Neil Merrett – Page 51 – Minivan News

Opposition misleading international media to sabotage economy, claims government

The government has continued to criticise opposition politicians, including representatives of President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, for “misleading” international media over the scale of protests in Male’ last week.

The protests were today labelled by the Washington Post as one of the 29 largest crackdowns of the last decade, eclipsing the riots following the death of Evan Naseem.

After seven days of demonstrations across Male’ last week, purportedly in protest against the government’s decision to implement a managed float of the rufiyaa – police on Wednesday (May 4) announced that any protests not held in the open artificial beach or tsunami monument areas would be immediately dispersed.

The opposition Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) has insisted the protests are ‘youth-led’ despite the apparent leadership of its MPs, and tried to replicate the ‘Arab Spring’ protests across the Middle East by branding President Nasheed as a despot to the international media and dubbing a busy Male’ intersection ‘Youth Square’.

In the Washington Post piece, photos were published of 29 protests that have occurred around the world and were deemed to be among the biggest demonstrations and crackdowns of the decade – including the recent unrest in the Maldives.

“Syria, Libya and other Middle Eastern regimes aren’t the only ones to use force against protesters. Here are some of the major crackdowns since 2000,” wrote the paper in a picture story on its website.

The Maldives is listed at 28th, placed between the riots in Uganda last month over rising fuel costs – where protesters were shot at by police – and Egypt’s anti-government uprisings that ended the thirty year reign of President Hosni Mubarak in February.

“In recent weeks, hundreds of anti-government protesters took to the streets of Maldives to demonstrate against soaring prices and demand the resignation of President Mohamed Nasheed,” the article wrote, alongside a photograph of a local protester who appeared to have been knocked down by Maldivian police carrying batons.

Responding to the Washington Post article, Press Secretary for the President Mohamed Zuhair said he was suspicious that international journalists from established publications like the Washington Post were speaking to representatives of the former president or opposition politicians, who in some cases had provided false information in an attempt to “tarnish” the government’s image.

“We have received alleged reports that former President Gayoom’s spokesperson – Mohamed Hussain ‘Mundhu’ Shareef – has been contacted by international media and has perhaps given the impression he remains as the spokesperson for the current President Mohamed Nasheed,” said Zuhair.

“There appears to be misconception that there has been a higher turnout at these protests than were actually there,” he said.

Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) MP ‘Reeko’ Moosa Manik, who is currently on an official visit to China, has also accused Gayoom’s spokesperson of giving interviews to Chinese journalists who were under the impression he was the spokesperson for the current administration.

‘’Most of the foreign papers have his [Shareef’s] number as the spokesperson of the President, so when they contact him he says he is [the President’s] spokesperson,’’ Moosa claimed on the MDP’s website. “He has told foreign papers that there is severe civil unrest in Male’ and that it is not safe to send tourists here.’’

Moosa alleged that Shareef was “intentionally” seeking to destroy the tourism industry of the Maldives and “to mislead the international community.”

Minivan News contacted Shareef to refute the allegations, but he refused to comment on the matter.

Zuhair said that the week of protests had represented the involvement of only a small part of a voting population that in Male’ alone numbered tens of thousands of people.

“This is the case of the picture telling the story,” Zuhair said. “After the first few nights of protests the numbers [of participants] began to dwindle to just a few hundred people on the final night [Friday, May 6],” he claimed.

Zuhair claimed that he believed that there had been a deliberate attempt to try and tarnish the image of President Nasheed internationally through the supply of information to foreign media that he said had led to travel warnings being issued to Asian travel markets like Hong Kong.

The government reported today that the President’s Special Envoy, Ibrahim Hussain Zaki, had been sent to China in the wake of several travel warnings issued in the region that are feared to have begun harming one of the fastest growing tourist arrivals markets presently coming to the Maldives.

Speaking last week following criticisms by Foreign Minister Ahmed Naseem of the manner in which some politicians had been courting international media attention, leader DRP Ahmed Thasmeen Ali hit out at suggestions of media manipulation.

Thasmeen said at the time that he was “utterly surprised” that a member of the current government, which has vocally supported freedom of speech and democratic reforms, would find protests “unreasonable” on the basis of protecting tourism.

“We have seen them try to stifle protest through using excessive police force,” he claimed. “We are peaceful protestors and are not impacting tourism in Male’.”

Thasmeen added that he believed the government had not made attempts to initiate a dialogue on the issue of living costs, although the opposition said they were willing to negotiate on the matter even though they did not agree to the current devaluation strategy being pursued.

