Category: Politics

Comment: United we stand, divided we fall

After reading the article on Minivan News titled “DRP celebrates ‘beginning of the end’ for government” I can only say I hope MDP takes this as a wake up call.

We saw Maldivians uniting to bring down Gayyoom’s regime. Now it looks like Maldivians are uniting to bring down President Nasheed’s regime.

Surely, something must be seriously wrong in how the country is governed. Otherwise why would everyone unite to bring down a government for whose success in the presidential elections they so passionately worked?

Gayyoom could not digest why he failed when he failed. I am not sure whether he has still recovered from that blow. And from what I am hearing from people like Reeko Moosa, it looks like MDP is also in an euphoric state from which a defeat is seen as what is next to impossible, if not as impossible.

The Nasheed-Waheed team is a dream team. Maldivians saw this.

Anyone who has any doubts about this will need to think of what happened in the parliamentary elections when the dream team decided to split and go on their own. The result was Nasheed could not win majority and Waheed could not win a single seat. But together, they formed a team that won the blessings of almost all the other presidential contestants and as a result the majority votes in the presidential elections.

If Nasheed made someone else his VP, will the others back him? Or will he even get enough votes to go for a second round? Only God knows. But because the Nasheed-Waheed team won the presidential elections, and is serving us today as our leaders, it is only fair to say they are a dream team.

From the news of Waheed’s dissatisfaction we have been hearing lately, it is obvious that the dream team no longer works as a team.

According to an article on Haveeru, Reeko Moosa says, the allegation that the president is running the country as per his and Mariya’s advice is true. Form what he says, I understand that it should only be expected. Moosa says the president MUST govern the country according to the guidelines formed by the MDP parliamentary group and MDP members.

This to me is where things are going terribly wrong.

This is not an MDP government. We have a coalition; by which I mean we have a government that SHOULD run not as an MDP government but as a coalition.

I want this government not just to work, but to do it successfully. Otherwise this could be seen as such a mockery of Maldivian politics.

In my mind, President Nasheed rightly deserves the post. After all, he fought for it; he struggled and suffered as a result. But his vision for the people kept him strong. His pledges impressed me and I don’t think they are impossible things to do. And it would be so wrong to say he is not trying to fulfill his pledges. Then why are we hearing so much of criticism of his government?

I have a feeling he is receiving all the bad rap because he is influenced too much by his own party and also by some of the international agencies who supported his cause. This obviously is not helping. Otherwise there should not be even a moment where the government appears to be on the brink of a collapse.

MDP’s euphoric state will perhaps make them blind to the government being at the “beginning of the end.” They will probably not agree with Umar Naseer in this. But, from all we are hearing, the government’s end seems to be not at the horizon, but much closer than that. This to me is a pathetic state of affairs.

The only solution for the government is, to seek vide ranging advice and opinions that will open all lines of thinking. The ‘drawback’ of this is that such consultations will not allow everything to be done the way MDP wants. Even so, I am sure no one in the coalition will act as a hindrance in implementing the MDP manifesto. And this is not at all a drawback considering that this will keep the government standing.

United we stand, divided we fall.

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DRP celebrates “beginning of the end” for government

The main opposition Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) hosted a rally last night to celebrate its victory in parliament on the decentralisation bill, which was passed yesterday without the model of provinces proposed by the government.

The rally at artificial beach was attended by Maamigili MP Gasim Ibrahim, leader of the Republican Party, as well as MPs of the People’s Alliance.

DRP Leader Ahmed Thasmeen Ali said the passage of the bill with 42 votes in favour was “a very good and important signal” as 39 votes would be needed to override a possible presidential veto.

If the bill becomes law, said Thasmeen, elected island and atoll councils will have decision-making powers on resource allocation and development projects.

“The way the bill has been drafted gives no room for provinces,” he said, claiming there was no public support for the model.

The bill on decentralised administration proposed by the government early last year had been delayed due to an intractable dispute over creating seven provincial councils instead of 20 atoll councils.

Thasmeen denied claims by MPs of the ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) that the wholesale changes made to the bill by the opposition would hinder the development of the atolls.

The leader of the opposition called on DRP supporters to “roll their sleeves” to defeat the government’s candidates for the upcoming local councils.

The Republican Benefactor

Speaking at the rally, Gasim addressed speculation that he was disbanding the Republican Party, declaring that he was there to express gratitude for DRP MPs and celebrate “a victory for the Maldivian people”.

