Author: Neil Merrett

Participaton key focus of provocative National Gallery exhibition

Societal challenges in addressing the prevalence of child abuse within the Maldives was the central theme of a one-day contemporary art exhibition held at the National Art Gallery in Male’ on Saturday.

Ismail Asif, who coordinated the exhibition along with a number of fellow local artists, said each installation aimed to focus on fears of how “common” child abuse had become within the Maldives, partly as a result of an unwillingness to discuss and tackle the matter within society.

“[The exhibition] is about trying to break taboos, it really is a challenge to discuss these matters.  The system has so many flaws we wanted to depict; these are flaws within the education system, the judicial system and wider society,” he said.

Despite the difficult subject matter, organisers claimed that after three weeks of work, the exhibition, which ran from 4:00pm to 6:00pm, aimed to encourage participation from members of the public to try and encourage discussion about child abuse.

Asif talked about the exhibition’s wider themes, without trying to play down the provocative nature of the installations.

“We very much wanted to focus on participation, normally when it comes to trying to address child abuse as an issue, people will just have a poster or banners they can look at concerning the problem.  We wanted to try and give more a sense of looking through the eyes of the victims,” he said.

The exhibition itself combined installations involving a sculpture of a female figure holding up a toilet, depicting what Asif claimed was the discrepancy between national perceptions of the  traditional status of local women and their treatment within real life.

Among perhaps the more outré installations on display at the yesterday’s exhibition was a specially-constructed walkway that required members of the public upon entry to pass through a small passageway with artificial hands attached to either side of the exhibit.

Asif said that the exhibit was used to open the event to try and reflect themes concerning harassment of vulnerable young people.

Scale of the problem

In recent years, local authorities and NGOs have released a number of findings trying to detail the extent of child abuse and wider sexual assaults within society.

The state-run Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital’s (IGMH’s) Family Protection Unit reported in 2010 that the centre was notified of 42 cases of rape between 2005-2010. Most of these cases were found to involve minors.

According to the Human Rights Commission of the Maldives, 13 rape cases were reported last year alone, the majority of which most were gang rapes or assaults involving minors.

Almost one in seven children of secondary school age in the Maldives have been sexually abused at some time in their lives, according to an unpublished 2009 study on violence against minors.

Rates of sexual abuse for girls are almost twice as high than for boys at 20 percent – one in five girls have been sexually abused – while the figure for boys was 11 percent. Girls are particularly at risk in the capital Male’, the report found.

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GMR dispute not putting off foreign investors, claims Chamber of Commerce

The Maldives National Chamber of Commerce and Industries (MNCCI) has claimed legal wrangling between the government and India-based developer GMR over a multi-million dollar airport development will not harm confidence in the country’s “challenging” investment climate.

Under the terms of the Ibrahim Nasir International Airport (INIA) agreement – the largest ever foreign investment in the Maldives’ history – GMR signed a 25 year concession agreement to develop and manage the site, as well as redevelop the existing terminal by the end of this year.

However, the coalition government of President Dr Mohamed Waheed Hassan since coming to power has continued to press to “re-nationalise” the airport, with the country’s Deputy Tourism Minister this week confirming in Indian media that the administration wouldn’t “rule out the possibility of cancelling the award [to GMR]”.

Both parties are presently involved in an arbitration case in Singapore over the airport development as several government coalition parties including the country’s religious Adhaalath Party (AP) held a gathering in Male’ on Thursday showing a “united stand” on opposing the GMR deal until the airport was “liberated”.

MNCCI Vice President Ishmael Asif contended that ongoing legal disputes linked to both the GMR agreement and another high-profile contract to manage a border control system with Malaysia-based Nexbis were not among concerns foreign investors had raised with the chamber.

“GMR has nothing to do with the investment climate here, at the end of the day it is a personal concern for the company and more a matter of local politics,” he claimed.

When questioned on the perceived financial factors behind the “quite challenging” investment climate, Asif pointed to political unrest in the country in the build up ad aftermath of February’s controversial transfer of power.

“A second factor is that in major investment markets like Europe, the economy is not doing very well, which does have an impact,” he said. “Locally of course, the problem is politics.”

Asif added that among the key concerns raised by foreign investors to the MNCCI about doing business in the Maldives were concerns about locals laws and regulations, particularly regarding depositioning and withdrawing funds.

The MNCCI also questioned the current importance of Sri Lanka and India for investment and trade opportunities in the country, compared to markets like Australia and the Middle East. Asif claimed that India and Sri Lanka mainly traded certain local foodstuffs with the Maldives, rather than providing large-scale investment projects.

“In terms of the affects to the investment climate, I don’t think there will be much of an impact on other investors from the GMR issue,” he said.

Conversely, Asif said that the MNNCI had been concerned about the impact of the GMR deal on local businesses, alleging that a planning council related to the infrastructure group’s bid had not been open to the public or its members.

“The public was kept in the dark over this matter,” he said, adding that local workers were concerned about the pact of GMR’s airport development. “All local businesses had to move out of the airport and were shut down.”

Asif pointed to the case of local enterprises such as MVK Maldives Private Limited, which in December last year was ordered by the Civil Court to vacate the Alpha MVKB Duty Free shop based at INIA after its agreement had expired.

GMR officials began to physically remove the Alpha MVKB Duty Free Shop at INIA after “several notices” to vacate the area were “ignored”.

On December 14, company CEO Ibrahim Shafeeq held a protest “to demonstrate our opinions and dislike of what GMR has done to us, and to get public responses.”

Speaking to private broadcaster Raaje TV this week, former Economic Development Minister Mahmoud Razee, who had worked with the previous government and international partners on the GMR agreement denied that the deal had resulted in local enterprises being kicked out.

“The privatisation policy does not itself kick others out. It is about honouring the contract. No one has actually been kicked out, but private parties have opportunities to participate. The issue that has always existed is getting cheap capital for small scale businesses,” he claimed.

Razee claimed that the GMR deal reflected a commitment by the former government to pursue privatisation as outlined in the Maldivian Democratic Party’s (MDP’s) manifesto.