“Obviously there are a lot of protesters here, but the government does not want to listen,” he said. “Lots of people are suffering.”

Thasmeen said that accusations that the country’s political opposition had been “misleading” international media was an “oversimplification” of the issues behind the protests.

“The international media are professionals, many of who will already know the facts of the protests, I don’t see it will be possible to manipulate them,” he said.

Thasmeen claimed that reports of excessive force against protesters had been accurate, adding that MDP supporters led by their parliamentary leadership had been “violently charging” protest crowds while police were attempting to disperse peaceful protesters.

The Maldives Journalists Association (MJA) has meanwhile issued a statement to international media and groups such as the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and Reporters Without Borders (RSF), alleging “infuriating and agitating conflict by the police”, urging authorities to “bring to a halt the atrocities targeted towards journalists.”

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Maldives targets global TV audience as it finalises beach games plans

Organisers of the first Maldives Beach Games tournament scheduled for later this year claim they are confident of leaving a long lasting sporting legacy in the country for local people and tourists, despite the challenges of self-funding and a lack of event hosting experience.

Hassan Ismail, Chairman of Marketing and PR for the Maldives Beach Games 2011, told Minivan News that the event – running from September 18 to September 25 – was expected to bring unprecedented opportunities, as well as a number of challenges, to the Maldives’ shores.

According to event organizers, the games will aim to bring hundreds of athletes from around the world to the country in order to compete in 10 sporting disciplines involving the sun, as well as potentially receiving coverage from a number of sports broadcasters.

In looking to host the event, Ismail claimed that some 500 to 700 local people were expected to be trained to look after guests and participants while overseeing the games, which is being designed to run as a commercially profitable and ongoing annual event.

“As well as providing entertainment for visitors, we are also trying to ensure sports development for local people to use and train on,” he said. “At present, we don’t have people trained to deal with such as event, so the organising committee is learning during the process. This is a big challenge, though we are bringing in foreign experts to help provide expertise and training.”

Costing

In light of recent protests and criticism of governmental financial policy in the Maldives, Ismail claimed that the event would ideally be funded 100 percent through sponsorship, although he conceded that state funding may be needed to “fill gaps” that would eventually then be paid back by organisers.

The event’s marketing head added that the games would be a relatively unique opportunity for participants to come to the Maldives from all over the world without having to pay to enter, serving as an event that was completely self-financed.

“We have not yet disclosed the cost for hosting the event, but will be doing so soon. We are consulting with international sponsors and we even hope we may be able to make a small profit for the event,” he said. “We believe there are plenty of commercial opportunities from this, particularly with broadcasters such as Eurosport and ESPN who have agreed to screen the games.”

Pointing to the Maldives’ present lack of experience with hosting international events, Ismail said that all the country’s broadcasters had agreed to produce programming for national and international coverage of the games, though investments in camera and television equipment would be needed.

“We are looking at sponsorship for local channels to buy equipment that they can produce related programming with,” he said. “We are looking for quotations for equipment, though there is also an important South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) conference taking place in Addu Atoll this year, so perhaps we can find a joint solution [for broadcasting these events].”

A wealth of sports including triathlon, kabaddi, beach cricket, football and ‘volleyball’ along with body building, swimming, rowing, surfing and wind surfing will be contested during the games at different locations around the country that are yet to be identified.

While this year’s inaugural event is not expected to be officially recognised with official status by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), Ismail said that discussions were ongoing with the global sporting body about receiving an official stamp within the next few years.

“A number of official bodies are assisting in the games with the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) involved in beach soccer and the regional body building association helping with that event,” he said. “By year three, we ideally need the IOC to officially stamp us as an event. But all the sports at the games will be assisted by official bodies, which are important developments to help us gain an official status.”

Ismail claimed that beyond dealing with these potential hosting challenges, the games had two main objectives in the Maldives.

Beyond attempting to host a major international multi-sports event for the first time in the Maldives, he said that it would also be vital to help develop pitches and grounds where both local people and international visitors could train and enjoy sports.

“The Maldives is more than just a beach and cocktail venue, we hope to create a strong sport tourism scene here as well,” he said. “Our hope is that eventually every resort will be hosting mini-events for visitors to take part in.”

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Police probe staff sexual assault allegations at Shangri-La resort

Police are investigating allegations that a female member of staff at the Shangri-La Vilingilli resort in Addu Atoll was sexually assaulted by a colleague.