Gasim said he believed the support for creating seven provinces was driven by “self-interest” as it was intended to “shape things to the advantage of one party”.

He added the bill passed yesterday would pave the way for “unimaginable levels of development” for the atolls.

Grinding henna

Ali Waheed, DRP vice-president, said it takes “a lot of effort and grinding to bring out colour from henna leaves”.

Although the party “made a blunder” on the motion of no-confidence against Foreign Minister Dr Shaheed last year, said Ali Waheed, “yesterday we brought out colour from henna leaves”.

The MP for Thohdhoo went through the list of MPs who voted in favour of the bill, praising each individually.

“Today what we played was a national team match,” he said. “It wasn’t a New Radiant match today. It wasn’t a Victory match today. We have seen that if you play for the national team in the political arena, Gasim Ibrahim will be there. We have seen that today that when the national team plays, Kulhudhufushi South MP Mohamed Nasheed will be there as well.”

Ali Waheed invited the former legal reform minister to come back to the DRP and relayed a message of congratulations from Nasheed.

The real “mid-term election” would be the upcoming local council elections, said Ali Waheed, calling on all opposition parties to band together to defeat the MDP.

He concluded the speech by praising DRP’s honorary leader: “I would say our Zaeem, former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, is with us here tonight. The reason is that there’s a full moon tonight and Maumoon is this party’s full moon.”

“Beginning of the end”

Thulusdhoo MP Rozaina Adam said the behaviour of the party that claimed to have ushered in democracy “whenever there’s a democratic vote” had become “a big joke”.

MDP MPs walked out of yesterday’s sitting in protest when none of the party’s amendments won bipartisan support.

Rozaina joined other DRP MPs to thank Hoarafushi MP Ahmed Rasheed “in the name of democracy” for staying behind “even if he just kept pressing red”.

If the DRP win the local council elections, said Rozaina, the government would be left with “a hollow shell”.

Umar Naseer, DRP vice-president, said the victory in parliament would mark “the beginning of the end for the government” as it was now “on life support”.

He added the law would also spell the end for “the ganja smoking councillors” and state ministers appointed by the president who have been “terrorising” the islands.

“Today we saw the MDP walk out of Majlis,” he said. “Before too late now, we will see the president walk out of the government.”

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Ministers who applauded criticism of government should resign immediately: Reeko Moosa

Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) parliamentary group leader Moosa ‘ReeKo’ Manik called on any ministers who applauded when the government was criticised to resign immediately.

His condemnation was likely meant for those ministers present at the GIP rally led by Vice President DR Mohamed Waheed Hassan on Saturday.

Moosa said that cabinet ministers had a responsibility to assist President Mohamed Nasheed’s work.

“If they think their responsibility is to applaud whenever someone criticises the government they should resign immediately,” Moosa said.

He said that government’s senior posts “should be filled only with people who support the MDP manifesto and accept the President’s thinking.”

”When someone starts criticising the government, even if it is the Vice President, it is a must for MDP to criticise him,” Moosa claimed.

”Everyday early morning we drape the national flag on our body and are ready to make essential laws for the country,” he claimed.

Press secretary for the President, Mohamed Zuhair said that President Nasheed would respect the words of MDP and Reeko Moosa.

”If the national congress of MDP says that it is their decision [to dismiss any cabinet minister], President Nasheed would have to do it,” Zuhair said.

He said that the Vice President’s acts were politically motivated.

”His aim is to promote himself and his party outside of the government,” Zuhair said. ”The new regulations says that any political party which does not have a minimum 3000 members will be disbanded.”

Zuhair said the Vice President’s party contains nearly 3000 members and that the VP was intending to increase the number of members by gaining support.

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Decentralisation bill passed as MDP MPs walk out

The long delayed bill on decentralised administration was passed today after MPs of the ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) walked out in protest, withdrawing the party’s amendments to the draft legislation.

The party proposed over a hundred amendments to reverse the changes made to the bill by the opposition Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) dominated committee and restore the model of provinces.

But, more than an hour into the process of voting on amendments, “Reeko” Moosa Manik, MDP parliamentary group leader, announced that the party was withdrawing its proposals as it was clear that “the spirit of the Majlis was against the MDP, even if it’s an amendment we proposed to correct a grammatical error”.

He added MDP MPs did not wish to “heat up” the sitting by remaining in the chamber.

The mass exit was greeted with ironic applause and jeers from the DRP MPs.

