Author: Neil Merrett

Children’s home volunteers raise funding fears ahead of Villingili site expansion

A children’s home on the island of Villingili, one of three institutions presently housing vulnerable children in the Maldives, is set to expand its operations to a second neighbouring building to provide separate accommodation for girls and boys.

However despite the proposed expansion, some volunteers at the shelter have raised concerns over the available finance for a service that houses, clothes and feeds almost 60 vulnerable children and babies who are without family to support them.

Speaking to Minivan News during a visit to the home, Mohamed Latheef, a volunteer who has been visiting and working with staff at Villinigili for the last nine months, said that while the government over the last few years had provided a budget to cover most operating expense, funds were being increasingly stretched by the rising cost of fuel and other basic essentials.

The children’s home, one of three properties assigned by authorities to shelter adolescents, is currently funded and operated through the Ministry of Gender, Family and Human Rights. Authorities added that the home is also supported with donations from a number of private groups and charities in the country.

According to staff working at the home, 56 children are currently kept at the site on Villingili. Of these children, 25 are aged between 10 months to six years of age, while another 25 are aged up to 12.

Latheef claimed that although the annual state financing was vital in covering fuel charges along with the site’s water and electricity bills, very little financing was left to improve amenities and services for the children.

Among several challenges faced at the home, some children who have learning difficulties such as dyslexia cannot be supported within the country’s the public school system, one member of staff employed full time at the shelter explained. This has required the need for specialist tuition to assist with the children’s learning at the home to help them catch up with pupils of their age.

Site expansion

According to Latheef, Vilingili’s MP had this year been able to secure a neighbouring building that could be used to house girls and boys once they reached a certain age. At present, boys and girls living at the shelter are kept in dormitories on separate floors.

“The local MP here has been able to secure the building next door. The boys and girls will still able to play and see each other, but when they reach a certain age it can be quite difficult to keep them under one roof,” said the volunteer. “The building is all ready to go and can start this year, however, right now there are not enough teachers and staff to assist in running [the second building].”

With limited funds available to operate the home, Latheef told Minivan News that while the government was already providing a large part of the funds to run the shelter, most of this funding was paid immediately back to state-run enterprises.

“Right now, staff are going to shops and having to pay GST on the goods being used for the children. This is understandable as shopkeepers may not know they work for the orphanage, but the electricity, water and public transport [to Male’] are all supplied by government companies,” he said. “Surely it is possible to produce passes for the staff and the 50 or so children we have here and assist with our utilities? They can give us that much.”

Latheef added that during the last year, the home had been getting assistance from local MPs and organisations.

He stressed that following concerns about a female drug rehabilitation clinic right next to the shelter, authorities had also helped to move the site.

“There was a recovery centre for female drug addicts right by us. The girls who were there, aged about 16 to 18 would be standing outside with cigarettes, sometimes just in their bras and underwear. The boys we have here would gather to watch at times,” he said, adding that requests were made to authorities such as the anti-drug abuse NGO Journey for assistance.

“The recovery centre has been moved now, we don’t know where it has gone.”

Latheef claimed that it remained difficult for staff at the centre to directly get assistance from senior politicians in the country – a constant feature under successive governments over the last few years.

“While it can be possible to speak to indivudal MPs here, we can’t go to the government directly and making appointments can be difficult,” he said.

Latheef added that difficulties in addressing problems faced at the home with senior government figures were exacerbated by what he claimed was a lack of standard inspections or visits from key officials.

When contacted today, the Gender Ministry said that the deputy director of the Children’s home was unavailable for comment at the time of press. However, the ministry added that the he would be arranging a date to meet with Minivan News in the next few weeks to discuss potential funding issues and challenges in housing the country’s vulnerable children.

Aside from the home on Villingili, two other children’s shelters are currently operated in the Maldives. These are the Education and Training Centre for Children (ETCC) on Maafushi and Feydhoo Finolhu’s Correctional Training Centre for Children.

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Hospitality expo head claims record exhibitor numbers defy impact of Maldives “unrest”

The 2012 Hotel Asia Exhibition and International Culinary Challenge is said to be at maximum capacity in terms of exhibitors this year – a trend organisers have claimed defies the negative impact to the industry of unrest in the Maldives during the last six months.

Husnie Rauf, Senior Manager of Maldives Exhibition and Conference Services (MECS), said the company had been “surprised” by the interest shown from exhibitors taking part in the show, which attempts to link the country’s secluded resort industry and local hotel trade with “world class” suppliers. Over the last decade, the exhibition has also held a culinary challenge that sees representatives from the resorts of the Maldives and neighbouring Sri Lanka competing in cuisine challenges, Rauf added.

“With all the political uncertainty this year, we have been surprised that we have a full house, we have even had to reject some applications from exhibitors and contestants for the culinary challenge,” he said.

“We have grown this year to be the country’s biggest ever exhibition with over 150 companies exhibiting at present.  These companies represent groups some 40 to 50 different countries. Right, now we are at capacity and cannot handle any more attendees.”

The three day-exhibition, which concludes today at Male’s Dharubaaruge conference centre,  aims to provide a diverse range of good and services; from fine foods and drink, to boating supplies and renewable energy technology.

Amongst the attendees was Desmond James, Director of Indonesia-based Hospitality Essentials, a supplier of hotel accessories such as soap dishes, dispensers and waste bins that he says presently works with between 30 to 40 of the country’s resorts.

James, who has attended the exhibition in the Maldives for several years, told Minivan News the expo remained a good opportunity for doing business in the country, as well establishing new contacts in the market.

