency, the polls had been conducted in “more-or-less the same manner” as had been seen with two other parliamentary by-elections held since February’s controversial transfer of power.

“We have been getting the same types of complaints that we received with previous by-elections in Kaashidhoo and Thimarafushi. I would say it has gone a bit smoother than these,” he said. “There have been no major issues with the polls.”

The election itself was initially scheduled to be contested by three candidates after the PPM’s partners in the coalition government of President Dr Mohamed Waheed Hassan, such as the DRP, opted against fielding candidates.

However, an independent candidate, Najih Jinah, registered to stand against the PPM and MDP made a late withdrawal from the contest to lend support to Ameen’s campaign, according to local media.

Previous contests

In the local council elections of February 2011 for two atoll council seats in the Ungoofaru constituency, the MDP candidate Ibrahim Zayan received 1,024 votes while then-opposition Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) candidate received 1,790 votes.

Meanwhile, in the May 2009 parliamentary election, then DRP candidate Dr Afrasheem Ali received 573 votes while MDP candidate Dr Ahmed Ashraf came second with 533 votes.

In Vaavu Keyodhoo, all five island council seats were won by DRP candidates in February 2011 with the first placed candidate garnering 267 votes.

Likes

(0)Dislikes

(0)

Male’ City Council accuses government of sabotaging Tatva Global waste management project

The government has announced is it in the process of renegotiating a waste management contract for the Male’ area with India-based Tatva Global Renewable Energy – leading to criticism by the opposition-dominated Male’ City Council (MCC) that the state is trying to sabotage the agreement for political gain.

Former President Mohamed Nasheed’s administration signed the original waste management agreement with Tatva in May 2011 in a deal that was supposed to have generated power from recycling waste. The scheme was also said to be part of attempts to improve the overall standards of waste management in Male’ and the nearby “garbage island”, Thilafushi.

The deal, like the airport development agreement with India-based GMR declared void by the government this week, was been backed by International Finance Corporation (IFC), an affiliate organisation of the World Bank, according to the Inter Press Service news agency.

However parts of the agreement were ordered halted by the country’s Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) in August this year over alleged concerns about the contract, which was also signed under the former government.

The ACC received concerns that the project would lead to an anticipated loss of MVR 1 billion (US$64.8 million) in government finances over a 20 year operating period, according to local news service Haveeru.

ACC President Hassan Luthfee had phone switched off at the time of going to press.

In correspondence sent to Minivan News this week, Dr Mariyam Shakeela, who has served as Environment Minister for the last few months and was most recently appointed acting Human Rights Minister, announced that a previous contract agreed with Tatva was expected to be replaced with a “mutually beneficial” agreement.

“Provided they perform within the time frame given, the contract will remain with Tatva,” she said in response to whether the company would retain its role on the waste management project.

Dr Shakeela, who did not respond to a question on the nature of the government’s concerns with the previous contract, said the time frame for the deal was “under negotiation”.

“[The] whole agreement is being formulated,” she added.

A spokesperson for Tatva Global Renewable Energy was not responding to calls from Minivan News at time of press.

MCC criticism

However, the MCC has claimed that following a visit of senior officials from Tatva Global Renewable Energy between November 18 to November 20, a failure by the government to involve its councillors in the process and ongoing delays to commencing the project had let it to conclude that the deal would be eventually cancelled. The MCC said it expected the project to eventually be cancelled, despite increasing problems with waste management in the capital.

MCC councillor Mohamed Abdul Kareem told Minivan News that he had been informed senior Tatva executives had been invited to the Maldives for several days earlier this month to meet with ministers and stakeholders involved in the energy project.

“However, I don’t know what the discussions were focused on. Many groups were there; the Finance Ministry, other government departments, the Attorney General’s Office and the State Electricity Company (STELCO) were all there,” he said.

However, Kareem questioned why the MCC – as a major stakeholder in its own waste management project – had also not been invited to the discussions to express its concerns over the need for the waste management project.