“Firstly, if or when anything is run like a business, private people are more skilled and efficient. They are far more competent and they work for profit unlike the government,” he claimed.  “This means it requires less cost for the government, but needs more outside investment or capital. Private people are more skilled and efficient in terms of managing. The end product thus is more beneficial.”

Addressing criticisms from some local politicians that privatisation provided no benefits to the nation, Razee conceded there was an element of truth to the assumption, but stressed it did not reflect longer-term economic benefits.

“Because the investment is huge, the project is big; the first beneficiaries are always the investors. True. The benefits go to the foreigners,” he said. “In foreign countries, they make a consortium, which means the profits are being shared within multiple parties. For example, if a Turkish company is investing here, it doesn’t mean they do everything themselves. If they are developing a property, the construction, or other necessary work is done through local companies.”

Despite the claims, local media reported that a gathering at Male’ artificial beach area went ahead on Thursday (September 27) as part of a protest under the name “The Maldivians’ airport to Maldivians”.

According to local media, of the government-aligned parties represented, only the leaders of the Adhaalath Party such as were witnessed in attendance during the gathering.

“The protest… was not participated [in] by large numbers of people,” according to the Haveeru newspaper.

During the demonstration, a number of speakers reportedly called for action to “regain” the airport from GMR and annul the current development agreement, while claiming the estimated US$700 million required by the company in compensation would be lower.
The gathering is expected to be the first in an ongoing series of events to push for the airport to be “renationalised”.

Both AP President Sheikh Imran Abdulla and Minister of State for Islamic Affairs Mohamed Didi were not responding to calls from Minivan News at the time of press.

Despite these commitments, the Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) has said it would not join its fellow government coalition partners in protests to oppose the airport privatisation contract, claiming any resolution to the dispute must be made through the courts.

DRP Spokesperson Ibrahim Shareef has told Minivan News this week that while the party itself questioned if the GMR deal was in the best interest of the public, “due process” had to be followed through proper legal channels in order to establish if any wrong doing had occurred with the airport contract.

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DRP favours court resolution to GMR dispute as coalition partners prepare to “take to the streets”

The Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) will not join its fellow government coalition partners at a gathering in Male’ to oppose an airport privatisation contract with India-based infrastructure group GMR, claiming any resolution to the dispute must be made through the courts.

DRP Spokesperson Ibrahim Shareef has told Minivan News that while the party itself questioned if the GMR deal was in the best interest of the public, “due process” had to be followed through proper legal channels in order to establish if any wrong doing had occurred with the airport contract.

“Right now we do not feel that the best option is to take to the streets on this matter. We do not know what the purpose of this [coalition] gathering is, so we will not be taking part,” he said.

Shareef added that the party’s position remained that the government was bound to the agreement should it fail to prove through due process that the contract to develop and manage Ibrahim Nasir International Airport (INIA) was invalid.

The comments were made as key financial figures within the former government maintained this week that the deal was vital to not only modernise and boost efficiency at the airport, but also to address concerns over present state expenditure through a focus on privatisation.

Under the terms of the agreement – a US$511 million deal representing the largest ever case of foreign investment in the Maldives’ history – GMR agreed to a 25 year concession agreement to develop and manage the site, as well as redevelop the existing terminal by the end of this year.

The document was overseen by the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank group and the largest global institution focused on private sector projects in developing countries.

However, the Maldives government earlier this month accused the IFC of negligence during the bidding process for INIA – allegations there were rejected by the organisation amidst continued calls from government-aligned parties to renationalise the airport.

Both the government and GMR are presently involved in an arbitration case in Singapore over the airport development.

Coalition gathering

With the arbitration ongoing, six government-aligned parties are set to hold a gathering from 9:00pm on Thursday night at the Artificial Beach area of Male’ calling for INIA, as the country’s main airport, to be “returned to Maldivians”.

Through a movement called “Maldivians’ airport back to Maldivians”, the coalition – excluding the DRP – told local media this week that the gathering represents the first in a series of activities aimed at regaining management of the airport.

According to local newspaper Haveeru, Sheikh Imran Abdulla of the government-aligned religious Adhaalath Party (AP) said the gathering was aimed at showing the coalition would take a “united stand” on opposing the GMR deal until the airport was “liberated”.

“Our hope is on the night the true feeling of the Maldivian people would be revealed on the airport issue,” he was quoted as saying by Haveeru.

The coalition movement is also expected to detail what it has claimed are losses sustained to the local economy from the awarding of the company to the Indian infrastructure group.

Sheik Imran was not responding to calls at the time of press. However, fellow AP member and Maldives’ Islamic Affairs Minister, Sheikh Mohamed Shaheem Ali Saeed, said he had “no idea” about any such gathering being held.

Meanwhile Dr Hassan Saeed, head of fellow coalition member the Dhivehi Qaumee Party (DQP), referred a query by Minivan News about the gathering to the party’s Secretary General, Abdulla Ameen. Ameen was not returning calls at the time of press.

Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) Parliamentary Group Leader Abdulla Yameen meanwhile referred enquiries about the gathering to Secretary General Yumna Maumoon – daughter of former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom. Yumna was not responding to calls at the time of press.

DRP Spokesperson Shareef claimed that even should the validity of the agreement between GMR and the former government be found to be questionable, it remained for the courts to decide on such a matter.  Shareef added that senior members of his party had been penalised for holding such views by political opponents.

“Both [DRP Leader] Ahmed Thasmeen Ali and Parliamentary Speaker Abdulla Shahid have been accused of taking bribes on this matter and trying to obstruct efforts to take the airport,” he said.

Shareef claimed the allegations had been devised by a faction formed in the DRP by members loyal to former party head and national President Gayoom, which later branched off to form the PPM party last year.

“Gayoom’s supporters had wished to take the airport back by force,” he said. “I’m not saying the deal is fair, but first we can look to renegotiate terms and get a new agreement. Also the government has the resources to investigate the deal and make the best decision on how to move forward to benefit the Maldivian people.”

Shareef added that the party had therefore decided against “taking to the streets” with other parties in President Waheed’s coalition government.

“We are not saying that the former government were not involved in something improper with the agreement,” he claimed. “But we do not see the previous government as an MDP government, or the current government as a DRP or PPM government, it is always the government of the Maldives, so if an agreement made by the government is found to be valid, than it must be honoured under the law.”