However, he questioned whether claims from the event organisers about record exhibitor numbers reflected actual growth in the number of individual participants.

“I would say claims about a record number of exhibitors here could be a bit misleading, I think what you have are a number of larger booths, which perhaps take up the space that would be used by several exhibitors,” he said. “It is a good show, one of two that we participate in the Maldives along with the MHTE [Maldives Hotel and Trade Exhibition] event,” he said.

Having built a network of contacts in the country over the last five years, James said the expo, in reflection of the continued growth of the Maldives island resort model, did provide real opportunities to expand business.

“Our operations here are based on a combination of established contacts and meeting new companies. There are always new projects happening here and it is also a good way to catch up with familiar faces,” he added.

James claimed that for this year’ show, heavy rain in the Male’ area during the event’s first day negatively impacted the number of visitors, but added that improved weather conditions yesterday helped a much better turnout.

However, he stressed that the event itself continued to retain a strong focus on food products and services rather than the wider supply chain. James believed that such a focus limited some of the potential value for resort operators and key local industry players in attending the show.

Elsewhere on the convention centre’s first floor, alongside Sri Lankan real estate specialists, beverage groups and major multi-nationals like ingredients manufacturer Barry Callebaut, was a stand specialising in renewable energy technologies.

Over the last few years, successive governments in the Maldives have pledged to try and develop a more sustainable economy for the Maldives – commitments that have also been adopted by some resort groups to play up their eco-credentials.

Guy Sizer, who represents a group called South West Windpower at the show, concurred that the expo was something of an “unusual” event for a specialised energy-focused tech company to be taking part in considering the seemingly large focus on food and beverages.

However, Sizer added that for local partners based in and around the Maldives, the show over the last few years had remained “pretty useful” in order to build contacts with the local resort industry and discuss adoption of renewable technologies.

“There is certainly interest it seems in the local population regarding renewable energy, particularly as fears grow over the cost and reliance on diesel here,” he said.

Sizer said that from a Maldives perspective, there had been a great deal of interest in alternative energy supply from local people, however he added these ambitions had not always been backed up with investment.

“There is a strong correlation with what is going on in the Maldives in terms of renewable energy developments and what is going on in nearby massive economies like India, which has been experiencing energy shortages,” he said. “There is interest here even in the local population for renewable energy schemes, and we have some work ongoing here to that end. But as far as direct results go, we think that there stills needs to be a practical reference site here in the Maldives to show the applications of renewable energy technologies.”

In terms of business at the expo, Sizer said that several resort groups had been in contact over the last few days to discuss the possibilities of adopting renewable energy services such as off-grid wind technology.

As well as a potential hub for renewable energy development, the Maldives has continued to push its reputation as a high-end luxury destination.  As a result, the sourcing of goods like European cheeses, meats and other delicatessen specialities were well represented at the event.

One such supplier of these products is Deli United, which has combined a stand providing guests with fresh fruits from across the wider South Asian region, with matured Swiss cheeses and fine slices of meats usually experienced at the country’s resort properties rather than exhibit halls.

Whilst providing guests and exhibitors with combinations of fine cuts of deer with varieties of European cheeses, a company representative explained that the Maldives provided a unique market for high-quality foodstuffs.

“The market we are aiming for here in mainly the resorts, we have interest from local people, but in general they do not have the traditions of enjoying these sort of cheeses,” the representative said. “This is a very strong market, visitors spend a lot of money on food. With the products I have, I like to think of myself as something of a food missionary when it comes to my produce.”

Despite targeting the country’s resort industry, which was not subject to the same restrictions the country’s inhabited islands were in terms of banning the sale of alcohol and pork products, the company representative said he had tried to select a wide number of products like beef ham and duck pates for guests to sample at the event.

Beyond specialist products like cheeses, pate’s and meats, Kapila De Silva, Marketing Manager for Sri Lanka-based Sadaharitha Agri Farms and Exporters, said the Maldives also presented a strong market for more everyday items like fresh fruits and vegetables, considering the country’s limited food production output.

“Obviously you have a very luxury-focused market here, so of course, resorts will be expected to provide very high-quality fruits and vegetables to guests,” he said. “They expect the best-quality goods.”

Having attended the Hotel Asia Exhibition for the last few years, Kapila claimed that his company now worked with a growing number of resorts to provide a range of produce from more standards fruits and vegetables to specially developed products like square melons, which he added could also be embossed for individual properties.

“Our plantations in Sri Lanka allow us to provide a large amount of fresh produce,” he said. “Being so close to the Maldives,the country represents a very important market for us, with our low, medium range and higher altitude plantations, we really can supply a very large number of products.”

While Kapila claimed that recent political uncertainty had not seemed to dampen demand from the Maldives for fresh produce, he claimed that the company still faced challenges in supplying goods to the country.

“There are still some barriers here in the Maldives in terms of logistics. Basically we need to clear customs and have our products get out to the resorts as soon as possible.  At times this process can take up to seven or eight hours to have them processed.  This threatens the quality of our goods,” he said. “We would like to see more work conducted here in terms of logistical support as a number of resorts are not close by to the airport. Guests expect the highest quality products here in the Maldives, this includes fresh fruit and vegetables.”

Culinary challenge

The exhibition’s organisers added that beyond business relationships, equally important to the development of the Hotel Asia expo during the last ten years had been the culinary challenge, which is held alongside the trade show in the Male’ convention centre.