“The issue has been continually delayed and the waste management problem is getting worse, while we don’t have the budget to meet our waste management needs,” he claimed.

Kareem alleged that while the government was providing small amounts of funding for waste management, he believed attempts were purposely being made to exacerbate the capital’s refuse problems in order to undermine the municipal council’s work. Kareem added that he was presently consulting lawyers over where the MCC stood on the waste management project.

“We don’t have enough budget to collect the waste, meanwhile the collection centres in Male’ are full and waste is openly being burnt on Thilafushi,” he claimed. “I think this is a game [for the government], I am certain they will cancel this contract.”

Kareem claimed that with an estimated 150,000 inhabitants in Male’ each generating a kilogram of waste per day on average, managing the capital’s waste management was the largest logistical operations in the entire country on a daily basis.

“We are dealing with 150,00 kg of waste everyday, we don’t have efficient enough operations for this. We don’t have enough boat fuel and the excavators we use are 20 to 30 years old. “[Wednesday] even, the starter motor failed on one of these,” he said.

Likes

(0)Dislikes

(0)

Indian US$25 million budget support loan delayed after Maldives fails to complete paperwork

A US$25 million state loan from India required to help balance the Maldives’ budget for the remainder of 2012 has been delayed after the government failed to submit the requested paperwork, a diplomatic source has revealed.

A representative for the Indian High Commission in the Maldives – who asked not to be named – told Minivan News that despite recent diplomatic tensions between the two nations, funding had actually stalled due to the Maldives’ government failing for over a month to submit the papers needed to complete the financing deal.

Although the Finance Ministry has now played down previous budget concerns, the US$25 million in funding agreed by India was last month deemed vital by the Finance Minister to ensure the government’s remaining spending in 2012 was met.

While the loan agreement still stands, the diplomatic source stressed that concerns within the Indian government about perceived anti-India sentiments from senior political figures in the Maldives could yet have a bearing on financial support offered to the country.

“Because of the current situation in the Maldives there is a perception in the Indian government that its interests are being treated unfairly,” he said. “[The government] will have the final say on approving any loan and these comments will be taken into account.”

Tensions have increased between the two countries this month as senior Maldivian government officials step up their efforts to oppose a contract signed under the previous administration with Indian infrastructure group GMR to develop Ibrahim Nasir International Airport (INIA). The contract represents the largest foreign investment ever undertaken in the country’s history.

In an arbitration case held last week, the High Court of Singapore rejected an attempt by the Maldives Airports Company Limited (MACL) to release an injunction blocking the government from taking action in the Civil Court of Maldives blocking GMR’s offset of the airport development charge (ADC).

Yet according to rumours circulating on social media sites, the government will allegedly cancel the GMR contact at a cabinet meeting today on the back of calls from some coalition parties to “renationalise” the airport.

Tweets were being circulated speculating that a Chinese intermediary was prepared to pay for the contract termination and take over the airport development.

Finance Minister Abdulla Jihad said he did not wish to comment on the matter or the loan delay at present ahead of the state budget being unveiled on November 27.

Meanwhile, recently appointed State Finance Minister Abbas Adil Riza – who publicly labelled Indian high Commissioner D M Mulay “a traitor” earlier this month over the airport development – and Economic Development Minister Ahmed Mohamed were not responding to Minivan News at time of press.

India has also this week called for the Maldives government to repay US$100 million in treasury bonds by February 2013.

Amidst increased diplomatic tensions, Finance Minister Abdulla Jihad told Minivan News earlier this week that he was unaware of the reason for the delays in receiving the US$25 million loan, requesting the question be put to the Indian High Commission in Male’.

In response, a High Commission of India representative said it had waited for over a month before Maldivian authorities this week returned a draft amendment needed to process the loan. The high commission has said it could now proceed and forward the finance request to the Indian government for final approval.

“We had sent the government the draft amendment, to which they have now have agreed. However is it unlikely they are going to get the funds soon as the decision must be sent to the cabinet for approval,” the source said, adding that the agreement would need to be first sent to India’s Ministry of External Affairs. “The Maldives government will also need to complete certain steps to obtain the funds. For instance, it will have to open a bank account with the State Bank of India for the loan.”

