Author: Daniel Bosley

Proposed pension amendment could add Rf138 million to budget

A proposed amendment to the Pensions Act which would bring down the eligible age for the basic pension may add Rf138million (US$8.9million) to the government’s annual budget.

The bill has been criticised by the Capital Market Development Authority (CMDA), the pension industry’s regulator, as potentially damaging the country.

The proposed amendment was introduced to the Majlis last year by Dhivehi Rayithunge Party (DRP) MP for Felidhoo constituency Yoosuf Naseem. It received its first reading in August 2011.

The reduction of the age of eligibility from 65 to 60 years old has the potential to increase the number of those eligible to receive the pension by 33 percent.

According to the most recent figures from the Maldives Pension Administration Office, 15224 people received the basic pension of Rf2300 in April. This represents an outlay of Rf35 million (US$2.2million) per month.

The Pensions Act stipulates that the costs for the provision and the administration of the Basic Pension Scheme be incorporated into the government’s budget.

The current budget deficit is estimated to be Rf9.1 billion (US$590million), or 27 percent of GDP.

“Soon there will be a vote to accept or not. If accepted it will go to committee for extra fine tuning. This process will take about two or three months,” Yoosuf explained.

Mariyam Visam, Director General of the CMDA, hoped that the Majlis’s members would examine the figures carefully before approving the amendment.

“Policy makers need to look into the figures before they make a decision,” said Visam.

Population figures from the United Nations’ Department of Social and Economic Affairs give the 2010 figures for Maldivians aged between 60-64 at 5000. The potential addition of this group to the pension scheme could add Rf11.5 million per month to the government’s obligations under the 2009 Pensions Act – potentially adding Rf138 million (US$8.9 million) per year.

These figures are similar to those anticipated by Yoosuf. Mariyam Visam, Director General of the CMDA, also agreed that up to 5000 people may be added to the scheme as a result of such an amendment, although she added that it would depend on those registered as well as on other eligibility criteria.

Yoosuf claimed that the current economic environment was more conducive to the passage of the bill than in the past.

“The passage of the bill is appropriate now because the economy is picking up,” he said, “although not as fast as we want.”

Conversely, Visam raised concerns over the detrimental economic impact of lowering the age for pension eligibility.

“The economic activity of people between 60 and 65 years may be affected if they are offered an incentive not to work.”

According to the Department of National Planning’s ‘Household Income and Expenditure Survey 2009-2010′, 38493 people (28 percent) were unemployed in 2010.

The report highlighted that between 2006 and 2010 unemployment had increased by 20,000 – an increase of over 100 percent.

The UN’s figures estimate that the number of Maldivians over the age of 60 could be 25000 by 2015. This could potentially leave the government with Rf690 million per year in pension payments compared with the current outlay of Rf420 million per year, an increase of 64 percent.

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If I had no role in coup, I don’t have to resign, Waheed tells BBC

President Dr Mohamed Waheed Hassan has told the BBC he would not necessarily resign even if the Commission of National Inquiry (CNI) were to find evidence of a coup, following  investigations of the ousting of the former President Mohamed Nasheed.

“If [the commission] find out that I had a role in bringing about a coup, then I would definitely resign,” he said.

“But if I have no role – if somebody else has done it – it doesn’t mean I have to resign, according to the law of the Maldives.”

Waheed’s interview with the BBC came whilst the President was in London as an invitee to the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee celebrations.

He would not be drawn into debate ovr what course of action he would take should the commission determine the circumstances surrounding the transfer of power in February to have been illegal.

The BBC reported Waheed as saying only that he would seek “legal guidance” in this eventuality.

Waheed suggested that the consequences of his resignation and a premature election would be far worse for the country.

“We have to consider the political situation. We have other political parties – big political parties – who are not ready for an election. I have to exercise my judgement – as leader of the country – to make sure we don’t get into a worse political turmoil.”

He also told the UK’s Financial Times that calling early elections would be “reckless”, as it would require him to resign hand power to the Speaker of Parliament, Dr Abdulla Shahid, “who got elected with just 2,000 votes”.

Dr Waheed’s own Gaumee Ithihaad Party (GIP) received 518 votes in the 2009 Parliamentary Election, and had 2625 members as of February 27.