An estimated 35 chefs are taking place in this year’s event, which is divided into a number of categories to contest three main awards including ‘Best Culinary establishment’, ‘Top Maldivian Chef’ and ‘Most Outstanding Chef’.

Bruce Woolner, Operations Manager for Chef Middle East, a supplier working with a number of the country’s resorts, contended that the strong focus on food at the show -particularly through the culinary competition – was important for the ongoing development of the industry locally.

“It’s a very good way of engaging companies to take part, but also it’s way to positively talk up the industry in this country and that is something that is not done enough,” he said.

Husnie Rauf agreed that the competition was an important part of attracting the local and multinational resort operators to the event, with many locally-based chefs travelling to Male’ specifically for the event.

From the perspective of MECS, Rauf claimed that Hotel Asia continued to be the largest event of its kind for business in the Maldives.

But what prospects are there in the future for other major events?

Rauf added that after launching the Hotel Asia show back in 2000, a number of additional exhibitions targeting the local business community had been started up in the country.  These included a boat show that had been run by MECS up until 2008.

“We got to a point where there wasn’t a lot of investment in boats at the time due to a global economic downturn. We also used to run a construction-themed event in the country, but this hasn’t been held since 2009 again because of the economic climate,” he said.

“Right now we continue to manage the Hotel Asia exhibition and our education fairs. There continues to be strong interest for these services in the Maldives, particularly among Maldivians looking to study abroad.”

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Home minister notes “better environment” after CNI report

Home Minister Mohamed Jameel has said the Maldives now provides a much “better environment” for the country’s political factions to work towards stability following the publication of the Commission of National Inquiry (CNI) report.

Speaking following a parade held yesterday in Male’ to commemorate the country’s Independence Day, rescheduled from earlier this year, Dr Jameel claimed that with the conclusion of the CNI’s work late last month, the government was now able to move ahead with its duty of serving the public.

The CNI’s findings, welcomed by the Commonwealth, US and the UN, rejected accusations that the present government came to power illegally, despite claims from former president Mohamed Nasheed that the report’s findings were flawed and failed to include key witness statements and evidence in its findings.

The now opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) – of which Nasheed is the current presidential candidate – today said that it continued to hold severe structural concerns about the CNI’s conclusions. The concerns themselves were highlighted in a report prepared by Sri Lankan legal experts after a request from the MDP.

“Way forward”

Despite these concerns, the MDP has claimed the CNI report’s publication had provided the party with a “way forward” to push for institutional reform and early elections, whilst also lobbying to keep the Maldives on the agenda of the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group (CMAG).  The party has contended that remaining on the agenda will help maintain international pressure on the government to enact a reform agenda – the need for which was raised in the CNI’s findings.

Home Minister Dr Jameel told Minivan News today that from the government’s perspective, the issue of February’s transfer of power had been firmly settled through the CNI’s findings. Dr Jameel claimed that any further political resolutions should be settled domestically.

“We will not dwell further on the same issue [CNI]. As a nation, reforms to the government and other institutions is an ongoing agenda like any other nation,” he said. “I do not believe that any international organisation, country or individual has the mandate or authority to dictate to us our national priorities and reform agenda – be it the Commonwealth or its Secretary General. We appreciate their engagement, but [the Commonwealth] should also recognise our need to move forward and allow us to find local solutions to local problems.”

Dr Jameel claimed that rescheduling the national Independence Day parade from July until yesterday was a timely reminder of the “importance of national unity, mutual respect and shared values.”

“It is more relevant now than at any point in history as the country is increasingly seen to be drifting away from those values due to political emotions, opinions and other exposures,” he said.

The Independence Day parade, which was concluded with a special ceremony at the  Galolhu Stadium in Male’, was attended by President Dr Mohamed Waheed Hassan and his wife,  First Lady Ilham Hussain.

Independence Day is celebrated on July 26, though Dr Jameel, who was also in attendance at the ceremony, said that the parade had been delayed from July owing to “time constraints” and had to be rescheduled to consider outstanding engagements of its participants.

Better environment

Addressing the home minister’s claims that the Maldives was now a “better environment” to address political differences following the CNI’s publication, MDP MP and Spokesperson Hamid Abdul Ghafoor said the MDP had offered to try and work with the government to pursue institutional reforms.

Ghafoor claimed these efforts had included attempts to try and work within Dr Waheed’s coalition government in what it called the “common interests” of the public –  a strategy that was later rebuffed.

“We do not want to be working with this government, we ourselves want to see early elections as soon as possible,” he said earlier this month.

Ghafoor claimed today that despite its reservations about the validity of the CNI’s findings, the party would continue to lobby to keep the Maldives on the agenda of the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group (CMAG) to maintain international pressure on the government for early elections and institutional reform.

“We simply do not believe that the CNI report legitimises the government. If the [transfer of power] was not a coup then why are the country’s former opposition now leading the executive,” he said. “The structural issues that we have [with the CNI’s findings] will not just go away. Things are not going smoothly in the country.”

Ghafoor claimed that while attempts to have the People’s Majlis and Supreme Court rule whether the MDP should be regarded as the country’s main opposition or governing party had not been successful so far, the party still had power in the Majlis through parliamentary committees to meet aims for fresh polls.

“Right now we see the way forward is to continue to push for early elections. We will also push to keep us in the CMAG agenda and ensure there is a third party international pressure to ensure the government are held to a schedule regarding the CNI’s recommendations on institutional reform,” he said.

“We do see CNI report as a way forward and we would wish for CMAG to keep a watch on the country. So on the back of our reservations of the CNI report, we will coniute to lobby to keep the Maldives on CMAG’s agenda.