The US$25 million loan was agreed as part of the $US100 million standby credit facility signed with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in November 2011.

“Deep trouble”

According to the high commission source, the credit facility had been initially agreed after the previous government of Mohamed Nasheed found itself in “deep trouble” and in need of financial assistance by late October last year.

These financial concerns were said to have been exacerbated following the controversial transfer of power on February 7, leading to fears the country may face a sovereign default.

According to the high commission, these initial loan payments were expedited at the time by Indian authorities on an emergency basis on the grounds that the correct paperwork would be completed at a later date.

However, these emergency conditions were no longer said to be in place.

“This was an extreme situation and we did not want the government to have to default,” the diplomatic source claimed, adding that the Maldives was now required to complete all requested paperwork as had been agreed.

Of the US$100 million credit provided by India, half the amount was agreed to be provided as part of budget support, while the remaining US$50 million would be set aside to aid local business by importing products from India.

However, the diplomatic source said that this agreement had been amended on several occasions to allow for a further US$25 million to go towards supporting the state budget.

Despite previously claiming that the Maldives would be unable to support state spending without securing the additional US$25 million budget support loan from India, Finance Minister Jihad announced this week that the issue of covering the government’s wage bill for the remainder of 2012 was “no longer a major concern”.

Jihad added that his department was working to secure private sector funding to make up any shortfalls in budget support.

However, he did not give further details on the nature of the private sector groups presently being sought.

Jihad claimed that a “significant” part of the private sector focus would be through issuing treasury bills (T-bills) to the private sector as recommended earlier this year by the IMF.

“When we opened up treasury bills to the private sector initially there was no response,” he said. “However, there have now been consultations with private groups.”

T-bills, which are sold by governments all over the world, serve as a short-term debt obligation backed by sovereign states. In the Maldives, T-bills have a maximum maturity of six months, after which time they must be repaid.

Foreign borrowing

Earlier this year, President Waheed reportedly said he would not resort to borrowing from foreign governments in order to finance government activities.

“I will not try to run the government by securing huge loans from foreign parties. We are trying to spend from what we earn,” he was reported to have told the people of Nilandhoo.

Despite Waheed’s reassurances, October saw a number of state owned institutions face disconnection from the capital’s power grid as bills amounting to around MVR 150 million (US$9.7 million) were owed to the State Electricity Company (STELCO).

Since coming to power in February, the government has committed to reimbursing civil servants for wage reductions made during the austerity measures of the previous government, amounting to Rf443.7 million (US$28.8 million), to be disbursed in monthly instalments over 12 months from July.

A MVR 100 million (US$6.4 million) fuel subsidy for the fishing industry was also approved by the Majlis Finance Committee, with the hope of stimulating the ailing sector.

The overall deficit for government expenditure has already reached over MVR 2 billion (US$129 million). Jihad has told the Majlis’ Finance Committee that he expected this figure to rise to MVR 6 billion (US$387 million) by year’s end – 28 percent of GDP – alleging that the previous government left unpaid bills equal to over one third of this anticipated deficit.

Former Minister of Economic Development Mahmood Razee has previously told Minivan News that this increased expenditure in the face of a pre-existing deficit represented the government “ignoring reality.”

“If they don’t get the loan, they will have to cut travel expenses, stop certain programs – take drastic measures or get another loan,” said Razee, claiming that the only alternative would be to sell treasury bills.

Following reports in August that the government was attempting to raise funds through the sale of treasury bills, former Finance Minister Ahmed Inaz claimed such a measure would not address IMF concerns about state spending, prolonging economic uncertainty.

Likes

(0)Dislikes

(0)

India calls in debts of US$100 million; “not a major concern” says Finance Minister

Despite India requesting repayment of US$100 million in treasury bonds by February 2013, Finance Minister Abdulla Jihad has said his earlier fears that the Maldives would be unable to cover expenditure for the final months of 2012 were “no longer a concern”.