The Maldives Police Service confirmed to Minivan News that it was investigating a complaint from a young woman working at the resort that she had been sexually assaulted by a co-worker. Police added that no one has been held or arrested at present over the allegations.

Police Sub-Inspector Ahmed Shiyam said that according to the investigation, the alleged victim, who worked at a bar on the resort, had reported feeling unwell after drinking an alcoholic drink and was helped to her room by another member of staff.

According to police, upon being returned to her room, the alleged victim claimed that she had not been unaware of any assault upon herself.

However, Shiyam said that other sources had later come forward to claim that some sexual activity was believed to have occurred in the room involving the alleged victim.

“She doesn’t have any recollection and wasn’t aware of any sexual assault occurring, although someone in the room said they had witnessed something happening,” he added.

After raising the issue with resort management, the girl was taken to hospital, though police claimed that no injuries or indication of a possible sexual assault had been found so far.

“We have not arrested any one so far [in relation to the investigations] and the victim does not appear to have been injured,” he said. “We sent one officer to the resort and he couldn’t find any evidence related to the complaint made to police.”

Earlier this morning, a spokesperson for Hithadhoo Police Station also confirmed that an alleged sexual assault at the Shangri-La resort was under investigation.

Management at Shangri-La’s Villingili Resort and Spa confirmed the investigation was taking place. Resort General Manager Jens Moesker told Minivan News that a male member of staff had been questioned by police over his suspected involvement in the alleged assault, believed to have taken place on Saturday night (May 7).

Moesker claimed that the ongoing police investigation was being viewed as an isolated incident. He added that the company would wait for authorities to conclude their work before considering any operational changes for staff at the site.

“We need to wait for the outcome of the investigation before making any decisions on possible changes at the site,” he said. “If the [police] investigation highlights the need for any reviews of our systems we would certainly do this.”

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Mahlouf plots presidential “referendum” as stats show living cost rise

Official statistics supplied by the Department of National Planning have indicated a 4.42 percent increase in the rate of inflation last month compared to March 2011, as one opposition MP plans a referendum on President Mohamed Nasheed’s leadership over the dissatisfaction with living costs.

The new figures indicate increased prices for food and drink products last month, particularly for fish, on the basis of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) when compared to 2011 and April 2010.

The release of the statistics comes as MP Ahmed Mahlouf from the Z-DRP party, a spin-off of the main opposition Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP), claimed to be ready to forward a resolution to parliament this week calling for a referendum to test public support for the current president and his handling of the economy.

Figures such as the CPI are therefore an important issue following seven consecutive nights of protests in the streets of Male’, with demonstrators announcing they were now willing to negotiate with the government.

Protest organisers have claimed the demonstrations were a non-partisan “youth movement” in response to rising living costs on the back of government attempts to effectively devalue the rufyiya.

Aside from criticising the political opposition for politicising the demonstrations in the media for their own political gain, the country’s financial authorities last week claimed that to be providing some economic support to try and stabilise prices it said that while increasing, varied significantly between different stores.

According to the latest planning department stats, the cost of food and beverages when including fish was up by 20.35 percent during April 2011 compared to the same period the previous year. These costs were also up by 10.65 percent on the same terms compared to March 2011.

When excluding the price of fish, the average cost of food and drinks last month was up by 13.07 percent compared to over the same period of time last year. On the same terms, the statistics found that food and beverage costs last month rose by 4.44 percent compared to March 2011.

When comparing the overall change in CPI between April 2011 and April 2010, increases in costs were recorded across the board with the exception of recreation and culture, which was down by 3.11 percent.

As of late month, healthcare was up by 6.25 percent, transportation was up by 8.96 percent, education was up by 16.89 percent and fish was up by 58.32 percent when compared over the same period the previous year.

Between March to April this year, the statistics showed that the costs of healthcare were up by 1.21 percent, transport was up by 6.56 percent and fish prices were up 42.07 percent. The full statistics can be found here.

Halt to protests

In light of protests last week over rising costs, DRP MP Ahmed Mahlouf told Minivan News today that the party would be postponing any further demonstrations relating until next Friday after requests from police.

In the meantime, he claimed that young people who had initially organised the protests were negotiation with members of the government, a meeting that had been organised through the police to try and find some possible compromises on costs.

“The meetings were scheduled to take place with the government at 12:00pm today though I have not been informed yet of their progress. I imagine that they [the protest organisers] would be demanding some changes to government policy,” he said. “The police have asked us to stop the protests and as some of their members supported the march, we have wanted to keep good relations with them.”