Despite the MDP’s lobbying, the government has this week urged CMAG to remove the country from its agenda.

Both Dunya Maumoon, State Minister for Foreign Affairs, and Dr Hassan Saeed, Special Advisor to the President, have publicly argued that the Maldives had been treated unfairly, suggesting that the country should leave the Commonwealth should it not be removed from the CMAG agenda without delay.

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Male’ mayor claims latest ‘Usfasgandu’ lease extension agreed before issue of Civil Court block

Male’ City Council (MCC) Mayor ‘Maizan’ Ali  Manik has claimed a lease extension providing the ‘Usfasgandu’ protest area to the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) until December was agreed before the Civil Court issued an order blocking such a move.

Speaking to Minivan News today, Manik claimed that unless a further court order was issued that directly prevented the lease extension, which comes into effect later this month, then the opposition MDP would be permitted to continue using the area for their activities up until December 2012.

According to local media, the Civil Court has issued a ‘interim order’ prohibiting the long-term lease of the area by the council or any construction of buildings on the site. The order was granted amidst an ongoing Civil Court case filed by the Ministry of Housing that questions the legality of the MCC’s decision to lease Usfasgandu.

The Sun Online news service reported today that the Civil Court’s interim order would remain in place until a ruling on the issue of the legality of the MCC’s decision to lease the area had been finalised.

However, Mayor Manik told Minivan News that once the present lease agreement finished on September 19, a new agreement said to guarantee the opposition party’s use of the area for an additional three months would come into place.

“The extension was agreed by the council before the court order came into place. The court would otherwise need to send an additional order concerning this extension if they want it stopped,” he claimed.

Minister of Housing Dr Mohamed Muiz said today that he did not wish to comment on the case as it was still being heard at the Civil Court. When questioned as to whether a date had been set for the next hearing of the case, Dr Muiz added that he would need to check with the Attorney General’s Office.

Last month, the Housing Ministry alleged through the Civil Court that the MCC was in violation of both articles five and six of its agreement to lease the land – charges that it contended were proved in documents submitted to the court.

The state also contended at the time that the MMC was deliberately attempting to delay the ongoing case by claiming the charges “were not clear”, according to newspaper Haveeru.

The MCC claimed in response that the Housing Ministry had no evidence to back its claims that its provision of the lease was illegal.

Legal wrangling

The Civil Court case is the latest development in ongoing legal wrangling between the MCC and the Ministry of Housing over the Usfasgandfu site.

Back in August, the Civil Court ruled that the Maldives Police Service did not have legal authority to order the MDP to vacate Usfasgandu on May 29.

The court noted the same day that the a wider dispute between the MCC and Housing ministry over guardianship of the Usfasgandu area could only be settled once the Civil Court reached a verdict on the legality of providing the land to the MDP. The case was filed by the Housing Ministry, which requested the MCC be ordered to hand over the plot.

On May 29, police raided Usfasgandu with a search warrant from the Criminal Court and ordered the MDP to vacate the area before 10pm, after which the Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) began dismantling the protest camp.

The Civil Court however issued an injunction ordering the security forces to halt the dismantling after the MDP challenged the legality of the operation. The injunction was to stand until the court reached a verdict and was later upheld by the High Court.

Police had obtained a warrant to search Usfasgandu on the grounds that the MDP was using the area as a hub for criminal activity and black magic.  MDP lawyers however argued at court that the warrant did not provide a legal basis to dismantle the demonstration area.

Following the dismantling of the MDP’s protest camp at the tsunami memorial area on March 19, the Male’ City Council (MCC) leased the Usfasgandu area to the former ruling party for three months, prompting repeated attempts by the government to reclaim the area.

The MCC – which has nine MDP councillors and two government-aligned Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) councillors – refused to hand over the area to the Housing Ministry despite a cabinet decision authorising the Housing Ministry to reclaim the plot.

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Battle for the brand: Are the “hard days” over for Maldives tourism?

As the Maldives looks to boost tourism arrivals following negative international coverage of the country’s political unrest this year, one leading branding consultant has said destinations looking to overcome bad headlines rarely find quick fix solutions to improve their image.

Following the controversial transfer of power that brought President Dr Mohamed Waheed Hassan to office on February 7, negative headlines regarding the political situation and violent clashes between civilians and security forces were deemed as having an adverse affect on tourism in the Maldives.

However, tourism authorities this week talked optimistically of the prospects for growth in the industry following several months of uncertainty that it said impacted growth – predicting a resurgence in international visitors towards 2013.

Earlier this week, Deputy Minister for Tourism, Arts and Culture Mohamed Maleeh Jamal claimed “the hard days” were over for the Maldives tourism industry, after a Commonwealth-backed report last week rejected accusations that the present government came to power illegally.

Former President Mohamed Nasheed and the opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) have continued to allege that they were removed from office in a “coup detat”, claiming the Commission of National Inquiry (CNI) failed to include key witness statements and evidence in its findings.

Amidst the uncertainty since February’s power transfer, tourism authorities in the country have pursued a strategy of collaboration with the country’s private sector to try and strengthen arrival numbers to the country. This focus included signing a US$250,000 (Rf3.8million) advertising deal to promote the country’s tourism industry on the BBC through sponsorship of its weather services.

In April, the Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation (MMPRC) confirmed the appointment of New-York based public relations agency Ruder Finn to “oversee the overall media coordination and achievement of PR related solution for destination Maldives.”