Jihad told Minivan News that India was also yet to provide a final US$25 million installment of a promised loan, one Jihad said just last month was vital to ensure the Maldives could cover its wage bill.

The Maldives is now required to pay US$50 million in T-bond payments to India by next month, with a second payment due in February, local media has reported.

The Finance Ministry said the debt would be repaid through state reserves, which Sun Online reported could fall to US$140 million (MVR2.2 billion) once the payments to India are settled.

Concerns over state reserves are shared by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which earlier this month called on the Maldives to introduce a raft of new measures to try and raise revenue and cut spending to alleviate a ballooning fiscal deficit.

“The fiscal deficit is expected to rise in 2012 to 16 percent of GDP [Gross Domestic Product] in cash terms, and likely even higher if one accounts for the government’s unpaid bills, accumulated in an increasingly challenging environment for financing,” the IMF mission stated, following its visit to the Maldives.

Finance Minister Jihad said that as part of trying to balance the country’s expenditure, the Economic Ministry was attempting to secure private sector funding to make up any shortfalls in budget support resulting from a lack of funds anticipated from India. However, he did not give further details on the nature of the private sector groups presently being sought.

Jihad claimed that a “significant” part of the private sector focus would be through issuing treasury bills (T-bills) to the private sector as recommended earlier this year by the IMF.

“When we opened up treasury bills to the private sector initially there was no response,” he said. “However, there have now been consultations with private groups.”

Meanwhile, Jihad said the Finance Ministry had received no notice from Indian authorities regarding when it may receive the final US$25 million installment of a US$100 million loan agreed late last year. The finance minster said his department had been given no ultimatum or conditions to be met by Indian authorities in order to receive the money.

“I don’t know why the delay [in receiving the funds] has happened. You would need to ask the Indian High Commission about that,” he said.

The US$25 million was agreed as part of the $US100 million standby credit facility signed with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in November 2011.

Diplomatic tension

Tensions between India and the Maldives has risen in recent months as divides within the coalition government of President Mohamed Waheed Hassan began to appear over opposition to a contract signed by the previous government, to develop and manage the country’s main airport with Indian infrastructure group GMR.

The divides have threatened to spill into a major diplomatic incident in recent weeks, after the President’s Office issued a release distancing itself from the comments of its own spokesperson, Abbas Adil Riza, who had accused India’s representative in the Maldives of being “an enemy and a traitor to the Maldivian people”.

The dispute between the government and GMR – currently being heard in an arbitration case at Singapore’s High Court – has become increasingly acrimonious with ongoing demonstrations across Male’ and even the water ways surrounding the airport.

The demonstrations have been backed by certain parties within President Waheed’s coalition government, who have set him an ultimatum of reneging on the contract by the end of the month.

While the GMR contract is not implicitly backed by other coalition parties, several senior party figures have opted against plans to “take to the streets” in calling for the airport to be “renationalised” or acting in a manner that could potentially damage future foreign investment in the country.

The GMR contract, which was overseen by a number of organisations including the International Finance Corporation (IFC) – a member of the World Bank group – represents the largest ever foreign investment in the Maldives. President Waheed himself told Indian media that his government was committed to protecting foreign investments in the Maldives, despite questioning elements of the deal.

Foreign borrowing

Earlier this year, President Waheed reportedly said he would not resort to borrowing from foreign governments in order to finance government activities.

“I will not try to run the government by securing huge loans from foreign parties. We are trying to spend from what we earn,” he was reported to have told the people of Nilandhoo.

“The Maldivian economy is fine. Don’t listen to whatever people say. We don’t have to [worry] about the Maldivian economy being in a slump,” he was quoted as saying at the time during a rally in Meedhoo.

Responding to the institutions’ blaming of his ministry, Jihad at the time told Sun that the finances were simply not there.

“We are not receiving foreign aid as was included in the budget. How can we spend more than we receive? That’s why those bills are unpaid. We can’t spend money we don’t have,” he told the paper.