Mahlouf added that he believed there had been a reluctance among organisers to stop the protests as the government were failing to address concerns about costs and “not believing” the financial realities Maldivians were facing.

However, amidst intense media scrutiny, the opposition MP said he believed the protesters had succeeded in their aims to attempt to change government policy on the economy.

However, ahead of the next scheduled protest on Friday, Mahlouf claimed he plans to forward a parliamentary motion for a referendum on whether President Nasheed had sufficient support from the public to enact his planned reforms.

Foreign Minister Ahmed Naseem last week criticised opposition parties like the DRP for “misleading” international media about the nature of the protests and failing to sit down and present their own alternatives for financial reforms in the country.

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Turkish navy talks piracy challenges during inaugural Maldives visit

The Turkish navy concluded its first ever official visit to the Maldives last week during a patrol of the Indian Ocean it is conducting as part of a NATO-led anti-piracy initiative to try and deter potential attacks in and around the region’s territorial waters.

A spokesperson said that the three day visit by the naval ship TCG Giresun to the Maldives, which concluded on May 3, was not linked to any specific threat or incident of piracy within the country’s territorial waters.

He said it was instead linked to a wider NATO programme targeting concerns about pirate attacks spreading beyond the horn of Africa into territories around the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean.

“We are trying to promote understanding to fight piracy, so one way to do this is to visit ports like Male’,” said the spokesperson. “The attacks of the pirates have widened into the Indian Ocean with one of the last incidents occurring approximately 250 nautical miles away from the shores of Male’, so NATO has widened the number of ports we are to visit to include Indian Ocean destinations like Mumbai and Male’.

Experts suggest that a growing number of Somali pirates are moving deeper into the Indian Ocean as they come under increased pressure from international task-forces designed to try and limit piracy around the horn of Africa. As a result of this movement, maritime security has become a notable security concern for the Maldives, even around the country’s secluded resort properties.

In March this year, a family were suspected of being kidnapped by Somali pirates after having set sail from the Maldives towards the Arabian sea, although the kidnapping was confirmed by security officials to have occurred outside of Maldivian waters.

Major Abdul Raheem of the Maldives National Defense Force (MNDF) said at the time that security officials in the country had not received any information concerning the kidnappings or any other kind of “terrorist activities” occurring recently within the territorial waters of the Maldives.

Raheem added that Maldivian authorities would not therefore be reviewing maritime security measures or safety advice for sailing sailing in and out of the country on top of measures and international cooperation already in place during the alleged kidnappings.

The Turkish navy says that during 2011 alone, it plans to send between three to four frigates to patrol the Indian Ocean and Arabian Sea as part of its commitments to try and protect Turkish and international merchant vessels from potential pirate attacks.

“We plan to conduct operations to protect merchant vessels,” said a spokesperson for the TCG Giresun. “During this deployment we will visit Aksaz Aqaba, Jidde, Al Hudeyde, Doha, Dubai, Mascat, Karachi and Mumbai.”

In previous patrols conducted by the TCG Giresun in the Gulf of Aden, the Turkish navy spokesperson claimed that the ship’s crew had apprehended 14 suspected pirates and a stash of weapons on a Yemeni dhow vessel along with seven local fishermen that were also being held on the ship.

In instances where suspected pirates were caught, the navy spokesperson said that the Turkish authorities were not able to try or incarcerate any of the individuals themselves.

“They are not our captives as we are operating under United Nations resolutions and currently there is not an established court to judge [alleged] pirates that have been captured. So we attempt to disrupt and deter them [from piracy], we take their weapons and drop the equipment into the sea,” he said.

“We take all their equipments and then return [the suspects] to the Somali coast. Some countries have special [legislative] agreements, such as Kenya and the Seychelles. These agreements relate only between [these nations] and not internationally, so they capture the alleged pirates and then take them to Kenya or to the Seychelles to be judged.”

The spokesperson claimed that a present a number of suspected pirates from Somalia were currently being returned to their native coast.

To try and counteract the challenges of detaining suspected pirates, the UN security council last month voted in favour of forming an international court – supported by a host of potential new laws – that would focus specifically on working to combat the spread of piracy.

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Foreign Ministry criticises opposition media “manipulation”

The Maldives Foreign Ministry has accused some opposition parties of acting irresponsibly by “misleading” international media over details of protests held this week in Male’, which it alleges have begun to impact interest in the country’s lucrative tourism industry.

Facing members of the local media today, Foreign Minister Ahmed Naseem rejected Minivan News’ use of the term “unrest” to describe demonstrations that have taken place over five nights this week in Male’ concerning the cost of living in the country, claiming that the government was “open to negotiation” on the issue and welcomed alternative political solutions from opposition.