However Peter Mathews, founder and chief Executive Officer of UK-based branding consultancy Nucleus, claimed a quick fix solution to changing perceptions of a destination on the back of negative international headlines was unlikely.

Mathews took the examples of Sri Lanka and Bahrain as countries that had experienced difficulties attracting tourists on the back of unfavourable headlines relating to reports of political uncertainty or human rights abuses.

“Both of these destinations have had issues with branding.  Branding alone is not an instant solution for a country’s reputation,” he told Minivan News. “If you are not transparent about issues, they will still be there for tourists to see once you scratch below the surface of a destination.”

With the growing prominence of social media and video sharing services like Twitter, Facebook and YouTube, Mathews claimed it was becoming increasingly difficult to move on from negative headlines without addressing the key social or political issues.

“We now live in a digital world of instant updates and information, there is nowhere to hide,” he said.

“Ultimately, the best way to re-brand in the medium to long-term is for a destination to try and ensure transparency and avoiding contradictions.”

According to Mathews, a single negative headline about a destination required number of positive stories in order for it to overcome any detrimental impacts to a country’s reputation.

“It can take a while these days for unfavourable headlines to slip down the Google rankings. Of course, some have turned to using the ‘dark arts’ but this doesn’t always work. Particularly in the luxury market, where consumers tend to be much better informed when it comes to travel,” he said.

Talking about the potential challenges for the Maldives regarding boosting confidence in the tourism industry, Mathews said that authorities would need to satisfy resort owners and the international brands operating in the country, as well as the wider population that positive changes were being enacted.

“Suddenly, word of mouth can become very important. This makes it difficult to paper over the cracks,” he said.

Mathews said the Maldives’ relatively unique resort industry – a hundred-or-so resort properties exclusively built on individual private islands – had been afforded protection from any political unrest that centered mostly on its inhabited islands.

“The Maldives resort experience is obviously very different to the Maldives experienced in the capital of Male’, and this does help insulate the industry from uncertainty,” he said. “Yet economically, I would have thought there was interest to try and bring tourism income directly to the capital and other [inhabited] local islands.”

However, the negative impacts on Maldives tourism witnessed following February’s political turmoil appears not to have been repeated despite fears of continued unrest.

The UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) updated a travel advisory for the Maldives on August 24 to account for potential violent clashes linked to the release of findings by the Commission of National Inquiry (CNI).

“Very positive”

Amidst talks of potential boycotts of the Maldives travel industry, a stance at one point this year backed by former President Mohamed Nasheed, Deputy Tourism Minister Maleeh contended that arrival figures immediately after February had been sluggish. However, even before the release of the CNI’s findings, which were welcomed by the Commonwealth last week, Maleeh contended that arrival figures had shown “very positive” during June and July.

The deputy minister therefore moved this week to play down fears over the country experiencing continued difficulties in attracting visitors.

“The hard days are over following the findings of the [CNI] report. Over the last week, unlike February, we have seen no major disturbances in the country and this sends a positive message out about the destination,” he said. “During the next four months we are expecting a positive outcome for the industry despite the economic crisis.”

Maleeh added that in light of political instability and “turbulence” experienced in the country since the transfer of power, internal stability was a huge part of attracting and maintaining visitor numbers

“What we do is try to provide the industry and media with information that is true and accurate,” he said.

In March, the Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation (MMPRC) announced that, as well as returning to its ‘sunny side of life’ branding, the industry had set a target during 2012 to attract one million visitors to the country by year’s end.

Maleeh claimed that the industry remained on track to meet these goals, despite certain key challenges such as the impact of ongoing financial uncertainty on some core European tourism markets like the UK and Italy.

During the last 120 days of 2012, Maleeh said that a major tourism marketing push was being planned to meet these goals.  This focus was said to be focused on over 12 major emerging and established markets through Europe and Asia, including measures such as six travel road shows and an international media push.

“We will be bringing an estimated 40 journalists from around the world for press familiarisation trips to show them the ‘sunny side of life’,” he said.

Maleeh claimed that the MMPRC would also be collaborating with over 300 industry stakeholders including resorts groups, liveaboard boat operators and travel agencies to attend a number of major travel events and fairs around the world including London, Rome, Tokyo and Osaka. Key national markets in China and Eastern Europe would also be included.

Maleeh said authorities considered using special roadshow events in order to ensure a short-term boost in tourist interest.

Back in April, the MMPRC teamed up with local airline group Mega Maldives to carry out a travel road-show to promote the Maldives through what it described as a whistle-stop tour of five Chinese cities in one week.

According to Maleeh, the tours allowed the private sector to “close deals” during a period of “sluggish” growth in February and March.

“The roadshows have shown very positive results and we are looking to have one in Eastern Europe to try and boost the market in countries like Poland and the Czech Republic.

The MMPRC has also announced a commitment to take part in special market focused events like the Dive Resort Travel (DRT) Expo in China and other luxury travel-focused shows.

“Sunny side of life”

As part of the organisation’s marketing push, Maleeh added that under ‘sunny side of life’ brand, authorities would make use of a number of what he called lesser known taglines to target specific areas including ‘the spiritual side of life’ and ‘the colourful side of life’ – a tag used to play up the country as a dive destination.

“These messages are quite useful in areas like the Middle East, which are very popular with honeymooners,” he said. “Right now we are hoping that 2012 is shaping up to be a very promising year for tourism in the Maldives.”

Beyond addressing the Maldives’ image, several industry insiders have also raised concerns of late about the financial realities facing both local and multinational companies working in the country.