A MVR 100million (US$6.4 million) fuel subsidy for the fishing industry was also approved by the Majlis Finance Committee, with the hope of stimulating the ailing sector.

The overall deficit for government expenditure has already reached over MVR2billion (US$129million). Jihad has told the Majlis’ Finance Committee that he expected this figure to rise to MVR 6 billion (US$387 million) by year’s end – 28 percent of GDP – alleging that the previous government left unpaid bills equal to over one third of this anticipated deficit.

In August, the current Finance Ministry announced its own austerity measures intended to wipe over MVR2.2billion (US$143 million) from this year’s budget deficit though few of these propositions have as yet been followed through.

Likes

(0)Dislikes

(0)

Maldives mulls tourism future as China reaches quarter of all arrivals

China has accounted for just under a quarter of all visitors coming to the Maldives for the first nine months of 2012, contributing substantially to a 3.4 percent increase in arrivals compared to last year despite declines in established European markets.

The Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture has said the figures indicated that the country remained on track to meet its aim of welcoming a million visitors in 2012.

Tourism authorities also said that despite the growing importance of China to visitor numbers, European markets remained the main overall contributor to the Maldives tourism sector. As the country looks to commemorate 40 years since the introduction of the travel industry, officials have said that even declining custom from markets like the UK has begun showing positive trends in terms of demand for more lucrative high-end holidays.

According to the statistics, between January and September 2012, there were 691,608 tourist arrivals in the Maldives. During September 2012, 76,806 visitors travelled to the Maldives – an increase of 6.9 percent over the same time last year.

In terms of regional demand, the ministry figures showed that European arrivals fell by 2.9 per cent between January and September to 376,674 people over the same period in 2011. A five percent increase in traffic from Central and Eastern Europe was ultimately insufficient to offset double-digit declines in travellers from northern and southern European countries.

Arrivals from the Eastern Mediterranean region were also up between January and September by 10.4 percent to 5,191 people. In the region, tourists from Turkey and Israel coming to the Maldives increased by 7.6 percent and 21.8 percent respectively over the same period.

During September 2012, European arrivals overall fell 3.2 percent to 33,975 over the same time last year.

The statistics showed that the Asia Pacific region has continued to drive growth in visitors to the Maldives, with 275,343 arrivals between recorded January to September 2012 – an increase of 10.2 percent.

According to the figures, arrivals in September alone from the Asia Pacific region reached 38,483, up 17.5 percent on the same time last year.

Key to this regional growth has been demand from China, which for the first nine months of 2012 accounted for 24.5 percent of all tourism arrivals to the Maldives.

In the Americas, total arrivals from the region rose 12.3 percent to 18,375 for the first nine months of the year, with Brazil Canada and the US all posting growth. The US was the region’s largest market over the period with visitor numbers up 10 percent to 10,899 people.

Visitors from the Middle East were also up for the first nine months of the year by 54.6 percent over the same time in 2011, amounting to 16,211 people. However, visitor numbers for the region fell by 3.3 percent during September when compared to the same period of time in 2011.

Arrivals from Africa between January and September this year were up by 9.8 percent to 5,005 compared to the same period this year.

For every month of 2012 since February, resort occupancy has been down on a single figure basis, a trend continued into September with occupancy at the country’s island tourism properties falling 5.5 percent over the same period last year.

Occupancy rates have also fallen for hotels, guest houses and safari boats when compared to the nine month period between January and September 2011, according to the statistics.

Encouraging figures

Deputy Tourism Minister Mohamed Maleeh Jamal told Minivan News that the figures were encouraging for the industry. Maleeh stressed that this encouragement was not representative just of growth in Asia, but also due to the performance of key markets like Germany and Switzerland.

“Some 55 percent of traffic [during 2012] has still come from Europe,” he said.

However, even in markets like the UK, which for the first nine months of the year saw visitors fall by 13.7 percent to 67,987, Maleeh claimed the decline failed to reflect a changing customer demand for high-end holidays in the country.