The seminal piece of legislation was passed shortly before 6pm with 42 votes in favour and one against after the sitting was extended until the amended bill could be put for a vote.

Ahmed Rasheed, MDP MP for Hoarafushi, stayed behind to cast the sole dissenting vote.

A total of 68 amendments, the majority of which were proposed by the DRP, was passed today.

Presidential veto?

Speaking to Minivan News, Mohamed Aslam, MP for Hithadhoo North, expressed concern that the amendments proposed by the DRP would divest the councils of its powers and rule out any collaboration between atolls or constituencies.

Some of the amendments proposed by DRP would defeat the purpose of devolving decision-making powers and hinder development, he said.

In its current form, the bill would “isolate single atolls” as they were not legally empowered to participate in joint development projects with other atolls.

“For example, if Fuvahmulah wants to build an airport, it can’t lease an island from Huvadhoo Atoll to foreign investors,” he said.

Although the parliamentary group has not officially decided to recommend that the president veto the bill, Aslam said he personally did not believe the bill should be ratified.

“I don’t think any MDP MP would want this bill to be ratified,” he said.

A majority of 39 votes would be needed to override a presidential veto.

Mohamed Zuhair, president’s office press secretary, said the president would make a decision after “serious consideration” of the social and economic consequences of the law as well as potential legal problems.

“The president will seek the opinion of the attorney general and the legal office before making a decision,” he said.

“Still dictatorial”

Chairperson of the MDP, Mariya Ahmed Didi, accused the DRP of ”total disregard to the democratic state we want to develop.”

“We parliamentarians did warn the public that DRP is still a dictatorial group,” she said. ”Their behaviour in the Majlis proves the point. We are approaching the deadline in the constitution to have local government in place and to have local elections. I do not think we have time to veto and go through the whole process.”

It would be difficult to ensure development of the atolls with the bill as it is, she added.

”I hope people remember that MDP had nothing to do with the bill when in campaign the DRP starts screaming of the islands not being the developed state as envisaged by MDP. The basis of our election promise was that the Maldives would be developed as seven provinces. They have by this bill destroyed the fundamental basis on which those promises were made.”

Provinces

At yesterday’s sitting, a resolution proposed by DRP Vice-President and MP for Thohdhoo, Ali Waheed, was adopted to postpone the upcoming recess until the two bills necessary for local government elections could be passed.

The resolution was sent to the general affairs committee with the support of 62 MPs out of the 69 in attendance.

Under the new rules of procedure, parliament is due to break for recess on 30 April.

Concluding today’s sitting, Speaker Abdullah Shahid said a decision over the resolution would be made at tomorrow’s sitting.

The intractable dispute between the two main parties over the issue of provincial councils led to recurrent deadlock and protests outside parliament last year, culminating in the president withdrawing the bill at the eleventh hour.

In his weekly radio address on Friday, President Mohamed Nasheed said he would accept parliament’s decision on the bill and would not “react harshly” to the outcome.

The amendments made to the government’s bill by the committee would “create 20 small governments”.

While the MDP manifesto proposed dividing the country into seven provinces for decentralised administration, the DRP insists the existing division into 21 administrative areas should be maintained.

During the protracted debate, opposition MPs argued the creation of seven province councils instead of 21 atoll councils would result in disproportionate representation, marginalising the smaller, less populous atolls.

“I am completely prepared to do this in the way the People’s Majlis decides,” said the president. “All will be well when members of parliament think about this, find a way to facilitate development of this country and proceed accordingly. The government’s thinking of decentralisation with seven provinces is for economic purposes. There is no political purpose behind it…In my mind, there is no political rivalry in this matter. We are going ahead with this to pave the way for the country’s development, not to achieve a political purpose.”

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Indian press report growing concerns over possible terrorist base in Maldives

Concerns that Pakistan-based terrorist group Lashkar-e-Taiba are seeking to establish a ‘sleeper cell’ in the Maldives have re-risen following reports in the Indian media.

The Times of India reported yesterday that India has quickened its efforts to formalise the counter-terrorism partnership between the two countries.

Quoting Indian intelligence sources, the Times reported that India “has noted with concern the sharp increase in the number of visitor from the Maldives to Pakistan, where they spend a lot of time travelling around the country for purposes which are unclear but suspicious.”

The isolation and strategic location of the Maldives make it a tempting target for groups such as Lashkar, which India has identified as responsible for the attacks in Mumbai on 26 November 2008, in which gunmen entered the city by sea and killed at least 173 people and wounded 308.