Just last month, several resort managers voiced concerns over revenue raising measures proposed by the Finance Ministry, which they claimed would have a detrimental financial impact on the tourism industry and provide little improvement in service or support in return.

The proposed measures were part of an ‘austerity’ package sent to parliament’s Finance Committee during August in a bid to address the country’s crippled financial condition.

However, since the publication of the CNI report, President Waheed told Reuters this month that China would grant the Maldives US$500 million (MVR7.7billion) in loans during his state visit to the country.

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

Minister of Finance and Trasury Abdulla Jihad told Minivan News today that despite the possible provision of finance from China, the proposed revenue raising plans such as
raising Tourism Goods and Services Tax (TGST) to 15 percent were still being discussed to help balance finances.

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Government “would consider” clemency for ex-president Nasheed following trial outcome

The government has said it will have no involvement in the trial of former President Mohamed Nasheed, adding it would consider the possibility of offering clemency should he eventually be found guilty.

Nasheed, who yesterday announced he had started his campaign for re-election, has called for the trial over his role in the controversial detention of Criminal Court Chief Judge Abdulla Mohamed earlier this year to be expedited. The former president has alleged that the trial against him is politically motivated to prevent him from contesting in presidential elections scheduled for 2013.

President’s Office Media Secretary Masood Imad claimed that the government was committed to its pledge of not interfering in the Maldives judicial system and played down fears of the trial being politicised.

“We would regret any parties or international organisations trying to politicise this trial,” he said. “However, after a judgement on the case has been given, if there is an opportunity to do so, I’m sure President Waheed would consider the possibility of clemency [for former President Nasheed].”

The comments were made today as Department of Judicial Administration Spokesperson Latheefa Qasim confirmed to Minivan News that the decision had been taken to appoint three judges to hear the former president’s trial. Qasim added that a date for the hearing or the identities of the three judges presiding over the trial had yet to be decided.

Last week, the Hulhumale’ Magistrate Court was cleared to hold the trial that will see Nasheed along with several senior military figures under his command face charges for the detention of Criminal Court Chief Judge Abdulla Mohamed.

During Nasheed’s administration Judge Abdulla was accused by the government of demonstrating political bias, obstructing police, stalling cases, having links with organised crime and “taking the entire criminal justice system in his fist” to protect key figures of the former dictatorship from human rights and corruption cases.

Nasheed himself gave a speech to supporters in Male’ yesterday playing down the likelihood of his prosecution for the detention of the judge, while additionally launching his campaign for re-election despite no date for elections having been set.

Speaking from the Usfasgandu area in Male’, which is presently being used as a protest area by the now opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), Nasheed alleged that he was not concerned of being prosecuted,  according to local media reports.

During a speech outlining his plans to continue to pursue early elections through the MDP’s ‘direct action’ protests and political pressure, the former president claimed that he was confident of securing re-election.

MDP Spokesperson and MP Hamid Abdul Ghafoor claimed that Nasheed’s comments were focused on the party’s continued efforts to secure “early elections” ahead of the proposed date of July 2013.  President Waheed has said July 2013 is the earliest date for fresh polls as allowed in the country’s constitution

The MDP back in July approved a resolution that the party would choose to boycott elections should Nasheed not be able to stand as its presidential candidate after winning.

Ghafoor claimed that despite preparing for early elections, both Nasheed and the MDP had agreed to respect the Commission of National Inquiry (CNI) report that last week concluded the government of President Waheed had come to power constitutionally and not through a “coup d’etat” on February 7.

“We have been respecting the report, but we also have very strong reservations about the concerns raised by [Nasheed’s appointee on the commission] Ahmed ‘Gahaa’ Saeed and we would like these shortcomings to be looked into,” he said. “There are obviously issues that we have with the findings and I do not believe that the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group (CMAG) will just choose to ignore Mr Saeed’s own reservations about the report.”

Saeed last week resigned from the five-member CNI panel approved by the government, MDP and Commonwealth, a day before the release of its findings over what he alleged was a failure by the commission to consider certain evidence and witness statements presented to the Commission.

Nasheed was also reported to have used his speech to claim that no country had so far accepted the CNI’s findings, according to local news service Sun Online.

Following the release of the CNI report last week, Commonwealth Secretary-General Kamalesh Sharma welcomed the completed publication, urging “all concerned to respect the findings of the commission so that, moving forward, all actions and reactions reflect the sense of responsibility and restraint necessary in the best national interest.”

The US, India and the UN also called for the outcome of the CNI’s report to be respected in light of its publication.

However, Ghafoor said that Nasheed had in fact questioned the responses of various international players claiming they had been “unclear” on their views of the report.

Ghafoor added that the party would continue to lobby to have the reservations raised by Saeed concerning the CNI report addressed.

Beyond reservations with the CNI, the MDP claimed that it had been willing to work with the government of President Waheed in what it called the “common interests” of the public by offering to join his coalition government.

“We do not want to be working with this government, we ourselves want to see early elections as soon as possible,” he said.

However, President Waheed yesterday announced he had opted against including the MDP in his national unity government.

While the MDP – in light of the CNI’s findings – had called for clarification on whether it was presently the ruling or opposition party, the President’s Office responded that the matter was irrelevant under the country’s presidential system of governance.

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Four Seasons Saqaafee Vaadha 2012: The serious business of boduberu

Boduberu, a combination of singing, dancing and rhythmic drumming, is held up as one of the most high-profile examples of Maldivian culture.  As an art-form, it is commonly performed before tourists staying at the Maldives’ secluded island resorts as an attempt to give an insight into local culture from the carefree vantage of a high-end holiday.