President’s Office Spokesman Abbas Adil Riza explained that the suggestion that some big political parties were not ready for elections referred to the “unanimous” desire of all political parties to introduce new legislation that would govern the activities of political parties.

Abbas claimed that a ‘Political Parties Act’ was discussed at the all party talks held at Bandos Island resort last weekend. Such legislation would make it easier to penalise parties who fail to accept the outcomes of elections or who violate the law, he said.

The Maldivian Democratic Party’s (MDP) international spokesman Hamid Abdul Ghafoor agreed that both elections and reforms were needed to move out of the current political crisis, but questioned the President’s ability to oversee the required changes.

“He is unable to get these reforms as he is not in control of the coalition, which is a ticking time bomb waiting to explode,” said Ghafoor.

Ghafoor saw such comments as an attempt by the President to posit himself as an interim president.

“I suspect he is playing the victim card, saying ‘I am holding on for the sake of this country’, pleading with the international community to help him, “ Ghafoor continued.

Former Maldives High Commissioner to the UK Dr Farahanaz Faizal told the BBC that Waheed’s February move from the Vice President’s to the President’s office would become an illegitimate one if any kind of coup is proven.

“If the elected president has been deposed unconstitutionally, then there is no rightful succession of the vice-president,” said Faizal.

Not ready for elections?

When speaking with the BBC in April, State Minister for Foreign Affairs Dunya Maumoon also argued that reforms were needed before free and fair elections could be held.

One of the institutions criticised by Dunya, the Elections Commission (EC), dismissed suggestions that it was too weak to supervise polls almost immediately after they were made, claiming it was ready to hold any election when required.

This claim appeared to be substantiated later in the month as several elections, including two parliamentary by-elections, were held over the same weekend in mid-April without incident.

Abbas told Minivan News today that reform of the EC was an issue raised again at the Bandos round of all party talks.

Identifying necessary reforms for independent posts and institutions, discussing laws to be enacted, and possible amendments to the constitutions were third, fourth and fifth, respectively, on the talks’ six point agenda.

Setting a date for fresh presidential elections was last on the list.

The first item on the party talks’ agenda was solving the problem of public disturbances, the governing coalition’s solutions to which led the MDP to argue that the talks were not being taken seriously.

Among the 30 points suggested by the coalition to alleviate “political turbulence” in the country, it was suggested that all partys stop practicing black magic and using sexual and erotic tools.

It was also suggested that parties not walk in groups of more than 10, not hold rallies in the street, and stop the use of megaphones in protests.

The MDP yesterday held its usual Friday protest as many hundreds marched round the streets of the capital. Loudspeakers accompanied the rally, challenging the legitimacy of the current government and calling for early elections.

The party’s rally yesterday was also used as an opportunity to celebrate world environment day.

Earlier this week, US Senator Robert Casey, who Chairs the Senate’s Near Eastern and South and Central Asian Affairs Subcommittee, called for elections as early as possible “to ensure that the seeds of the democratic process planted in 2008 are able to flourish.”

In April United States pledged US$500,000 (Rf7.7million) in technical assistance to assist Maldivian institutions in holding free and fair presidential elections, available from July 2012.

However President Waheed has said repeatedly that he is constitutionally restrained from bringing elections forward any further than July 2013.

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Revenues grow, but not enough for budget deficit to shrink

The Maldives’ Inland Revenue Authority (MIRA) has released its figures for May, showing an increase of 9.5 percent in government revenue compared with the corresponding month in 2011.

The total revenue collected in the month of May is reported to have been Rf389.6 million (US$25.3million).

The report states that 35.6 percent of income came from the T-GST, a levy charged on all goods and services sold in the tourism sector, which itself has risen more than 119 percent compared with the corresponding period in 2011.

The yearly revenue collected by MIRA is now reported to be 74.2 percent more than at the same point in 2011.

The MIRA statistics do not, however, account for the loss of government revenue from import duties after amendments were made to the import-export act in November 2011. Import duties did not appear on MIRA’s books, even before these changes.

The changes to import duties were anticipated to reduce government import fees by Rf491.7million (US$31.9million) in 2012, according to the Maldives Monetary Authorities (MMA) projected figures.