Minister for Home Affairs Mohamed Shihab travelled to India in early February to meet his counterpart P Chidambaram, in order to draw up a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on counterterrorism cooperation between the two countries that was to be signed in April.

State Minister for Home Affairs Adil Saleem said today Shihab was in Delhi but the trip was on the invitation of the World Bank regarding unrelated matters.

A spokesman for the Indian High Commission said defence agreements between India and the Maldives were “a continuous arrangement” and not specific to a particular incident or group.

He acknowledged that there was “support for fundamentalist groups” in the Maldives but would not speculate on who those groups were or defence arrangements between the two countries. He noted that no agreements had progressed since the minister’s last visit to India in February.

State Minister for Foreign Affairs Ahmed Naseem noted that the Maldives and India performed intelligence sharing “very well”.

“India is very concerned about this group Lashkar-e-Taiba; I think all the countries in this region need to be vigilant,” Naseem said, emphasising the importance of “close cooperation with our regional neighbours.”

In a letter sent to the Indian parliament on Tuesday, India’s State Minister for Home Affairs Ajay Maken wrote that “available inputs indicate that Pakistan-based terrorist groups, primarily the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), are making concerted efforts to organise terrorist attacks in various parts of the country, including iconic institutions, prominent industrial installations and tourist locations among others.”

In order to do so, he noted, the group was making concerted efforts to develop links with other countries in the region, including the Maldives.

Other prominent groups posing a threat included Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), Hizbul-Mujahideen (HM), Harkat-ul-Jehad-e-Islami (HuJI), Harkat-ul-Mujahideen (HuM), Al Badr, Babbar Khalsa International (BKI), Khalistan Zindabad Force (KZF), Khalistan Commando force, International Sikh Youth federation (ISYF), United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA) and Communist party of India (Maoist),” Maken noted.

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Civil Court rules in favour of CSC regarding salary cuts

The Civil Court has ruled in favour of the Civil Service Commission (CSC) yesterday on their case against the Ministry of Finance regarding civil servants’ salary cuts, but did not rule on whether the salaries have to be restored.

Civil servants’ salaries were officially reduced in October 2009 with salary cuts of up to 20 percent. This measure was taken when the government’s budget deficit forced several independent commissions and government offices to reduce salaries in order to alleviate expenditure.

The government had promised to restore salaries once the budget rose above Rf7 billion (US$544 million). The cut was expected to last only three months.

In December 2009 the CSC requested the government restore salaries as the proposed mid-term 2010 budget was anticipated to exceed Rf7 billion. But disputes over whether the budget included foreign aid or not complicated the issue further, as the Finance Ministry said, excluding foreign aid the budget was Rf6.8 billion.

After months of incertitude and awaiting a decision, the court ruled “the Finance Ministry does not have the legal authority to order amendments to salaries”, according to Press Secretary for the President’s Office, Mohamed Zuhair.

Zuhair said President Mohamed Nasheed had not yet said anything on the ruling, or whether the government would appeal the decision, but noted it was a possibility an appeal would be made on the ruling.

Member of the CSC Mohamed Fahmy Hassan said the court’s decision showed “the independence of the judiciary and non-interference [of the government] in affairs of the judiciary.”

He said the CSC is hopeful “the issue will be solved” and they are “confident the Finance Ministry will give the salaries as we requested.”

Fahmy said they hoped their salaries will be restored soon, and added they will be “flexible” when negotiating the back-log of payments. He estimates the total amount of money ‘owed’ to civil servants since the pay cuts started in October 2009 is approximately Rf120 million.

“We have always had the national interest as our concern,” he said, “and we will try to come to an amicable solution.”

He noted “preliminary discussions [with the ministry] went very positively,” and said “final decisions will be announced soon.”

Fahmy said the CSC took the court’s decision as an order for civil servant salaries to be restored. “We don’t see any other interpretation.”

He added “the government is very keen to resolve this issue to the satisfaction of everybody involved,” and noted the issue would probably be solved once President Mohamed Nasheed returns to the country after his visit to Bhutan.

Deputy Minister of Finance Ahmed Assad said his reading of the court’s ruling is that “it’s the CSC’s decision” on whether they want to have their salaries restored.

“Regarding the judgement, there are no negotiations,” he said, adding the ministry is “still talking” to the CSC about the issue.

“We’ve said this before,” Assad said, “it’s not because we want to [cut their pay] but because we don’t have a choice.”