Naseem’s claims were rejected by Ahmed Thasmeen Ali, head of the country’s largest political opposition party, who claimed to have not been consulted by the government on resolving the issues of living costs, as well as adding that it would be difficult to control the output of international news media.

The protesters, who are expected to take part in a sixth consecutive demonstration tonight, have demanded the government lower the cost of living and called on President Mohamed Nasheed to resign, claiming people were increasingly unable to afford basic commodities following the government’s effective devaluation of the rufiya.

Parliamentarians including some members of the Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) and the Zaeem-DRP (Z-DRP), an off-shoot of the main opposition party and its coalition partner the People’s Alliance (PA) party activists have been involved in the protests, yet have insisted that the street portests were instigated as part of a non-partisan “youth movement”.

As the protests have been covered by international news media, leading to concerns about the potential impact on the country’s tourism industry, Naseem said he did not believe terms such as “unrest” were appropriate to describe events he believed had been orchestrated by opposition politicians in the DRP and Z-DRP to offset their own internal struggles.

“With regards to what is happening in Male’ I think these are orchestrated events. I have a strong feeling the DRP is trying to find out who their leader is and that is the reason for the actions seen in Male’. We do these things [appointing leaders] through elections and by-elections. They [the DRP] do it through street walks and demonstrations and whatever else you can call it. You said unrest? I don’t think there is unrest,” he said.

The foreign minister added that he believed that there was a small number of people organising the protests looking to create deep unrest in the country and that they should be held responsible for their actions.

“People who organise such events [the protests] should take full responsibility for the images and disruption and damage to property caused,” he said. “I think everyone whose property has been damaged should file cases against the people who are organising these events.”

Reacting to the comments, DRP leader Ahmed Thasmeen Ali said he was “utterly surprised” that a member of the current government, which has vocally supported freedom of speech and democratic reforms, would find protests “unreasonable” on the basis of protecting tourism.

“We have seen them try to stifle protest through using excessive police force,” he claimed. “We are peaceful protestors and are not impacting tourism in Male’.”

“Obviously there are a lot of protesters here, but the government does not want to listen,” he said. “Lots of people are suffering.”

Thasmeen said that accusations that the country’s political opposition had been “misleading” international media was an “oversimplification” of the issues behind the protests.

“The international media are professionals, many of who will already know the facts of the protests, I don’t see it will be possible to manipulate them,” he said.

In light of the factional divides occurring within the DRP between Thasmeen and the Z-DRP faction linked to former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, the current party head said that apparent collaboration between the two groups was not related to the internal situation of the party.

“It is the duty of responsible politicians to try and find solutions to this problem [living costs],” he said. “There are a number of opposition I believe who have become involved with these protests.”

Thasmeen added that it was inevitable that although the protests has been initiated by a “youth movement” they had become politicised with involvement of figures such as former DRP Deputy Leader Umar Naseer and MP Ahmed Mahlouf.

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Commodity prices vary “significantly” between retailers, reports Economic Development Ministry

The Department of National Planning and the State Trading Organisation (STO) have conducted a price comparison exercise across Male’ in a bid to show that while some retailers are charging inflated prices for basic commodities, most prices have risen little.

Speaking yesterday evening from the President’s Office, Economic Development Minister Mahmood Razee said the statistics, which were compiled by the Department of National Planning in collaboration with his ministry, indicated that although certain prices had been found to have risen in the last few months, there was no pattern to link these costs solely to a controversial managed float of the local currency.

The opposition has maintained that demonstrations raging across Male’ this week were against the government’s decision to implement a managed float of the rufiya and are led by youth unhappy with rising commodity prices. These claims were made despite the active involvement of dismissed opposition Deputy Leader Umar Naseer, and MPs Ilham Ahmed, Ahmed Mahlouf, Ali Waheed, and Ahmed Nihan.

However, Razee added that discussions were ongoing with the STO – a main buyer of goods to the country – to try and maintain import supplies of 27 key food items in attempts to try and keep prices stable as well as enacting a cabinet pledge to cut import duty on diesel fuel by 50 percent.

Speaking ahead of a fourth night of protests by young people, parliamentarians and political activists on the streets of Male’, Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) MP Ahmed Mahlouf said that although he had not been made aware of the content of the statistics at the time, he believed that protestors would not believe or be satisfied by the government’s claims and reaction.