Privatisation pursuit

Speaking yesterday on private broadcaster Raaje TV, former Economic Development Minister Mahmoud Razee said the GMR deal reflected a commitment by the former government to pursue privatisation as outlined in the MDP’s manifesto.

“Firstly, if or when anything is run like a business, private people are more skilled and efficient. They are far more competent and they work for profit unlike the government,” he claimed.  “This means it requires less cost for the government, but needs more outside investment or capital. Private people are more skilled and efficient in terms of managing. The end product thus is more beneficial.”

Addressing criticisms from some local politicians that privatisation provided no benefits to the nation, Razee conceded there was an element of truth to the assumption, but stressed it did not reflect longer-term economic benefits.

“Because the investment is huge, the project is big; the first beneficiaries are always the investors. True. The benefits go to the foreigners,” he said. “In foreign countries, they make a consortium, which means the profits are being shared within multiple parties. For example, if a Turkish company is investing here, it doesn’t mean they do everything themselves. If they are developing a property, the construction, or other necessary work is done through local companies.”

Also speaking during the programme was MDP member and former Minister of Finance and Treasury Mohamed Shihab. Shihab claimed that in cases where there was limited national budgets such as in the development of a new airport terminal, then finance should be sought from outside sources.

He added that as within the case of technology and other expertise, and pointed to local resort groups such as Universal Resorts Maldives as examples in the country’s past where foreign partnerships had benefited the country’s economy.

“Resort owners do [private partnerships] because they profit from it. Let’s conduct a survey among resorts. Definitely the salaries and service charges are higher in foreign managed companies. It is a fact that, countries where foreign investment has been made are far more developed.”

Speaking earlier this year, INIA Chief Executive Officer Andrew Harrison claimed that INIA would remain a Maldivian owned enterprise that would be continuously developed by the company for the duration of the tender.

“We are just the caretakers here,” he said.  ”The airport remains and has always been owned by Maldivians.”

Harrison contended that to ensure profitability for its investment in the airport, GMR was itself committed to strengthening the wider Maldivian economy by working with local businesses, industry and contractors.

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Bank of Maldives and MTDC at risk of trading penalties over AGM delays: Stock Exchange

The Maldives Stock Exchange (MSE) has warned that the Bank of Maldives (BML) and the Maldives Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC) could both face trading restrictions over an ongoing failure to hold their respective annual general meetings (AGMs).

MSE CEO and Managing Director Hassan Manik told Minivan News that both companies had yesterday received final notices to hold their AGMs as soon as possible, after previously failing to hold the meetings no later than five months from the end of the financial year.

Both companies are now said to have agreed to announce dates within the next seven days for when the respective AGMs will be held, according to the MSE.

Manik stressed that under the MSE’s listing guidelines, failure by a company to hold an AGM within the required deadline could see it facing penalties including being suspended from trading securities.

“We have communicated to both companies to hold their AGMs as soon as possible. This is the first time we have gone public with such an announcement, but we want to make sure these companies are providing timely information,” he said. “Both have commented that they will be publicly declaring a date for their meetings within a week.”

According to Manik, while companies listed on the stock exchange regularly were unable to hold their AGMs within the required time period, he maintained that all groups listed were trying to meet the deadline outlined in its listing rules.

However, he claimed that in the case of both the MTDC and BML, it had been “a long-time” since the respective deadlines had passed, adding that both groups’ shareholders should be made aware of their operatons.

A BML spokesperson told Minivan News today that the failure to have held its AGM had been the result of delays in appointing board members  to the company.

“We have kept both the MSE and the Capital Market Development Authority (CMDA) informed about this matter, ” the spokesperson said.  “We are expecting to announce a date for our AG tomorrow.”

A spokesperson for the MTDC was not responding to calls at the time of press.

Local media has reported that the MSE has now set a deadline for both companes to hold their AGMs by October 24 or face action under its listing rules.

CMDA fines

Back in May, the MTDC, BML and the State Trading Organisation (STO) were all fined by the CMDA after they failed to publish quarterly reports and financial statements for their operations within an allotted time period.

The MTDC and the BML were each fined up to Rf30,000 for failing to publish annual financial statements as stipulated under the regulations. The statistics must be published within four months after the end of a financial year.

The companies had requested for deadline extension citing difficulties in producing the report within the given time frame, CMDA said. However the extension was not granted as the reasons provided were not acceptable, the authority claimed at the time.

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Maldives no longer “tolerable” for foreign doctors, expatriate medical officer claims

Expatriate medical professionals working in the Maldives regularly face intimidation, fraud and “substandard” treatment from patients, health authorities, local staff and the country’s courts, a foreign medical officer working in the country has revealed.

The expatriate medical professional, who has worked in several posts across the country since 2009, revealed that along with widespread reneging on contracts and failing to deal with intimidation of expatriate medical staff, health officials had, in certain cases, not even checked whether foreign doctors were registered to practice medicine.

“Earlier there was a system of asking doctors for the registration of their basic medical degree (graduation degree) in their own country so as to register them in Maldives,” he told Minivan News. “This law was so compromised over the last two years that in one atoll alone, four unregistered doctors are to my knowledge still practising their absent skills here. Frankly speaking, they can kill anybody just by their lack of knowledge, but some get caught on occasion.”

Medical authorities have claimed they were aware of a number of concerns regarding doctor registration, a situation currently being reviewed in conjunction with the Maldives Medical Council. However, the Ministry of Health and Family denied that a fall in the number of doctors coming from India to practice in the Maldives was related to alleged treatment by authorities and patients on islands – instead noting improved pay rates currently offered in their home country.

However, raising concerns over a “deterioration” in the quality of healthcare being provided in some atolls during the last two years, the expatriate medical officer – who asked not to be identified – also detailed a number of issues over the treatment of foreign workers in the country.

According to the whistle-blower, there were growing concerns among skilled expatriates working in medicine and education in the Maldives that was losing the country its reputation as a “tolerable working place”.

Fewer doctors from India were coming to the Maldives year-on-year, the source observed, in part to what he called “public intolerance” of an imported non-Muslim work force.