This shortfall was expected to be more than matched by the introduction of the newly introduced Goods and Service Tax (GST) and an increase in T-GST to 6 percent starting from January 2012.

The MIRA figures show that the loss of the Rf491.7million in import duties has indeed been more than compensated for by an increased revenue of Rf418 million (US$27million) from new GST, and Rf429.1million (US$27.8million) from the raised T-GST.

While the MIRA figures show its own revenue growing exponentially, the wider budgetary picture shows the government is failing drastically to offset its budgetary commitments.

Governor of the MMA Dr Fazeel Najeeb was recently reported as saying that the Maldives was “now in a dangerous economic situation never before seen in recent history.”

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has expressed its concern over the country’s dire balance of payments situation which has been estimated by the Majlis’s Financial Committee to be 27 percent of GDP this year.

The 2012 budget was initially estimated to be around 9.7 percent of GDP, but in May was revealed to be much larger after significantly reduced expenditure and increased expenditure was taken into account.

The deficit is now predicted to be Rf9.1 billion (US$590 million)this year. An extrapolation of MIRA’s figures for the whole year suggest that the increased revenue from the changes to the point at which goods are taxed could amount to just over Rf850 million in additional government revenue.

The IMF has suggested the government further raise T-GST from 6 to 12 percent as part of its efforts to plug the financial gap.

The Financial Committee have said added that the government’s deficit may get worse before it gets better with additional spending commitments yet to be made.

Head of the Financial Committee Ahmed Nazim has listed these expenses as including food subsidies worth Rf270 million (US$17.5 million), electricity subsidies worth Rf250 million (US$16.2 million), capital expenditure by government institutions Rf735 million (US$47.6 million) and an allocation of Rf200 million (US$12.9) to the Aasandha Health Insurance scheme’s budget.

President’s Office Spokesman Abbas Adil Riza has claimed that the previous administration left Rf3-4 billion in expenses hidden from the public accounts.

The policies of the current government have also resulted in losses, including  around Rf123.2 million a quarter (US$8 million) a quarter in airport concession fees due to a Civil Court ruling blocking the levying of an airport development charge as well as up to Rf2 billion (US$135 million) in land lease payments due to policy reinterpretation.

MIRA’s figures are starting to give a better indication of the revenue being lost through this change in the land lease arrangements as this month’s figures show a 25.9 percent reduction in this area when compared with the same period last year, amounting to Rf59million (US$3.8million).

Current government spending for the year has meanwhile increased by almost 24 percent, to a total of US$1.13 billion. Spending unaccounted for in the 2012 budget following the controversial change of government of February 7 has included the promotion of a third of the police force, lump sum payments to military personnel, Rf100 million (US$6.5 million) in fishing subsidies, reimbursement of Rf443 million (US$28.8 million) in civil servant salaries following cuts by the previous administration, the creation of two new ministries, and the hiring of international PR firms to counter negative publicity.

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“Thuggery will not push us back”, Nasheed tells thousands of supporters in ruins of Usfasgandu

Twenty four hours after police began dismantling the Maldivian Democratic Party’s (MDP) protest area – for the second time since February 7 – the party’s supporters returned to the area to hear former President Mohamed Nasheed speak.

Nasheed arrived at Usfasgandu straight from the airport, after attending a an executive meeting of the International Democratic Union (IDU) in New Zealand. Thousands of MDP supporters gathered in the remains of the camp at around 11:30pm to hear the ousted President speak.

Nasheed told his throngs of supporters that the government was now witnessing the determination of the people to regain their constitutional freedoms.

“What we are witnessing today is that the Maldivian people are not ready to give up the freedoms gained through the hard work of a lot of people,” he said.

“Maldivian people will not let go of freedom of expression, freedom of assembly and the freedom to hold peaceful political activities,” he added.

Police Sub Inspector Hassan Haneef said that the police had vacated the area at around 2:00pm yesterday. The warrant issued by the Criminal Court at 3:00pm on Monday gave the police 48 hours to complete their search of the site.

Haneef said that there had been no reported incidents following Nasheed’s speech, although he did day that two officers patrolling the area at around 3:30pm had their walkie-talkies taken from them and smashed.