“At this time, I think it would be difficult to accept that this is a genuine or positive message. At this point I don’t think [this] one press conference will help people,” he said.

Mahlouf added that he believed comments made by President Nasheed earlier this week, where he allegedly denied knowledge of the street protests concerning increased living costs that have garnered news coverage all over the world, had been extremely offensive to people gathering on the streets .

“It would be better to have a statement from President Nasheed apologising for the stupid comments he has made,” he added. “These comments have only made protestors more angry.”

Government findings, which were compiled on April 2 by officers visiting ten different stores across Male’, were said to highlight prices found to vary, sometimes significantly, between the retailers.

Speaking at press conference last night alongside Finance Minister Ahmed Inaz and representatives from the Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA), Razee said that when talking about changes in prices, it was important to try and determine how extensive they were.

“Yes, there are changes in prices, however, we should also see that in terms of essential commodities, what are the different brands that are there [in stores] and the price variations between them?” he said.

Following price comparisons conducted on May 2 at 10 different stores in Male’, Razee took the example of the prices of five powdered milk products, where prices between the stores were said to vary between Rf150 and Rf345. In addition he also pointed to the price differences in diapers, which he claimed varied between Rf118 and Rf150 for the same product.

The figures presently supplied by the government to Minivan News did not appear to verify these price fluctuations.

Razee added that he was unable to speculate on how long some of these potential differences in prices may have been present in stores across the capital or when and for what purpose they may have been implemented.

“What we are saying it, if you look at the price fluctuations that were there in 2006, 2007 and 2008, and if you look at the price fluctuations of the last few years, you will see there is no clear cut format or reason to believe this is directly related to the float of the currency,” he said. “Yes, it would have a bearing, but what needs to [be understood] is that there may changes to the prices. However, these are varied.”

Razee claimed that the government was not using this explanation as an excuse to avoid acting on public price concerns and said that measures were being taken to try and offer stable prices for certain “essential products”.

“We are in consultation with the STO and we have identified together 27 elementary items, out of which six are currently imported directly. [STO] is going to import the other items [on this list] as well to try and maintain price stability and ensure the availability is there,” he said. “In addition to this, the cabinet today advised the president to remove 50 percent of the duty on diesel. So this will give some relief to power generation, electricity bills and transportation costs.”

Finance Minister Inaz added that the government had decided to release some of its statistics to try and highlight current prices being paid by goods in relation to the last few years.

“It is very easy in a small economy to play with and manipulate the confidence of the economy,” he said. “Confidence is the most important factor to build an economy and it can be easily twisted. We agree the prices have gone up, but we want to maintain these price levels at a competitive level compared to other international rises.”

Cost statistics

The government, in figures compiled by Department of National Planning, outlined a number of changes in the average prices paid for goods between March 2010 and March 2011.

These price changes include:

• One kilogram of loose rice – up 1.07 percent from last year

• One kilogram of ordinary flour – down 1.89 percent from last year

• One kilogram of frozen chicken – up by 8.73 percent from last year

• One medium sized coconut – up 69.71 percent over last year

• One hundred grams of garlic – up 22.34 percent last year

• One kilogram of potatoes – up 8.74 percent last year

• One kilogram of imported onions – down 12.64 percent from last year

• One kilogram of yellow coloured dhal – up 17.63 percent from last year

• One 500 millilitre bottle of Kinley mineral water – down 30.30 percent from last year

• One 185 gram can of Felivaru brand fish chunks in oil – up 22.24 percent from last year

• One unit of state-supplied electricity – unchanged from last year

• Thirteen kilogram of cooking gas – up 12.12 percent from last year

• One litre of petrol – up 32.65 percent over last year

• One packet of Fitti brand small baby diapers – up 4.35 percent from last year

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Business head cautious over president’s cost-cutting plans

President Mohamed Nasheed has outlined tax reforms he claims will help to eventually alleviate concerns over the higher costs of goods and services at the heart of protests that have raged in Male’ over the last two days.

Beyond announcing that May 1 would now serve as a public holiday every year in celebration of International Labour Day, the president aso attempted to outline government plans for economic reform.

Speaking yesterday during a function to mark Labour Day, Nasheed unveiled plans to try and reduce costs for “everyday items” by between 10 to 15 percent by removing import duties, which the government estimates account for Rf2.3bn of budgeted state income during 2011.

The president said he believed these costs can be covered by tax reforms; both on the earnings of members of the public with a monthly wage of over Rf30,000 a month and increasing taxable income from the tourism industry.