Having recently returned from visiting London for the World Travel Market 2012 travel fair, Maleeh said that industry insiders and travel operators he had spoken to at the show identified a shift in the UK market towards more lucrative higher-cost packages. He added that with the overall economic situation in Europe still uncertain, it was important to keep an industry presence in the region.

“We will be keeping a presence in these markets and wait for them to bounce back. Countries like Germany and Switzerland have shown good growth,” he said.

Master plan

Along with celebrations to commemorate 40 years since the introduction of tourism, the ministry has said it also expects to unveil its fourth official tourism master plan by year-end. The document is anticipated to outline developments across the industry – dealing with the expansion of biospheres and other “value-adding” focuses – as well as an integrated plan to promote the destination internationally.

“We are working on the fourth tourism master plan in line with groups like the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the World Bank to focus on a destination strategy,” Maleeh said.

Following February’s controversial transfer of power, the incoming government of President Dr Mohamed Waheed Hassan sought to utilise public relations groups and advertising to try and offset the impact of negative news headlines resulting from the change in government.

This focus has included agreeing a US$250,000 (Rf3.8million) advertising deal to promote the country’s tourism industry on the BBC through sponsorship of its weather services, as well as signing a £93,000 per month (US$150,000) contract with public relations group Ruder Finn to try and improve the country’s image internationally.

Having previously claimed that the “hard days” were over for Maldivian tourism, Maleeh said he hoped the government – currently facing increasing pressure to reduce its fiscal deficit by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) – would provide a sufficient promotional budget to support such plans.

“The Maldives should be present in two to three of the largest news sources, these are CNN, the BBC and the National Geographic channel,” he said. “These are frequently watched by major investors. Tourism is vulnerable and we need to have continuous engagement and visibility, if not, it can be a case of out of sight out of mind.”

While unable to outline the exact scope of the new master plan, Maleeh said that as President Waheed this year announced a strategy to make the Maldives the world’s largest marine reserve within the next five years, the commitment could prove particularly beneficial to tourism.

“Since the foundation of tourism 40 years ago, the environment has always been hugely important to the Maldives. After 40 years the country is still pristine making us very popular with tourists and we welcome any actions to encourage maintaining this,” he said.

Maleeh added that the foundation of reserves in the country at destinations like Baa Atoll was helping the area become a “premium destination within a destination”, adding further value to properties located in an area of strong natural interest.

Along with the potential benefits of operating as a marine reserve, Maleed claimed that the country’s status of being a protected marine reserve would not itself impact on the type of tourism developments being sought in the Maldives. These plans have included ambitious proposals such as the construction of five man-made islands to support leisure developments including a 19-hole golf course in the Maldives.

Maleeh claimed that he did not think these type of projects would be threatened by the Maldives protected reserve status, with developers still being required to work within existing environmental laws that impose several restrictions on the amount of development possible on each island.

“All plans are required to undergo an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and resort developers are very good at working within these parameters,” he said.

In Baa Atoll, which has been awarded the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Biosphere Reserve status, several resort operators have said they remain uncertain as to the direct impact protected marine areas may have on their operations.

Reethi Beach Resort General Manager Peter Gremes has previously told Dhonisaurus that while obtaining the UNESCO reserve status last year was a “prestigious” accolade for properties in the atoll, it was unlikely to impact visitor numbers on a significant basis.

Likes

(0)Dislikes

(0)

Court scheduling practices enabling judicial corruption: senior legal official

A senior legal official who served under the current and former administrations has claimed the country’s legal system is wide open to corruption, by allowing individual judges to schedule court hearings at their whim.

The legal figure, who has been involved in some of the country’s highest profile cases in recent years, told Minivan News that it was “quite evident” that the lack of a centralised system for scheduling legal hearings was not only resulting in massive inefficiency, but also allowing for corruption within the country’s court system.

Both the Prosecutor General’s (PG) Office and the country’s judicial watchdog body have maintained they have limited involvement at present in deciding when hearings should be scheduled – with almost all decisions being taken by individual courts.