The search warrant granted to police did not grant any permission to dismantle the camp, an issue that was brought to the attention of the Civil Court by the MDP. At 10:15pm, the Civil Court ordered that the dismantling be halted until it made a decision on the issue.

A police statement acknowledged receipt of the Civil Court order but added that most of the dismantling work had been carried out. An MDP statement alleged that by this time “the out-of-control police had already finished its work, leaving only a few chairs and a flagpole.”
The MDP have alleged that the police and Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) continued their work after the court order to cease was given.

A police statement acknowledged receipt of the Civil Court order but added that most of the dismantling work had been carried out. An MDP statement alleged that by this time “the out-of-control police had already finished its work, leaving only a few chairs and a flagpole.”

The MDP have alleged that the police and Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) continued their work after the court order to cease was given.

Speaking atop a pile of debris left after the police and MNDF had partially excavated the site as part of their search, Nasheed told the crowd: “The reality that the police and military officers who perpetrated the coup should know is that whether you smash us or stomp on us, we will not back down.”

“Trained in thuggery, in iron armor, carrying pepper spray and batons on the streets – this will not stop our resistance. Thuggery will not push us back.”

“Maldivian people had long been voicing against the torture they suffered, that’s why the new constitution [ratified in 2008] was the people’s constitution, and the fundamental rights that the citizens of this country found in that constitution are not something they are willing to let go of,” he exorted.

Nasheed then went on to express his confidence that 2012 would see fresh presidential elections and that the Committee of National Inquiry (CNI)’s investigations would result “in the arrest of the perpetrators of the coup”.

MDP MP Mariya Didi, party Interim Chairman Moosa ‘Reeko’ Manik, and former Spokesman for Nasheed’s Presidential Commission, Abdulla Haseen, also addressed the crowd.

Nasheed arrived at Ibrahim Nasir International Airport (INIA ) at around 10:00pm, walking to the Usfasgandu area from the harbour after briefly speaking to reporters at the airport.

Haveeru reported Nasheed as telling the press that all parties present in the Wellington talks were supportive of early elections in the Maldives.

Asked about the Usfasgandu issue, Nasheed reportedly responded: “desperate times call for desperate measures.”

“Humans tend to resort to heavy handed tactics when times are desperate. It is a flaw which is quite disappointing,” he lamented.

“I hope that civilised measures would be restored where issues would be resolved by peaceful means,” he said.

Nasheed spoke to the IDU’s executive committee about the current political situation in the Maldives. He also met with the IDU member group the Asian Pacific Democratic Union (APDU).

The Commonwealth’s Special envoy to the Maldives, Sir Donald McKinnon, was also present at the IDU meeting.

During the visit, Nasheed also discussed the Maldives’ political situation with officials from New Zealand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

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Civil Court intervenes to stop dismantling of Usfasgandu

Security forces last night began the dismantling the ousted Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP)’s camp at Usfasgandu in Male’, shortly before being ordered to halt by the Civil Court after the MDP challenged the legality of the operation.

The police search of the area, which began at around 9:00am, was performed after police obtained a search warrant from the Criminal Court on the grounds that the MDP had been using the area as a hub for criminal activity and black magic.

The warrant alleged that people in the Usfasgandu area verbally abused police officers and damaged a police vehicle on April 20, obstructed a Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) exercise of May 9, and that, on May 25 “MDP protesters threw a cursed rooster at MNDF officers.”

The order did not, however, provide legal basis for the dismantling of the demonstration area, a point made by the MDP to the Civil Court.

“We submitted a case against the Maldives Police Service saying that they cannot ask the MDP to stop any political activities and they cannot act to evacuate the place,” said MDP lawyer Hisaan Hussain.

Deputy Mayor of Male’ City Council (MCC) Ahmed Falah said he had seen the court order and that it did not give the police scope to dismantle the area. Minivan News also saw the warrant and can confirm Falah’s assertions.

“This proves that they don’t care about what the court says. The police didn’t go to the Civil Courts because they knew they would lose,” said Falah.

Both the MCC and the Criminal Court had referred the government’s previous complaints to the Civil Court.