“The overall behaviour of the Maldives Ministry of Health and Family and government has been negative. [There is also] an lack of availability of US dollars and the Bank of Maldives (BML) has banned issuing international ATM cards to expatriates,” he said. “Meanwhile, there has been an increase in the exchange rate of the US dollar, but no increase in the salary structure in Maldivian rufiya (MVR), meaning salaries are less than before. There are also instances in which the lawlessness of this country has led to the lack of punishment of Maldivian nationals even for heinous crimes like rape if the victim is an expatriate.”

“Violence”

Taking the example of Gaafu Alif (GA) Atoll, where the medical professional has had experience of working, he alleged “constant fear” and intimidation were regularly experienced by foreign healthcare professionals.

“Increasing instances of violence against expatriates is being reported from everywhere in Maldives,” he said.

On the island of GA Villingili, the medical professional claimed that one paediatrician from Pakistan working on the island was physically assaulted after failing to provide a referral letter demanded by some of his patients.

“I myself was on duty, so we had to make the legal documents for him. Afterwards nothing happened and [the doctor] left after just two days without the intention of continuing their contract. [The doctor] is still working in the Maldives, but somewhere else now,” he said.

“[Another doctor] from Uzebikstan also left GA Atoll because some local teenagers beat her two children. The matter became worse when she and her husband reacted with anger towards these boys. People were singing ‘We will kill you…’ on the roads whenever they came out. Ultimately [the doctor] requested for a transfer and is now working in Faafu Nilandhoo Atoll.”

The medical officer added that from his own experiences, skilled expatriate workers across the Maldives faced intimidation and sexual harassment on the islands, with cases such as expatriate teachers having to defend themselves in their own homes.

“I myself have heard some patients calling me or my colleagues their servants and threatening to do what he/she tells to, or else,” he said. “Interestingly, local staff never help in these situation a because they think we they will not be affected much because we don’t know Dhivehi. The situation becomes much more painful as many of us understand the language quite well. These are just glimpses only. And only of [GA] Atoll. Imagine what will happen if we collect together all the things which have gone wrong across the Maldives.”

The medical professional claimed there were also concerns about how authorities were treating doctors in the country, particularly in regards to contractual obligations such as agreements on wages and accommodation.

According to the source, a number of doctors had shared concerns about amendments made to their contractual agreements without their consent or knowledge once they arrive in the country – both in terms of salary and housing.

“When a doctor lands in Male’, only then [do authorities] reveal to him or her that actually this offer letter is an old one and now the salary structure is a little different. It is always like that. So many times they have done it that now people know about it unofficially and openly and make fun of it,” he claimed.

“Authorities write in their offer letter about free residence while working here. It is mentioned in this form of providing free residence or as much rufiya through a housing allowance, plus their people will help you find a place. They don’t, of course,” he said.

The medical officer claimed that he was personally provided with a housing allowance of MVR 3,000 ruifiya (US$195), assistance in finding accommodation had not been given.

However even upon finding accommodation, a former expatriate paediatrician from South Asia, who was living and working in GA atoll, was alleged to have been evicted from a property on one island by its owners with less than 24 hours notice after they found a tenant willing to pay better rent for the accommodation. The doctor left the island he was assigned after a month and a half due to being unable to find accommodation.

The medical officer added that authorities were ultimately failing to support skilled expatriate workers in favour of local staff who often had no medical or management training.

“It is an everyday story in this hospital and everywhere else in Maldives. Even at Indira Gandhi Memorial Hosptial (IGMH) [in Male’],” he claimed. “Far lower qualified local staff are working with a salary on par with far better qualified expatriate staff, and doing nothing on duty. It frustrates expatriates every single minute. It is not justifiable but local administration support it.”

The expatriate healthcare worker pointed to his own experiences in an atoll hospital, where he claimed trained nurses were having to clean the nappies of elderly patients due to the refusal of local sanitation staff – known as sweepers – to do so.

“This work is for local sweepers, but they often refuse to do it, forcing the staff nurses through equally arrogant management to perform the actions,” he claimed. “They don’t understand that a staff nurse, who has to administer injections and medicines to patients, will get their dress soiled by the excrement if they clean the stool of these patients, and in turn some patient only is going to receive it in returb as a hospital born infection.”

Healthcare provision

Beyond the treatment of expatriate health professionals, the medical officer highlighted a number of concerns about the operations of the nation’s hospitals, such as the impact of the launch earlier this year of the Aasandha universal health scheme.

The medical officer claimed that Aasandha had in fact led to a growing trend of pharmacies bringing in low cost “garbage” medicine to the country, on the grounds that the Aasandha budget was insufficient to acquire medicines from what the medical officer called “standard companies”.

“This in turn is is playing with the health of people by bringing introducing antibiotic resistance or uncompensated chronic diseases due to irregular and uncontrolled dosing of drugs,” he said.

“With the pricing of drugs, we write the number of tablets to be 12. The pharmacy gives seven or eight. Patients don’t know about these things. And as a result they come back to us with partial recovery and antibiotic resistance.”

The medical officer said that in order to try and overcome the limitation, doctors were having to recommend larger prescriptions to ensure a sufficient number of tablets were provided by the pharmacy, before asking patients to return to them to amend the amount they should be taking.

“This way the patient gets the needed amount of medicine, the dosing of which I correct myself after calling him/her back to me with the medicines. This practice is risky but at least I succeeded in managing my patients successfully,” he said.

According to the medical officer another key problem with Aasandha was the lack of public understanding concerning the scheme and entitlements of the public.

“They become very angry when we tell them that this or that medical condition is not covered by Aasandha. A lot of times they force the management to force us to fabricate a medical condition just to get Aasandha approval,” he revealed.

Soon after the scheme had been launched in January this year, Health Minister Dr Ahmed Jamsheed – then Chief Operating Officer at Male’s ADK hospital – said limited information on Aasandha’s financial structure had led the public to exaggerate their medical needs. He urged for a greater sense of public responsibility to prevent overwhelming the country’s health service.