“The reforms to our financial system involve creating a tax mechanism, like in other civilised societies, instead of depending solely on import duties,” he stated, while also pledging to introduce a minimum wage rate during the year.

Some prominent investment groups in the country, while supporting initiatives to reduce costs that have led to ongoing public protests in the country, say that the addition of a minimum wage and a Goods and Services Tax (GST) on all businesses operating in the country, needed to be gradually implemented to ensure the nation’s fledging economy can cope with any potential changes.

As part of his reforms, the president claimed that the government planned by next month to propose amendments that would remove import duties on basic items as of 2012.

According to Nasheed, these proposals would be backed by other amendments expected to be forwarded to parliament. This includes an increase in the Tourism GST, introduced on January 1 this year, to five percent from the 3.5 percent introductory rate, as well as implementing an entirely new GST of three percent on general trade outside of travel industry services.

“I have no doubt that these reforms will shift the government from its current sources of income to more sustainable income sources,” he claimed.

To try and counter the more pressing concerns of high costs that have allegedly led thousands of, mostly young, people taking to the streets in protest, the president claimed that it was purseuing a number of financial [instruments] to try and cut down on the impacts of higher living costs such as in establishing a minimum wage during 2011.

“This government came to power with hopes, to give a decent and an honourable life for Maldivians,” he said. The president said that the initiative was part of plans to promote employees rights as well as those of employers within the country through the establishment of “stronger labour relations frameworks.”

“Most political leaders are disinclined to restructure monetary systems, change wage limits, and reform tax regimes because they are pressured to consider the needs of few powerful people,” Nasheed claimed. “But I assure you that the leader you [Maldivian people] have elected is not like that.”

In addressing Nasheed’s plans, the Treasurer of The Maldives National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MNCCI), Ahmed Adheeb Abdul Gafoor, said that he believed further development such as investment was needed to strengthen the Maldivian economy before taking on major reforms – at least in the short-term.

“Introducing these tax reforms and schemes like the minimum wage will be difficult over the next two years. The Maldives is at a disadvantage when it comes to economies of scale as it is,” he said. “What I would like to see is a transitional period rather than introducing these measures straight away.”

Adheeb claimed that with the planned introduction of the additional GST on general trade and corporate tax, the prospect of setting a minimum wage would need to be studied in terms of possible impact, particularly in the private sector.

“We [the private sector] could end up losing some of our competitive edge over other countries. What we need is some breathing space and for these reforms to be bought in gradually,” he said. “We have to build confidence in the economy especially with small and medium businesses. If the minimum wage is going to be introduced it should be set on an economic basis and not for short-term political benefit.”

Adheeb therefore urged the government to consult employers – especially in smaller and medium enterprises – before putting any initiatives like a minimum wage in place, adding that private enterprises had been a key component in the more successful developments of the Maldivian economy.

“The tourism industry here has been developed mainly by the private and not the public sector,” he said.

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Expatriate “troubles” exacerbated by lack of border policy, says immigration head

The Maldives’ Controller of Immigration has claimed the country must address previous failures to adopt an immigration policy if it wants to protect and control an expatriate workforce that he says is estimated to at least equal the number of domestic labourers.

Abdulla Shahid, appointed back in February as the nation’s immigration chief, said that a lack of any kind of immigration controls or policy in the Maldives had left valuable foreign workers facing “inhumane” treatment and a host of other problems once inside the country.

Speaking to Minivan News, Shahid said that despite the country’s long history of bringing skilled and unskilled foreign workers to its shores reaching as far back as the 1950’s, both the current and previous government had failed to put any measures in place to outline numbers of foreign workers or their employment conditions.

Both Shahid and the High Commissioner of Bangladesh to the Maldives, Rear Admiral Abu Saeed Mohamed Abdul Awal, have claimed that authorities from both countries were now trying to devise a new legal framework that they claim is needed to protect the rights of foreign workers.

Earlier this week, Qatar-based newspaper the Gulf Times reported that the Maldives was seeking to bring in a number of public procurement experts from Bangladesh to assist with the country’s climate change adaption plans, as well as an additional 20,000 people for employment in the construction, textiles and tourism industries.

However, Shahid said that he was not aware of any such figure being set by himself or Maldivian authorities, adding that the country needed to first begin putting in place measures to ensure the numbers of immigrant workers were controlled, while also protecting their rights.

According to the controller of immigration, the number of foreign workers coming to the Maldives on an annual basis was estimated to have doubled in recent years, with the number of legal immigrants reaching 92,000 as of this month – up from 87,000 on March 1, 2011. Migrant labourers constitute almost a third of the Maldives’ total population.