“The new [Civil] court order says neither the police, nor any other parties, can dismantle the area,” he continued.

Police announced on Tuesday that they would begin to dismantle the camp at 10:00pm in order to preserve public order.

Hisaan reported that, at 10:15pm, the Civil Court instructed the Attorney General (AG) to tell the government forces to halt their activities.

Hisaan said that this instruction was given in order to allow the judge time to consider the MDP’s complaint. Subsequently, the judge issued an injunction at 10:40pm, halting the polices activities until the Civil Court reacheda verdict on the case, she explained.

In a statement released late last night,  police confirmed the receipt of the Civil Court order and announced they  had ceased its activities. The statement did say that that the operation was close to being completed by the time the warrant to desist was received.

Minivan News witnessed Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) personnel working in the area at around 11:30pm, although they seemed only to be moving benches around the site. Nothing that could be described as dismantling was witnessed at this time.

Hisaan said that although the case was submitted against the police, it stipulated that all parties cease dismantling activities in the area.

Sun Online has reported that some items were returned to the camp after the Civil Court order was received. All the seating had been removed from the raised area and the stage had been fully dismantled.

Hisaan claimed that the dismantling of the camp continued after the court had ordered it to cease “in violation of the court order”, and that police were in contempt of court. She said that the MDP intended to make the courts aware of this.

The police statement said that it would take the 48 hours granted to it by the Criminal Court in order to complete its investigations. The area remained sealed off to the public at

The original Criminal Court order was shown to MDP MP Mariya Didi before the search commenced yesterday morning.

Members of Male’ City Council (MCC) were left furious, having themselves received no court order, nor any notification of the impending search.

When approached for comment during the police’s search, MCC Mayor Ali Manik said that he was “too angry to talk”.

Hisaan said that Mariya had asked to see the court order, but that legally speaking this did not amount to the warrant being officially served to the MDP.

The Usfasgandu area was one of 32 plots of public land handed over to the MCC as part of the decentralisation act in 2010. Recent months have seen a running feud between the council and the national government, which has made repeated attempts to reclaim a number of these plots.’

The leasing of the area to the MDP for its political activities has been used by the government as justification for its attempts to reclaim the area, alleging violation of the decentralisation statutes.

After having had a request for a warrant to clear the site turned down by the Criminal Court, the Home Minister Dr Mohamed Jameel Ahmed told local media on May 27 that, in the period since the court had rejected the police’s request for a warrant on May 20, he had received several complaints regarding criminal activity in the area.

A Criminal Court order was obtained by the next afternoon – May 28 – and the search conducted early on May 29.

The details of the warrant, however, included incidents which allegedly occurred before the original request for a court order was made. Jameel told Haveeru on May 27 that no “No complaints of any criminal activities had been raised with us at the time [the police were asked to take the area – May 20].”

At a meeting of the MDP’s legal team today, the decision was made to send a letter to the police, asking them to respect the court order and to return any property removed from the site by 10:00pm tonight.

Hisaan added that the MDP, despite its requests, had still not received the items confiscated from the Rahlugandu camp on March 19.

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Didi and Fahmy allegedly poised to reprise MDP leadership roles in JP

Local newspaper Haveeru has reported that the former President and Vice-President of the Maldivian Democratic Party, Dr Ibrahim Didi and Alham Fahmy are on the verge of joining the Jumhoree Party (JP).

The paper quotes “reliable sources” – as it did when successfully predicting the defection of Shifag ‘Histo’ Mufeed from the MDP to the Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) at the start of the month.

Prominent figures within the JP reportedly told the paper that the pair had both held discussions with the party leader Ibrahim Gasim although Dr Didi has denied that any such meeting had taken place.

Haveeru continued, stating that the pair have insisted on retaining Presidential and Vice-Presidential positions within the new party. This would require an amendment to JP regulations, for which a meeting of the national council has supposedly been arranged.

Both Dr Didi and Alhan were not responding at time of press.

Didi and Alhan were removed from their posts in the MDP after being accused of making statements in contradiction of the party’s official line concerning the the events that led to the resignation of President Mohamed Nasheed on February 7.