However, calls to limit Aassandha have so far proved divisive in parliament and the present coalition government. Ahmed Thasmeen Ali, head of the government-aligned Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP), has previously been an outspoken critic of limiting the provision of universal healthcare at private premises.

The medical officer added that national healthcare provision had also been affected by the launch during the previous government of seven provincial health corporations designed to try and decentralise health care and budgets.

According to the expatriate medical officer, the establishment of the corporations was seen as an attempt by the former government to ensure the work of the Health Ministry was being controlled by government rather than opposition supporters already working within healthcare.

“Splitting the [work] of the Health Ministry into corporations was not a bad idea although it was more motivated by ability to acquire financial control rather than anything else,” he claimed. “The local governance had one thing positive; we could at least address our problems with our employers easily. They were accessible. Although they seldom made any difference, at least there was no frustration that I could not even talk to the authorities. Nowadays, no one can talk to the Mnistry of Health people as most of the time either they simply don’t pick the phone or you cannot connect to them.”

The medical officer said a growing sense of frustration and the shared of experiences of expatriates and healthcare professionals from across the South Asia region had seen the Maldives’ reputation as place to practice medicine tarnished in recent years.

“All these stories do reach [places like] India and I don’t feel that people will tolerate this much more. That’s why there is a constant decline in the number of people coming from somewhere like India to work here in whatever form,” he observed.

Indian High Commission concerned

Earlier this year, Indian High Commissioner Dynaneshwar Mulay raised concerns over the treatment of expatriates from across the South Asia region – particularly by the country’s police and judiciary.

Mulay claimed that alongside concerns about the treatment of some Indian expatriates in relation to the law, there were significant issues relating to “basic human rights” that needed to be addressed concerning immigrant workers from countries including Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.

Addressing the claims, Zaufishaan Abdulla Kamaludeen, Director of Human Resources for the Health Services Corporations, which is currently run under the Ministry of Health, said that while expatriate doctors had traditionally been sourced from India, it had become increasingly difficult to bring them to the Maldives.

Kamaludeen stressed that this change appeared mainly to be a result of more competitive rates of pay for medical staff in India compared to the Maldives

“There have been spikes in the salary packages being offered to doctors from India. This is maybe a reason why since about March 2012, when I joined the Health Ministry, we have been having difficulty getting Indian doctors to work here,” she claimed. “We have been getting many applications from doctors from Pakistan,” she added, stressing that medical personnel were also being sourced from countries like Myanmar to cover demand in the country.

Kamaludeen added that it was traditionally difficult to place expatriate doctors on islands in the country’s outer atolls, a situation he claimed was complicated by the tendency of healthcare professionals to network about their experiences.

However, she denied that the difficulties and complaints recevied staff were a result of intimidation or the attitudes of local staff and patients to foreign workers. Kamaludeen claimed that requests for transfers for most often related to “personal issues”.

“Mainly we get requests for transfer from islands relating to personal problems. These vary on a number of issues such as the availability of vegetarian food,” she claimed. “We also get requests from doctors wishing to work close with other doctors, so they don’t feel isolated on arrival.”

Kamaludeen added that another challenge with placing doctors had come from the set up of certain health corporations to pay skilled medical staff more than if they worked in another region.

“Doctors at times would demand to work for the corporations offering the highest pay,” she said. “Right now, a board has been established to try and harmonise salaries for staff working in different atolls.”

Addressing allegations that there had been issues with the registration of some expatriate medical staff to practice in the Maldives, Kamaludeen said that the ministry had been made aware of instances of doctors working with improper registration.

However, she said that in such cases the Maldives Medical Council had been immediately informed and a review was presently taking place on the issue.

Kamaudeen claimed the issue appeared to have arisen over a lack of awareness of the type of licensing required to practice n the Maldives.

“We have understood this to the result of a lack of information being provided from recruitment groups and agencies,” she said.

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Maldives over half-way towards one million visitor goal following August arrival growth

Arrival numbers to the Maldives between January and August this year totalled 614,802 people – an increase of 2.9 percent compared to the same period during 2011, official figures provided by the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture have shown.

With Maldives travel authorities aiming to welcome a million visitors to the country by the end of the year, the figures highlight a 3.8 percent increase in arrivals for August 2012 when compared to the same period the previous year.  A total of 79,768 international arrivals were recorded coming to the country last month.

Although unavailable for comment today, Deputy Minister for Tourism, Arts and Culture Mohamed Maleeh Jamal told Minivan News earlier this month that the country’s travel industry was on target to meet its goal of attracting one million annual visitors – claiming the “the hard days” were over for Maldives tourism.

Maleeh claimed at the time that the industry remained on track to attract one million visitors, despite facing challenges such as the impact of ongoing financial uncertainty on some core European tourism markets like the UK and Italy.

According to the Tourism Ministry figures, for the first eight months of 2012, Europe continued to dominate visitor numbers to the Maldives, accounting for 55.7 percent of all arrivals – down 2.9 percent when compared to 2011.

During August, total European arrivals on a year-on-year basis fell by 9.6 percent to 35,488 visitors.

In Central and Eastern Europe, which includes markets like Russia, Poland and Bulgaria, visitors during August fell 7.7 percent compared to the same period in 2011.

In Northern Europe, which incorporates markets including the UK, Sweden and Ireland, arrivals dropped 14.3 percent to 8,202 last month, according to the official statistics.

Southern Europe also recorded a drop in arrivals with 7,710 visitors from markets such as Greece, Italy and Spain coming to the Maldives – a fall of 24.1 percent compared to the same period last year.

Arrivals were up by 5.6 percent from the Western Europe region on the back of growth in markets such as Germany, France and Austria, with 12,434 visitors entering the country during August 2012.

Europe’s smallest tourism market for the Maldives, Eastern Mediterranean Europe, saw 617 arrivals visitors coming from countries like Turkey and Israel, a fall of 7.9 percent.

The Asian impact

Asia was responsible for 38.5 percent of arrivals in the Maldives between January and August 2012, an increase of 9.1 percent over the same time last year.

Despite the overall decline in European visitors during August 2012 when compared to the same period last year, arrivals from the Asia Pacific market were up 12.6 percent to 38,898. The increase was reflected in increased visitors from key markets throughout the region.