However, a PG’s Office spokesperson claimed that the Criminal Procedure Code presently sitting within the People’s Majlis was, if passed, anticipated to allow pre-trial hearings to give the prosecution and other parties a greater say in agreeing general timeliness for trials.

The senior legal source, who asked to remain anonymous, concurred that the responsibility for scheduling trial and sentencing hearings was presently the responsibility of individual courts and the judges overhearing them. The source alleged the system had created a situation where the judiciary, in certain cases, set hearings either as soon as possible, or instead delay them for up to several years depending on their own preferences and political motivations.

Such inconsistencies within the scheduling of several cases involving senior parliament and political figures – or their close associates – had left courts open to allegations of corruption and political motivation, the senior legal official claimed.

In one case submitted by the PG’s Office that involved a staff member working for former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom facing allegations of child abuse, the source claimed there had been a delay of several years between the trial’s last last hearing and sentencing – despite all evidence having been submitted to the court.

“The judge presiding over the trail announced that the next hearing would be to deliver sentencing, but there had been delays of several years before this was scheduled,” the source claimed. “I understand letters were written by the PG’s Office asking to expedite the case, yet the situation [of delayed hearings] is quite common.”

The legal source claimed that this was just one example of a number of cases that had undergone significant delays – sometimes over the space of years – awaiting their next hearing within the nation’s courts without any specified reason.

“There must be hundreds of cases like this,” he said. “There is no central system for scheduling hearings, just six or seven judges all acting independently of each other.”

In outlining alleged inconsistencies within the scheduling of court hearings, the source pointed to the decision of the Criminal Court on February 23 this year to dismiss three long-standing counts of fraud against Parliament Deputy Speaker and ruling-coalition aligned MP Ahmed Nazim all at once.

The decision was taken by the court 16 days after the controversial transfer of power on February 7, with the presiding judge stating that Nazim’s “acts were not enough to criminalise him”.

“The Criminal Court dropped all of Mr Nazim’s cases,” the anonymous source claimed. I had never seen a criminal case where so much evidence failed to lead to a conviction.”

In an interview to the local media outlet Sun following the rulings, Nazim claimed that a total of four cases against him over alleged fraud were baseless and had been leveled by former President Mohamed Nasheed’s administration, using false evidence.

Nasheed is currently being tried over the detention of a Criminal Court chief Judge, who he alleges took the country’s legal system into his own hands and posed a threat to “national security”.

Aside from allegations of potential corruption, the source also raised fears that the present lack of a centralised scheduling system was failing to promote accountability or efficiency in the nation’s judiciary.

“If for instance the PG’s Office files two different cases about the same suspect, the courts might schedule one hearing for today and another next week, with the judge unaware that there are pending cases against the suspect.

Mandate

Responding to Minivan News over the allegations of potential judicial corruption, court watchdog the Judicial Services Commission (JSC) referred the matter to the Department of Judicial Administration, saying the scheduling of hearings and any such concerns were not within its mandate.

“The scheduling of court hearings are administrative procedures undertaken by individual courts,” the JSC said.

The Department of Judical Services meanwhile said that when hearing criminal cases there presently existed no time limits by which time court hearings should be scheduled.

“In Criminal cases, there are no regulations stipulating requirements about such time limits. However, the court works on a guideline administratively adopted” said department spokesperson Ahmed Maajid.

Minivan News was still waiting for a response from the Department of Judical Services about these administrative guidelines at time of press.

Questioned as to whether the legal sources were shared by the prosecutor general, a spokesperson for the PG’s Office told Minivan News that it was for the courts to determine the schedule of court hearings.

“Generally we are not involved, unless, for example, a hearing involves travel to some of the country’s outer islands, then we might discuss a schedule with the courts,” he said.

The PG’s Office said it did not “usually” write to the courts regarding the issue of court scheduling , unless it had itself received complaints over the matter.