A motion of no confidence was supported by 95 percent of the MDP’s National Congress on April 30. Both men disputed the legitimacy of the process which led to their ousting.

Dr Didi filed a complaint with the Elections Commission (EC), which was later dismissed, whilst Alhan staged a poorly attended ‘free MDP’ rally, protesting against what he alleged was the negative influence of Nasheed on the party.

Didi told Haveeru earlier this week that he intended to challenge this decision. In the same interview he said it was “very likely” that he would soon leave the MDP for another party, criticising what he described as the undemocratic inner workings of the party.

Should Alhan, who is currently the MP for Feydhoo constituency,  join the JP, its representation in the Majlis would rise to four. This would bring the overall number of MPs in the pro-government coalition up to 46 out of the total 77 , reducing the MDP’s numbers to 31.

At the time of Shifag’s move to the PPM, the party’s group leader Abdulla Yameen told Minivan News: “The MDP will have to make extra efforts, they have an uphill battle to fight. They will have to arrest the movement of MPs to other parties.”

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Nasheed nominee to CNI accepted, reportedly withdrawn

Confusion surrounds the appointment of former President Mohamed Nasheed’s latest nominee to the Committee of National Inquiry (CNI). The government today confirmed its acceptance of Mariyam Manaal Shihab to the CNI before local media reported that the nominee had been withdrawn.

President’s Office spokesperson Abbas Adil Riza told Minivan News at around 3:30pm this afternoon that Manaal’s nomination had been deemed acceptable to the government.

“She fits the criteria set down by the government and the Commonwealth. The government welcomes the changes and the MDP’s desire to move forward,” said Abbas.

Abbas said that Manaal had been working as a legal consultant for the Ministry of Economic Development and was “well respected in her field”. She is the daughter of Mohamed Shihab, former Speaker of the Majlis and Minister of Finance under the previous government.

When asked about the nomination at around 4:30, MDP International Spokesman Hamid Abdul Ghafoor said that he had heard about the matter but believed the nomination had happened in a “very direct” manner.

Shortly after this time, however, local media reported an unnamed government official as saying that the nominee had been withdrawn. The same article quoted MDP Spokesman Imthiyaz ‘Inthi’ Fahmy as denying that any such nominee had been posited.

When Minivan News called Abbas at 6:00pm, he said he was aware of these new reports but had yet to receive confirmation of the withdrawal.

“Maybe the MDP is flip-flopping,” he said.

Minivan News witnessed video footage of Inthi being led away by police at the National Council meeting just outside the Usfasgandu area. This area was closed off before being raided by police this morning. Inthi was not answering his phone at time of press.

When Ghafoor was re-contacted, he also said he was aware of the fresh media reports. Ghafoor could not confirm what had happened but pointed out that it had never been the MDP’s policy to discuss the names of potential nominees.

“It has always been the government that releases the names of the nominees. We have never given the names of those proposed,” said Ghafoor.

False dawn

The appointment would have completed the composition of the reformed CNI, representing the culmination of months of internal and external pressure to enhance the credibility of the body assembled by President Dr Mohamed Waheed Hassan to investigate the events of February 7 and 8.

The new-look CNI is scheduled to begin its work on June 1 and is expected to have completed its work by July 31.

The government has threatened to appoint a lawyer of its choosing to the commission should a suitable Nasheed nominee not have emerged by the start of proceedings.

The major impetus for these alterations came from the Commonwealth’s Ministerial Action Group (CMAG) which had set a mid-May deadline for the CNI’s satisfactory reform.

As the deadline approached, the Commonwealth’s Special Envoy to the Maldives Sir Donald McKinnon arrived in Male’, eventually reaching a deal with the government to allow Nasheed to nominate a “suitable” nominee.

These criteria, later clarified by the Commonwealth as people who have not taken a stand on the events in question and who are not expected to testify before the commission, was interpreted more onerously by the government.

The government added the conditions that the nominee must not have served in a political post in the past two years, and must be of “good behaviour and integrity”.

These conditions were labelled “subjective” by the MDP as its first 11 nominees were considered “generally unacceptable” by the government.

This had led to pessimism from within the MDP, with Ghafoor anticipating last week that the Commonwealth would again have to mediate before the issue was resolved.