North East Asia, which represents the bulk of the region’s travel market for the Maldives – with countries like China, Japan and Korea – saw arrivals increase by 9.4 percent to 31,020 people.

In South East Asia, visitors to the Maldives rose 45.1 percent during August 2012 to 2,809 from markets such as Indonesia, Thailand and Singapore.

South Asia meanwhile posted a 19.6 percent rise in visitors, with 3,623 arrivals from markets including India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh being recorded for the month on a year-on-year basis. Arrivals from Oceania markets like Australia and New Zealand were up 18.1 percent to 1,446 people.

According to the same findings, arrivals from Africa reached 524, an increase of 24.5 percent, while visitors from the Americas rose 19.9 percent to 2,146. Arrivals from the Middle East during August rose 3.4 percent to 2,712 people.

Occupancy rates

Despite the growth in arrivals, the total occupancy rate for resorts, hotels, guest houses and safari boats during the first eight months of the year was down 1.2 percentage points in total to 70.8 percent. On a year-on-year basis, total average occupancy for August 2012 fell one percentage point to 68 percent.

According to Tourism Ministry statistics, the average resort occupancy between January and August this year fell 2.3 percentage points to 77 percent compared to the same period in 2011. During August alone, average occupancy fell 0.8 percentage points to 74.9 percent.

At the country’s hotels, average occupancy for the first eight months of the year was down 8.8 percentage points to 30.3 percent. In August, average hotel occupancy was down 6.1 percentage points to 25.8 percent over the same time frame last year.

Guest house occupancy for the first eight months of 2012, rose 0.8 percentage points to 16.3 percent. The same level of growth was also recorded in terms of average guest house occupancy for August 2012, which rose 0.8 percentage points to 16.3 percent.

Safari vessel occupancy meanwhile increased 4.1 percentage points between January to August 2012, totalling an average of 28.4 percent. However, average occupancy during August had fallen two percentage points to 19.1 percent.

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“Time for everyone to tighten their belts”: Finance Minister Jihad

Minister of Finance and Treasury Abdulla Jihad has said the state must brace to enact austerity measures in the long-term if authorities are to address the country’s fiscal deficit – with further budget cuts anticipated in all government departments over the next 12 months.

Jihad has told Minivan News that previous commitments by government institutions to cut their budgets by 15 percent would need to be followed by further reductions to state and civil service spending in next year’s budget, regardless of financial assistance secured from China and India.

The minister’s comments were made as Parliament’s Finance Committee – reconvening for the first time since July – agreed this week to provide an additional MVR 12 million (US$780,000) in budget to the Auditor General’s (AG’s) Office, according to local media.

Auditor General Niyaz Ibrahim said that under the existing state budget, an agreement was reached that an additional MVR 58.8 million (US$3.8 million) would be provided to the AG’s Office, though it was decided to request a smaller proportion of these funds, the Sun Online news service reported.

People’s Aliance (PA) party MP and Finance Committee Chair Ahmed Nazim was not responding to calls from Minivan News at the time of press.

However, Jihad claimed that the decision to provide the extended budget was a “concern” considering the state was not getting enough direct revenue at present to justify its spending.

“We need to be fair when it comes to the budget, everyone should have to follow the same rules,” he claimed. “Otherwise this would mean that I could only reduce the budget of the Finance Ministry in future. It is time that everyone should tighten their belts.”

According to Jihad, provisions for the extension of funds to the AG’s Office had been included in the state budget, but he claimed that the country needed to work together in reducing state spending where possible.

Regarding claims that further cuts to the state budget wuld be required during the next 12 months, Chairman of the Civil Service Commission (CSC) Mohamed Fahmy Hassan said that it had “managed” with the 15 percent cuts already made to its expenditure.

Fahmy added that as no request had so far been made by the government to reduce the size and budget of civil society organisations, it did not have concerns about potential job cuts.

“Our mandate is to provide human resources to the government. As long as there is no effect on the salaries or number of civil servants, we will not seek to intervene in the policy of government,” he said.

With state income lower and expenditure higher than predicted, this year’s budget deficit had been forecast to reach MVR9.1billion (US$590 million), equivalent to around 28 percent of nominal GDP.

Financial assistance

In the last few months, authorities in India and China had both pledged to provide financing to the Maldives. Finance Minister Jihad said that of these funds, US$25 million being provided by India would be put into “budget support” to try and address state spending. A large amount of the funding meanwhile from China, which would total US$500 million, was expected to be put towards development projects such as housing construction, the Finance Ministry added.

The Indian government had announced that it would be granting the Maldives an additional as part of the US$100 million standby credit facility agreed last year under the previous government.

China has also pledged funding to the government of President Dr Mohamed Waheed Hassan following an official state visit to the country.

The loans, equal to nearly one quarter of the Maldives’ GDP, are said to include $150 million (MVR2.3billion) for housing and infrastructure, with another $350million (MVR5.4billion) from the Export-Import Bank of China, reported Reuters.

Jihad has maintained that the state still needs to reassess where further spending cuts can be made going forward.

Just last month, the Finance Ministry forwarded proposals it claimed would cut MVR2.2billion (US$143million) form the national budget.

The austerity measures include raising Tourism Goods and Services Tax (TGST) to 15 percent,  terminating electricity subsidies in Male’, increasing import duties on alcohol and imposing a 3 percent  duty on oil, “reforming” the Aasandha health insurance scheme, and reducing the budget of every Ministry and independent institution by 15 percent – among other measures.

The original budget for 2012 envisioned that revenue would rise to MVR11.4billion (US$740million) with expenditure anticipated to be MVR14.5 billion (US$941million). This would have resulted in a budget deficit of around MVR3billion (US$194million), representing 10 percent of GDP.

However, several resort managers voiced concern at the time that the proposed revenue amendments would serve only to  affect the financial viability of the country’s tourism industry, while providing little improvement in service or support in return.

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MDP confident MPs will support a parliament boycott as party seeks international pressure for reforms

The opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) has said its parliamentary group is expected to support proposals to boycott the People’s Majlis, alleging the government is failing to secure agreement on early elections or reforms to key national institutions.