While expat growth between 2009 and 2010 was deemed to be “not significant”, Shahid said he believed that a host of new infrastructure projects in areas such as airport construction and new home creation proposed by the government was likely to lead to growing interest in the country by foreign labourers.

“My argument is – should we send workers back? We have a population of 300,000 people here in the Maldives and its local workforce, I think, is equal to the number of foreigners employed here,” he said. “I’m not saying they are a nuisance; in my view, expats are a necessity here in the Maldives and without them many businesses and shops would struggle and be put out of business.”

Shahid claimed that after having spent two months in his current position as the national immigration controller, he believed it was now vital to look at other countries that have employed migration policies and see how the Maldives might follow.

“I’ve seen in Australia and the US that there are policies on immigrants and expats,” he said. “For instance, they will set out a system quota, say for 300 professionals in a specific field, but we do not do that. Both the previous government and ourselves have not done a comprehensive policy review.”

However, the immigration controller claimed that it was vital for authorities to first decide on an actual policy for foreign workers before they can begin reviewing the effectiveness of controls.

“What is this policy? What I am saying is that we need to produce a plan of action for immigration,” he said. “Do we decide to bring in an immigration policy or not? Without immigration a lot of businesses and shops would have to close down.”

Amidst these possible economic concerns, Shahid added that it would be vital to formulate and then have the Majlis agree on an immigration policy, such as setting an annual cap on the number of expats allowed to enter the country.

He claimed that greater control would, in theory, ensure stricter regulation in terms of forcing employers to provide better quality living standards to their expat workers, conditions that he said were known to be “inhumane” in certain cases.

The immigration controller said that an estimated 42,000 were working illegally in the country as of last year; a figure he claimed that if correct, would have probably risen again since.

According to Shahid, previous plans to try and slow down the influx of foreign workers had not worked.

However, along with trying to outline a national immigration plan, Shahid denied that ongoing uncertainty over the future of a deal with Malaysia-based mobile security firm Nexbis – involving installing an advanced border control system to collect and store biometric data on expatriate workers – had added to immigration concerns. In January this year, the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) ordered a halt on a government contract between the Department of Immigration and Malaysian mobile security firm Nexbis, claiming that there were instances where corruption may have occurred.

Facing political pressure ahead of February’s local council elections, President Mohamed Nasheed decided to uphold the ACC’s request that the roll-out of the technology be postponed. Nexbis responded that it would be taking legal action against parties in the Maldives, claiming that speculation over allegations of potential corruption was “politically motivated” in nature.

Shahid was not convinced the delays were playing into the hands of unscrupulous employers though.

“This issue [with the Nexbis deal] is not really a problem, we have only one issue with an immigrant who got through border control illegally,” Shahid said. “All other workers have come with the proper documents and the required work sponsor. However, it is after they arrive here that things go wrong and the problems start.”

Based himself in the capital of Male’, High Commissioner of Bangladesh, Rear Admiral Abu Saeed Mohamed Abdul Awal, said Bangladeshi authorities had not approved any figures on the number of local workers to be sent to the Maldives.

By contrast, Awal claimed that Bangladeshi government was working “closely” with their Maldivian counterparts over the issue of manpower and ensuring better regulatory control for workers coming to the country. Awal also stressed that it would be vital to ensure potential loopholes in employment laws were not being exploited by employers and recruitment agencies.

“A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) is under consideration with the Maldives government to provide better controls on immigration,” he said. “Employment must take place under proper conditions and a legal framework, this has not been happening as much in the past.”

According to Awal, although the prospect of the MOU was being seen as an encouraging development between the two nations, setting out new regulations on foreign worker numbers was an “evolving process” that needed to be implemented properly as well as come under long-term reviews and scrutiny.

“We are working closely with various departments on this,” he said. “Any regulations that may follow would need to be overseen properly or the same problems will continue. Potential loopholes have to be addressed and should not be exploited.”

Last year, Minivan News reported that the exploitation of foreign workers was believed to rival fishing as the second most profitable sector of the Maldivian economy after tourism. The claims were based on conservative estimates of the number of Bangladeshi workers showing up at their commission in Male’ after being abandoned at the airport by unscrupulous employment agents.

Former Bangladeshi High Commissioner to the Maldives, Professor Selina Mohsin, who finished her assignment in July 2010, told Minivan News that every day 40 Bangladeshi nationals were turning up at reception, “having come to the Maldives and found they have nothing to do. So naturally they come here to the High Commission.”

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