A successful nomination would bring the CNI closer to being “impartial, credible and broadly acceptable”.

These were the words prematurely attributed to Don McKinnon by the Maldivian government in a statement to the international media, released on the PR Newswire service last week.

This statement brought a swift response from the Commonwealth, which labelled the statement “misleading”.

“Indeed, [Sir Donald McKinnon’s] efforts while in Maldives, and since his departure have been focused on achieving that objective, so that a truly impartial, credible and broadly acceptable Commission of National Inquiry can be put in place within the agreed time-frame,” the Commonwealth stated.

The government’s efforts to implement a commitment made to McKinnon, to strengthen the powers of the CNI and broaden its composition with an international co-chair and nominee of former President Nasheed, “are still ongoing”, the Commonwealth stated.

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Home Minister claims reports of criminal activity in Usfasgandu, after criminal court drops request for court order

The Home Minister Dr Mohamed Jameel Ahmed yesterday claimed to have received reports that criminal activity was being conducted at the opposition Maldivian Democratic Party MDP)’s protest camp in Usfasgandu area.

Jameel’s comments come only days after the Criminal Court refused to grant a court order for the forced dispersal of the protest camp, which was granted to the MDP by the Male’ City Council – which has an MDP majority. The court had argued that the case fell under the jurisdiction of the Civil Court.

Jameel was not responding at time of press. However he was reported in Haveeru saying that: “No complaints of any criminal activities had been raised with us at the time [of the original court order request]. But now many complaints have been received including criminal offences.”

The Criminal Court last week decided that the case concerning the disputed jurisdiction of the Usfasgandu area fell outside of its remit. The police had requested the court order following an instruction from the Home Ministry to take over the area on behalf of the government.

The MDP have based their activities in the area since their original ‘Justice Square’ protest camp was dismantled by security forces on March 19. During the subsequent court case the MDP’s legal team decried the fact that the government forces had acted without a court order.

After the camp had been dismantled, the government defended its actions, arguing that criminal activities had been planned and executed in the area.

There had been incidents in the days immediately preceding the raid in which police had been attacked by individuals who were then reported to have retreated into the crowded camp area.

Furthermore, the March 19 raid came only hours after an MDP led march, originating at the ‘Justice Square’ camp, in protest of the re-opening of the People’s Majlis turned violent resulting multiple injuries to both civilians, police and military personnel. Villa Television (VTV)) also sustained significant damage.

During the raid itself, after a brief media blackout, the security forces paraded cases of alcohol to waiting journalists as apparent evidence of illegal activity in the camp.

The ensuing court case was inconclusive, being dismissed on a technicality shortly before the closing statements were expected. The technical issue was resolved and the case re-filed, before again being held up on a similar issue.

Hissan Hussian, a member of the MDP’s legal team, said that the MDP will not stop police investigating potential cases of criminality. She said that the police could obtain a search and arrest warrant if it had reasonable grounds to believe that illegal activity was taking place.

“We are saying that if criminality is going on, they are free to investigate. We will not give cover to anyone engaging in illegal activities,” said Hissan.

She also revealed that a petition had been circulating in protest of the bullying tactics being used against the MCC. The petition seeks to remind the Local Government Association (LGA) and other government ministries that jurisdictional battles must be pursued through the appropriate legal avenues. The petition so far has arounf 150 signatures.

This follows the submission to the LGA last week of a petition criticising the MCC’s policies on religious speeches as well as its general provision of services.

Over 60 days had passed between the MDP’s relocation to Usfasgandu and the Home Ministry’s order to the police, during which time no complaints of criminal activity had been received according to the Home Minister’s comments.

Spokesman for the MDP Hamid Abdul Ghafoor saw these accusations as a furtherance of the government’s attack on basic freedoms: “This is very telling. They have tried but they are losing a battle against freedom of expression.”

“The coup administration appears to be acting on the previous constitution while we are acting on the current constitution. They have memory loss,” said Ghafoor

Ghafoor, who is also MP for Henveiru South, the constituency in which Usfasgandu lies, said that he had not been made aware of any criminal activities in the area.

“If there were serious problems I would be the first to know. I walk around the area every day,” he added.