MDP MP and Spokesperson Hamid Abdul Ghafoor said today that despite delaying a decision this week on whether the party’s parliamentary group would back its calls for a boycott, support would be forthcoming for “disengagement” from a political process he claimed was failing to secure reforms highlighted in the Commission of National Inquiry (CNI) report.

However, a number of government-aligned parties speaking with Minivan News have slammed any such boycott, claiming that with the release of the CNI’s findings last month, parliament was now the only place where agreement and concession on the nation’s political “differences” can be made.

MP Ghafoor said that talks scheduled for Sunday (September 16) between the MDP Parliamentary Group and its national council had failed to come to a decision on whether such a boycott would be supported.  Ghafoor added that a number of MPs were unavailable to participate either through travelling or being in their constituencies.

“Yesterday we didn’t have adequate numbers to make a decision so we wanted some more time on this matter,” he claimed.

Ghafoor said he was confident there would ultimately be support to move ahead with the boycott, which was claimed to be vital in maintaining international pressure in securing hosting early elections as soon as possible.  Several recommendations were raised through the conclusions of the CNI concerning the capacity of the country’s judiciary and “excessive force” used by elements of the police between February 6 and February 8.

The MDP has maintained that as well as highlighting a need for reforms of the country’s judiciary and certain civil society institutions, the CNI’s conclusions also called for action to be taken against key defence and military officers suspected of instigating acts of violence in the build up and aftermath of the transfer of power.

Ghafoor claimed the government had failed to show any substantial commitments meet it obligations in addressing these concerns, as well as rejecting a role for the MDP in the new president’s coalition government.

“The boycott should be viewed as a total disengagement from the process of engaging with opposition parties both through talks and the Majlis,” he said. “We hope to create a vacuum that would bring an international third party into the process.”

Ghafoor added that the party had been “engaged” since February 7 in dialogue to try and secure agreement on moving forward with the national unity coalition government of President Dr Mohamed Waheed Hassan, which it accuses of coming to power in a “coup d’etat”.

The MDP’s claims of a “coup d’etat” were dismissed by the CNI report, which was published last month and later accepted by the MDP.  This acceptance was said to be made with several reservations that were raised by the appointee of former President Mohamed Nasheed about an alleged failure to commit certain key evidence and witness accounts from the report’s findings.

Ghafoor contended that a number of concerns remained including the the government rejecting allowing the MPD to join the national coalition government as well as the inclusion of the Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) and the Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) in the executive following the transfer of power.

“What we have right now is a structural problem here. We are told that no coup has occurred yet, we have opposition parties in the executive, while we have now become the country’s opposition according to the Majlis,” Ghafoor said. “The onus right now is on parliament to carry forward on these talks and ensure agreements can be reached. We are not confident this can be done [through dialogue with the government and coalition parties],” he added.

Ghafoor claimed that the MDP’s strategy was aimed at ensuring a renewed role for the international community to help push for reforms, something the party earlier this week stated be a key focus for former President Nasheed during an ongoing visit to the UK.

“The international community still has a responsibility to engage the situation here and try and find a solution to the issues being faced,” he said.

Responding to the proposed Majlis boycott, Jumhoree Party (JP) Deputy Leader Abdulla Jabir said that any party – no matter their political allegiance – opting to boycott the Majlis was a regrettable development as the country sought political and economic stability.

“I would regret any party, be it the MDP, PPM or DRP deciding to disrupt the People’s Majis. We are a small country after all,” he said.

Jabir claimed that in line with “many mistakes” made by former President Nasheed whilst he was in office, the MDP’s proposal to block the work of the Majlis was a similarly “regretful” decision.

Meanwhile, Abdullah Ameen, Secretary General of the government-aligned Dhivehi Quamee Party (DQP) told Minivan News that he believed that the Majlis remained a place of “engagement” for political parties, as well as the only place where any “concessions” between politicians could be made.

“There are definitely issues that need to be addressed on all sides and parliament will remain the best place to discuss issues such as early elections or any changes to the constitution,” he said.

Ameen added that while international assistance was welcome in trying to resolve political matters, local independent institutions already existed to address any issues that arose.

“If it becomes too difficult to find resolutions through the Majlis, then international assistance is welcomed, but it is best practice to try working through the Majlis first,” he said.

“As a nation we need to sit down and talk. If you wish to pressure the government the streets are not the place to do so. The government and coalition parties are here to speak. It’s very sad that people are not choosing to do so.”

According to Ameen, Dr Waheed’s coalition government had already conceded to what he claimed were MDP demands to reform the CNI with international participation to address concerns about its independence.

“The MDP demanded international observers and we addressed these concerns. I don’t know what more we can do,” he added.

The original three member CNI was reformed under pressure from the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group (CMAG) to include a co-chair in retired Singaporean judge, an appointee to represent former President Nasheed and international observers. The reformed body began its work back in June.

Minivan News also sought a response over the proposed boycott from DRP Leader Ahmed Thasmeen Ali and PPM Interim Deputy Leader Umar Naseer, whowere not responding to calls at the time of press.

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CMAG lobbying anticipated to be key focus during Nasheed’s UK visit

Former President Mohamed Nasheed is expected during a visit to the UK this week to lobby the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group (CMAG) to keep the Maldives on its agenda and assist in enacting reforms to civil society institutions, his party has said.

With Nasheed this week making his first visit to Europe since February’s controversial transfer of power, the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) has said it anticipates the former president will lobby during the trip to keep the Maldives on CMAG’s agenda as well as to help set clear targets for a Commonwealth-backed reform agenda.

The MDP has claimed that it is now advocating for an agreement on “structural adjustments” that would help address concerns raised in the Commission of National Inquiry (CNI) report.  The report, released last month, rejected accusations by Nasheed and his supporters that he was forced to resign from office.

The current government has meanwhile said that it would be difficult to look into concerns raised by the CNI concerning the events between February 6 to February 8 this year without potentially implicating Nasheed for his role in the alleged use of “excessive force” by police during his tenure.