Yet beyond its significance to the holiday industry and cultural organisations, boduberu is serious business – not least for for the eight teams that on Saturday (September 1)  night contested in this year’s Four Seasons Saqaafee Vaadha tournament on the island of Kamadhoo.

Held barely five minutes by speedboat from one of Baa Atoll’s most high-profile resorts, the tournament saw teams representing the islands of Kendhoo, Kurendhoo, Holhudhoo, Kudafari, Dhivaafaru, Meedhoo, Madduvary and Rasmaadhoo competed for a grand prize of MVR 100,000 to help fund development projects for their respective local communities. A further MVR 10,000 in prize money was also provided to be shared among the winning team’s members.

The competition, organised in association with the Four Seasons resort group and local cultural organisations, was televised live across the nation with a team from the island of Rasmaadhoo being crowned the overall winners, based on the views of a four member panel of judges.

Fazloon Hameed, one of the event’s four judges, explained to Minivan News that significant time had been spent trying to break boduberu down to its “core” components, with each team given a fifteen minute slot to win over the panel with their performances.

“This contest is really a cultural contest, it is not just one thing like the drumming we judge,” he said. “It is the whole culture surrounding boduberu.”

According to Fazloon, a system was devised specifically for the competition that awarded points for the perceived quality of each team’s dancing and music.

“To try and break down this scoring, each judge has a very particular focus. We had one person judging drums, another on singing and another doing dance,” he said. “My role, and what makes the competition different, is to see how the group brings these things together, the cohesion they have as a team.”

Tradition

The competition had previously been held in December last year, and was extended this year to include teams from four different atolls.

While boduberu has remained a popular long-standing tradition in the country, Fazloon added that the tournament did strive to reward innovation among participants, so long as performers did not discard long-standing traditions such as the use of slower beats.

According to the judge, of the five main beats associated with boduberu music, there was concern some slower more traditional rhythms have become less popular in the face of more modern, quicker styles presently favoured by young people.  He stressed concern that it was increasingly important to try and ensure these traditions were preserved by young people.

Fazloon contended that with Maldivian art not having been traditionally afforded a high profile status even within the country, the tourism industry and special events like the Four Seasons Saqaafee Vaadha tournament were playing an important role in keeping traditions alive.

“I think this has been seen in the outcome of the tournament held last year,” he said. “We have noticed that these event and resorts give these groups exposure. Many of these teams have regular performances within the tourism industry, without these appearances, some of these groups might only meet up once a year around competition time.”

For the spectators present on Kamadhoo during the tournament, the event’s rhythms appear infectious as men and women of all ages begin providing their own impromptu performances around the main stage.  At points, the audience grows to a level requiring camera operators and other crew members to navigate around them in order to cover the action on stage.

However, not even the tourists, media representatives and senior Four Seasons management in the audience are safe from boduberu’s informal appeal; who all, at points, find themselves flailing wildly on national television.

Yet despite the potential trauma of public spectacle, Armando Kraenzlin, Regional Vice President and General Manager for Four Seasons Resorts in the Maldives – himself an unofficial participant on stage during the evening – pledged to the audience that the tournament would return in 2013.

“We will be back. We will be bigger and we will be better,” he announced, revealing plans for an even wider national focus in terms of the number of participants for next year’s event.

Beyond the television cameras and the hundreds gathered in the audience, in a quieter corner of Kamadhoo, one person not in attendance was a local shopkeeper called Ibrahim.

Though unable to attend the event himself, from a business view if nothing elsethe shopkeeper said he welcomed the tournament, not least in the temporary boost to his usual customer base of the island’s 500 residents.

Ibrahim said that some 400 spectators from other islands were estimated to have arrived for the competition,  looking for refreshments, areca nuts and cigarettes.

Despite being a one-off event, the shopkeeper claimed that from a wider economic standpoint, the close proximity of the Four Seasons Landaa Giraavaru resort did have direct impact on the island, with the resort serving as a largest employer for residents.

For the resort company, local broadcasters and many islanders, the tournament appears to have been a PR and organisational success.  However, not everyone appears quite as willing to embrace boduberu so wholeheartedly.

One Maldivian-born media spectator attending the awards admits to Minivan News of having little interest in boduberu in the past, claiming to find its music a little “samey”.

Yet as the tournament drew to a close by the early hours of Sunday, his attitude appeared to have softened somewhat.

“It’s been a great evening and the organisation was fantastic,” he responds.

So, had the experience caused him to consider paying more attention to boduberu in the future?

“Nah,” he responded quickly, returning his attention to a smart phone as the boat pulled away from a Kamadhoo still in the throes of a serious party.

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Immigration head calls for “clean-up” of Thilafushi over crime fears

Controller of Immigration and Emigration Dr Mohamed Ali  has said that a raid on the island of Thilafushi yesterday which uncovered 134 unregistered foreign workers reflects wider fears over criminal operations being conducted on the island.

Dr Ali told Minivan News that the group of foreign workers, mostly Bangladesh nationals, had been uncovered after the Immigration Department had made continued warnings to employers on the island to have their workers “regularised” with the correct papers by the end of August.

Beyond failing to register workers, the immigration controller said the raid reflected wider concerns over addressing potential criminal operations on Thilafushi – popularly referred to in international media as the Maldives’ ‘rubbish island’.

“Right now there are just so many issues to be addressed on Thilafushi,” he claimed. “We need to clean it up in all aspects. We believe there are a number of illegal operations there.”