Police Sub-Inspector Hassan Haneef was unable to give specific details of any of these complaints, explaining that such complaints do not always go through the police but can go directly to the Home Ministry.

Usfasgandu has become the most prominent in a series of inter-governmental disputes between the central government and Male’ City Council (MCC). The government has argued that the MCC’s leasing of the Usfasgandu area for political purposes violates the terms of the 2010 decentralisation act.

The MCC has repeatedly refuted this and refused to cede control the area to the Housing Ministry. MCC Mayor ‘Maisan’ Ali Manik has said previously that the MCC would stand aside if a court order was obtained, whilst stating his belief that that these jurisdictional issues fall within the mandate of the Civil Court.

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Finance Minister to convene pay board despite professed reluctance to cut wages

Minister of Finance and Treasury Abdullah Jihad said today he would avoid cutting the salaries of civil servants in order to tackle the budget deficit which has spiralled to 27 percent of GDP.

He told Minivan News that he would seek to make savings in other areas of expenditure first.

“Civil servants are the lowest down of all government employees. We will try to cut all non-wage expenditure by 15 percent. Salaries will be considered after this,” said Jihad.

The minister’s comments today came after local newspaper Haveeru reported him as having said on Friday that the government was to review the pay of all state employees.

Jihad was reported as having said that the government may have to consider cuts of between 10 and 15 percent in order to save up to Rf2.5billion (US$162 million) from the state budget.

The Finance Ministry’s most recent weekly figures revealed the state’s expenditure to have been 140 percent of its income this year, resulting in a Rf1.5billion (US$97 million) overspend which has been predicted to reach over Rf9 billion (US$584 million) by the year’s end.

However, speaking with Minivan News today, Jihad said that the view expressed in the article was “just an opinion” although he did confirm that a pay board, mentioned in Haveeru, was being formed in order to “harmonise” the pay of all government employees.

The minister said that the review of public salaries will be conducted by a pay review board which will include independent commissions in order to reach an agreement on the necessary reductions.

Sun Online has quoted a senior official at the Finance Ministry as saying that the cabinet had already decided to make cuts of 15 percent to all executive branch agencies although Jihad stressed to Minivan News that no decisions had been made regarding any wage cuts.

“The Cabinet has not yet decided on any cuts,” said Jihad, “we cannot just impose these cuts, we have to agree.”

Parliament’s Financial Committee revealed earlier this month that expected revenue for 2012 had plunged 23 percent , whilst spending was set to increase by almost 24 percent.

Between 2004 and 2009, the country’s fiscal deficit increased exponentially on the back of a 400 percent increase in the government’s wage bill. The year’s 2007 to 2009 included the most significant largesse as the World Bank found wage expenditure to have increased from Rf2billion to almost Rf5billion even as revenues began to recede.

According to statistics from the Civil Service Commission (CSC), the number of permanent civil servants has more than halved between 2006 and June 2011. There has been some contention in the past, however, that the transfer of many civil servants to state owned companies under the previous government masked the true figures.

The Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA) published figures for May estimated that the government will spend Rf2.6billion (US$168million) on salaries and wages in 2012.

This represents only 12 percent of the  GDP figures for 2012, predicted in November last year. The figures announced by the finance ministry earlier this month, however, suggest that salaries and wages will now make up 31 percent of the government’s income.

The Governor of the MMA Dr Fazeel Najeeb was reported as saying that the country was experiencing the worst financial crisis in recent history during a finance forum held last week on Bandos Island resort.

“Expenditure in the country has exceeded income, and as a result the budget deficit is increasing. From November 2010 inflation has also been going up,” he said.

The country last year spent 63.1 percent of its GDP on state expenses, Dr Najeeb claimed, adding that only four countries had worse percentages, including Cuba and Zimbabwe.

The Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA) figures for May estimated that the government will spend Rf2.6billion on salaries and wages in 2012.

The previous administration of President Mohamed Nasheed saw the government’s balance of payments fall from 21 percent of GDP in 2009 to an estimated 10.2 percent last year, according to the statistics provided by the Ministry of Finance and Treasury.

Jihad contended in  Haveeru that it was the expenses of the former administration that had left the current government in financial dire straits.

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