The President’s Office also maintained that any reforms to the country’s judiciary or civil society would have to be made through the country’s independent institutions such as the Police Integrity Commission (PIC) and the Judicial Services Commission (JSC)

Nasheed left today for the UK, where he is scheduled to meet senior UK government officials and MPs as well as top Commonwealth’s figures and human rights organisations. He will be joined during the visit by former Foreign Minister Ahmed Naseem and the party’s Deputy Chairperson (Finance) Ahmed Mausoom.

As well as speaking both in London and Scotland on the theme of democracy in the Maldives, the MDP today said it anticipated Nasheed, who is presently chosen to represent the party in the next general election, would also be likely to lobby to keep the Maldives on the agenda of the CMAG.

CMAG had placed Maldives on its formal agenda in February, at the time citing ‘the questions that remain about the precise circumstances of the change of the government, as well as the fragility of the situation in Maldives’ as reasons.

The government has maintained that the CMAG ‘lacked mandate’ to place Maldives on the agenda. Following this there has been multiple instances where the government had expressed disapproval in what it termed ‘interference’ by the Commonwealth.

MDP MP and spokesperson Hamid Abdul Ghafoor said that it was anticipated Nasheed would seek to have GMAG retain the Maldives on its agenda in order to pressure the Waheed administration to meet a number of commitments such as those raised in the CNI’s findings.

“I expect there will be strong lobbying for our position [on CMAG],” he said. We have agreed to go ahead with the CNI recommendations, though with the reservations raised by Ahmed ‘Gahaa’ Saeed.

Saeed was chosen to be Nasheed’s representative on a reformed CNI panel charged with investigating the events surrounding the transfer of power on February 7. However, he resigned the day before the findings were released over concerns at what he claimed was omitted evidence and witness accounts from the final report.

Ghafoor added that with the CNI report suggesting a need for structural adjustment of certain civil society institutions along with the judiciary – a major concern for the Nasheed administration in its last few months – he hoped the Commonwealth would support such reforms.

“Whilst in government, we had previously participated with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on a voluntary basis whilst in government to undergo structural reform,” he claimed. “It required bitter medicine, such as in the sacking of some civil servants, but it was vital in trying to cut the state debt.”

Ghafoor added that he hoped CMAG could provide similar assistance in setting up a structural adjustment programme that set clear dates by which key reforms in areas like the judiciary or civil society were to be enacted.

“We have agreed to move ahead with the CNI with reservations, but we want to see wrong doings identified in the report being addressed,” he said, pointing to the actions of some police and military figures in the transfer of power.

While the Commonwealth was scheduled to last week rule on whether the Maldives would be removed from the investigative agenda of CMAG, it announced the decision would be delayed until its next meeting on September 28.

The President’s Office at the time expressed confidence that the country would be taken off the agenda at the next meeting, saying that this move had been supported by all but one of those present for the teleconference. Local media have reported that the delayed decision has been a result of a “technical glitch” during a live CMAG webcast, a situation Ghafoor claimed that he had yet to received clarification on.

“I’m not aware of any hitch taking place during the CMAG meeting. What we hope is that they will would keep us on the agenda and back a structural adjustment programme that would call for certain commitments to be met at specific dates,” he claimed.

Parallel to Nasheed’s UK visit, Ghafoor claimed that the MDP’s national council was also engaged in pressuring the party’s parliamentary group to boycott the People’s Majlis once it reconvenes, at least until the party was given guarantees about certain concerns it held about reforms.

“The national council on Thursday decided to try and pressure the parliamentary group to boycott Majlis,” he said. “We are discussing this today as a party. We are clear that we would wish to disengage from the Waheed regime unless our concerns are addressed.”

Responding to the MDP’s comments, President’s Office Media Secretary Masood Imad told Minivan News that in looking to address the concerns raised by the CNI concerning security forces and the country’s judiciary, it would continue to rely on independent institutions in the country.

“I understand that the Police Integrity Commission (PIC) has already looked into some of the matters raised. I don’t know what they are looking at or what stage they have reached right now. Similarly, President Dr Waheed has also promised to refrain from interfering with the judiciary here, even when he has not been made aware of what is going on,” he said.

Masood stressed that the government would not however be able to set up any additional commission or mechanism to oversee reforms.

“Independent institutions can come in and oversee this. We would encourage them to do this and will not interfere with their work,” he said.

However, in terms of addressing the CNI’s concerns about the transfer of power, Masood also claimed that Nasheed himself faced possible criminal action for the events occurring on February 6 and February 7 before his resignation.

“During the events of February 6 to February 8, I wouldn’t say that Nasheed was in power, but he was in office, resulting in excessive force being used by police up to his resignation,” he said.

Masood said that President Waheed has accepted that police had used “excessive force” during protests held on February 8 after he came to power and condemned such acts.

“President Waheed has already said he will take action against those with involvement [in the use of excessive force], due process would be taking place through groups like the PIC,” he said.

However, Masood added that any calls from the EU or Commonwealth to investigate the events surrounding the transfer of power would lead to difficulties over the actions of Nasheed in the build up to his resignation.

“Any investigation would have to focus on Nasheed’s role in this, the Commonwealth and EU countries are asking us not to touch him,” he said.  “While the independent institutions can look into this, the EU and Commonwealth will be unhappy if their boy becomes involved in investigations. This will happen as there are many questions [Nasheed] has to answer.”

Nasheed, who is presently set to face trial over his role in the controversial detention this year of Criminal Court Chief Judge Abdulla Mohamed, has alleged that charges against him are politically motivated in order to prevent him from standing as a candidate for the MDP at the next general election.  Nasheed has alleged that Judge Abdulla had been detained over fears he was a threat to national security.

Independent institutions

Despite the government’s decision to rely on the country’s independent institutions to help oversee any reforms or investigations into the CNI’s recommendations, groups such as the Elections Commission have this month found their work under increased scrutiny following the release of the CNI report (CNI).

Prominent members of both the Police Integrity Commission (PIC) and the Anti Corruption Commission (ACC) have this month questioned the ability of their own institutions to fulfil their mandates.

Aiman Rasheed of local NGO Transparency Maldives’ suggested that weak and unassertive institutions must take some of the blame for the events of February 7 and the surrounding political crises.

“The independent institutions need to step up their game by standing for and protecting the values for which they were constituted,” said Aiman at the time.

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