According to the immigration department, these alleged activities are thought to include the  shipping of illegal goods and drugs.

Dr Ali added that the expatriate workers found without correct papers were presently being kept for processing in Male’.

“At present they’re employers are working to take them back and have them processed,” he said.

The immigration controller did not have the exact figures on the number of workers presently being kept at a centre in Male’ while their papers were undergoing processing.

“These workers are not being detained, they are being kept comfortably and fed while processing is going on,” he added.

The High Commissioner of Bangladesh, Rear Admiral Abu Saeed Mohamed Abdul Awal, said he had been aware of the raid that had taken place yesterday by the Department of Immigration and Emmigration, but was awaiting for information on the matter at the time of press.

Back in May, 47 Bangladeshi nationals working for a local security were seized by the Department of Immigration as part of a wider crackdown on illeal immigrants after being found to have been incorrectly registered in the country.

Police Spokesperson Sub-Inspector Hassan Haneef confirmed that it had worked with the Department of Immigration and Emmigration on the raid as part of a joint operation.

Haneef added that this joint operation with immigration officials would be continuing in the future, but would not be focused solely on Thilafushi

Back in July, the Maldives was included on the US State Department’s Tier Two Watch List for Human Trafficking for a third year in a row.

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Government claims all-party talks consensus as MDP maintains “early” election calls

The President’s Office has claimed all-party talks held last night at Bandos Island Resort and Spa concluded with senior representatives for the government and the nation’s political parties agreeing to move ahead through parliament to address the discussion’s key aims.

President’s Office Media Secretary Masood Imad told Minivan News that the all-party talks – the last of which, held in June, failed to reach a consensus on an agenda that included setting dates for early elections – saw representatives agreeing on revising the aims of the talks to reflect the findings of the Commission of National Inquiry (CNI).

However, the opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), which continues to criticise the CNI findings – alleging they lack key witness testimonies and evidence – has today said it remained committed to pressing for early elections at the earliest possible date in line with calls from the European Union.

The comments were made after the CNI, charged with investigating the circumstances around the controversial transfer of power on February 7, concluded that the government of President Dr Mohamed Waheed Hassan came to office constitutionally.

The Commonwealth, which backed the CNI under a reformed mandate and composition, yesterday called for report’s outcome to be respected – a stance shared by the US, India and the UN.

Following the CNI’s conclusion yesterday, Masood claimed the talks, which were attended by President Waheed, MDP Chair and MP ‘Reeko’ Moosa Manik and Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) Leader Ahmed Thasmeen Ali, “successfully” agreed to amend the aims of the talks. He added that these amended aims would now likely be addressed through the People’s Majlis rather than through continued external discussions.

Masood added that in light of the CNI’s findings, representatives at yesterday’s talks agreed on a new agenda, such as addressing legislative issues through parliament.  He contended that this work could potentially be dealt with through the formation of a special all-party parliamentary committee.

Speaking to Minivan News yesterday, DRP Leader Thasmeen said ahead of the talk that he believed the focus of discussions, which had previously outlined an agenda including potentially agreeing early elections for this year, “should now change”.

“There had previously been serious contention over the transfer of power. At this point we had been willing to discuss early elections. I think these questions have now been answered [with the CNI report]. It is now time for national reconciliation,” he said.

Thasmeen contended that the talks would likely no longer focus on agreeing a date for early elections, which President Waheed has previously said under the constitution can be scheduled for July 2013 at the earliest.

“I think it should be possible to move on and try finding common platforms for agreement,” he said at the time.

Both Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) Interim Deputy Leader Umar Naseer and MDP Chair Manik – who were both representing their respective parties at the talks – were not responding to calls from Minivan News at the time of press.

MDP MP and Spokesperson Hamid Abdul Ghafoor said today that in spite of the CNI outcome, early elections remained a “key” focus of the opposition party going forward.

According to the MDP, the Commonwealth had not yet announced a change in its policy of pressing for early elections to be held this year to address the current political stalemate in the country.

Ghafoor added that he had also been encouraged by comments made by President Waheed in local media to hold talks between the leaders of the country’s parliamentary parties and himself, discussions he contended that would be limited to five key Majlis representatives.

In outlining the future focus of the party’s plans, former President Mohamed Nasheed was on Friday expected to hold a conference at 4:00pm in Male’ at the Mookai Hotel on Meheli Goalhi.

Addressing the party’s conduct following the CNI report yesterday, the MDP claimed that it believed 60 people were arrested during yesterday’s demonstrations as a result of an ongoing special operation launched by police in attempts to reduce unrest in the capital and wider atolls.

According to Ghafoor, the party was itself concerned with the large number of officers wearing balaclavas as they patrolled the capital, making it impossible to identify them individually.

“They were singing at MDP protesters and mocking them to try and provoke the public,” he claimed. “I myself observed spontaneous protests yesterday that were not organised offcially by the party. These were people who walked out of our national conference meeting yesterday. This situation saw a large number of arrests late into the night.”

According to official police figures, 50 people had been arrested as of yesterday afternoon. Of these suspects, seven were female and one person was classed as a minor.

By midnight, authorities confirmed that a further 13 people had been taken into custody. All suspects were charged with obstructing police in performing their duties.

Police Spokesperson Sub-Inspector Hassan Haneef today confirmed local news reports that police would be arresting any member of the public heard calling officers “traitors” or alleging they had played part in a “coup”.

Haneef did not clarify if any arrests had been made on these grounds at the time of press.

Police said earlier this week that they will provide full support and security services to the demonstrations held “peacefully and within the contours of laws”.

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