Likes

(0)Dislikes

(0)

Comment: The price of an expat life in the Maldives

As a Bangladeshi colleague was wheeled into the operating theatre of Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital for emergency life-saving treatment, I knew where my thoughts should have been.

We seek to assure ourselves that even in a cynical commercial world, you cannot put a price on life. Is such a phrase anything more than sound logic for those in the privileged position to afford the finest Singaporean inpatient treatment, or the insurance to cover hundreds of thousands of dollars of emergency medical evacuation to tax-payer funded Western healthcare?

Life after all is precious. Yet all too often, the true value of precious things is rarely understood until it, or in this case they, are threatened or lost.

The introduction of the complex and troublesome Aasandha universal health insurance program this year by the government of former President Mohamed Nasheed, so far retained by President Dr Mohamed Waheed Hassan, has started a new era in Maldives healthcare.

Maldivians can now obtain treatment and surgery in their own country without relying on the vastness of their own wealth or savings, the kindness of friends, or the mercy of elected politicians and wealthy resort tycoons.

While the execution of such a system should always be open to scrutiny, there is much to be admired in the concept of ensuring every person in the country will be cared for when at their weakest.

But what of the country’s immigrant population? How are an ever-growing group of people in the Maldives – mainly in the form of unskilled workers from Bangladesh trafficked into the country – to be cared for?

For many of the foreign workers who make up a third of the country’s population, and are expected in coming years to equal the number of indigenous employees, the price of life can be counted down to the very last laari.

This is no more apparent when insurance companies can only reimburse treatments for foreign workers that have already been paid for – no matter the level of upfront expense.

What happens when companies or employers, whether out of negligence or limited finances, are unable to bare the initial costs needed for a life saving operation?

Who is there to purchase and provide these patients with the medicines and saline drips from for hospital staff to administer? In the absence of close friends and family, where is the assistance in journeying to a hospital toilet and what alternate options does a low-income expatriate have? In short, who is there to care?

The concern was born – not altogether altruistically – whilst spending Tuesday night sleeping on the floor of a post-operation ward at Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital (IGMH) in Male’, in case a signature or saline drip was required.

Thankfully, he is well.

Barring “unexpected complications”, he will recover, as will the company’s finances once it is reimbursed from the employee’s insurance policy – only a recent mandatory requirement for obtaining a visa for foreign workers.

As a company representative, the initial costs for vital surgery, though not insignificant, can be reclaimed and more importantly, have to be met.

As an individual and friend, without the financial capabilities and resources of a company, the alternatives would otherwise be unthinkable.

A friend and room-mate of my colleague later explained that over half of his month’s wages were spent Tuesday morning on emergency medicines, scans and x-rays alone – all just to identify the scale of the problem – even before an operation. The price of life, I realise, is appallingly low for the wrong person.

In the wards, visiting hours are 24/7. Family members must maintain constant vigil over their bedridden loved-ones, taking full responsibility for everything from toilet assistance to buying and supplying hospital staff with needed medicines.

It is anyone’s guess how foreign workers – many of them far from home and family and unable to even afford the upfront deposit for treatment – are able to survive the system.

Ultimately my friend appears lucky. As the days pass, colleagues and acquaintances have, in either desperation or adversity, been transformed into an unusual though much appreciated surrogate family of makeshift nursing staff in the ward.

They have become well acquainted with pharmacies and their respective costs, and learned to recognise when saline solutions for drips are urgently in need of replacement. Some have even had to contemplate how best to preserve a friend’s dignity in toilet situations, that are not “always ideal” in maintaining a professional relationship.

Small blessings indeed.

Contemplating such a situation after days spent outside the operating theatres and waiting rooms of IGMH, perhaps there is much to be said for the hospital prayer room.

We are only human after all, but surely there are few times of feeling as completely powerless than when watching another person’s suffering.

Is it right then, that a person – regardless of skills or social standing – should amidst moments of extreme fear and anxiety have to pray for their economic, as well as physical well-being?

Surely some great deeds are not beyond human intervention.

Likes

(0)Dislikes

(0)