He said as far as the economy is concerned, “we don’t see any economic event that has changed [the situation].”

Assad said “we want to give it some time” and they are now waiting for the CSC to make their decision.

History

After salaries were initially reduced in October 2009, the CSC and Finance Ministry have been disputing the legality and rationality of the pay cuts. The Maldives is still among the countries with the largest civil service as a percentage of its population. In 2008, civil service salaries amounted to 34 percent of total government expenditure.

Spokesperson for the Civil Servants’ Association, Abdulla Mohamed, told Minivan News in December last year, “we believe this damage was done to civil servants as a punishment and if there really were special economic circumstances, members of parliament and independent institutions too should have taken a pay cut.”

Pay cuts for independent institutions came into effect in December and several MPs volunteered for a pay cut.

On 30 December, the CSC issued an announcement stating civil servants’ salaries and allowances had been restored, as the 2010 budget was expected to exceed Rf7 billion.

But by mid-January 2010, the issue was still unresolved and salaries had not been restored.

At the time, the Ministry of Finance stated “employees will receive the salary that was reduced due to the economic circumstances,” and disputed the CSC’s statement claiming they had not discussed it with the ministry before publicising the announcement.

In January, the Ministry of Finance asked Parliament and the Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA) to arbitrate the dispute between them and the CSC.

Fahmy told Minivan News at the time that they would put the country’s interests above the interests of civil servants, but added, “it is difficult to justify that to 29,000 civil servants if the government is spending on all the other items in the budget.”

Shortly after Parliament and the MMA were asked to intervene, the CSC warned to take legal action against the ministry. The ministry threatened to also take legal action against the CSC.

By the end of January, the government announced salaries of staff at independent commissions, courts, parliament and the judicial services had been restored, and civil servant salaries would follow in April.

On 3 February 2010, the CSC announced they would take the issue to court and “claim for the amount reduced from the salaries of civil servants.”

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”President will not hold mid-term elections”: Zuhair

Press Secretary for the President Mohamed Zuhair has said that President Mohamed Nasheed will not hold mid-term elections, as pledged.

This was for two reasons, Zuhair told Minivan News: “Firstly it is not in the constitution, and secondly, when one makes a pledge to someone, and if recipient of the pledge did not repay the sincerity of the person making the pledge, he does would not have to fulfill it.”

Leader of the Dhivehi Qaumy Party(DQP) and former advisor to the President Dr Hassan Saeed claimed yesterday during an appearance on VTV’s ‘Hot Seat’ programme that the reason why MDP won the presidential election was the party’s promise of a mid-term election.

Zuhair claimed that the people who was trying to make the president hold mid-term elections were trying to gain fame in the political field.

”It is a pledge the president and vice president made during the campaign,” he acknowledged. ‘But after the recipient betrayed the person who made the pledge, it’s not wise to turn back and say ‘What about your promise?’.”

Zuhair claimed that when Dr Saeed was given a position as the president’s advisor, he acted in opposition to the government.

”He refused to come out for work,” Zuhair said, ”and then he started to act like an opposition leader.”

Vice President of the Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) Umar Naseer said it was “a must” for the government to hold mid-term elections.

Umar said that the people voted President Nasheed to power for “only two and a half years.”

”People voted Nasheed because he said he would hold mid-term elections,” Umar said. ”The President said that to increase the number of his constituents, and people elected him because of [the pledge].”,”

He said that it was constitutional to hold the mid-term elections.

”President and Vice President can resign in a letter according to the constitution article 121 [a] and [b],” Umar explained.

He said the president was afraid to hold the mid-term election because he was confident that he would not get elected.

Leader of DQP Hassan Saeed and the party’s Secretary General Abdulla Ameen did not respond to Minivan News at time of press.

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“I’m too old to sit around. We genuinely want to improve the way things work”: Dr Waheed

Vice President Dr Mohamed Waheed Hassan recently said he was not completely satisfied with his job and wanted more consultation between the government and the coalition parties when he appeared on VTV’s show Hoonu Gondi (Hot Seat) on 12 April.

At a rally for the Gaumee Itthihaad Party (GIP) last Saturday, Dr Waheed reiterated his concerns of lack of communication within the government and lack of consultation.

Minivan News spoke to Dr Waheed today about his comments, concerns, achievements and what improvements he thinks the government needs to make.

Laura Restrepo Ortega: Why are you airing your issues publicly? Why not speak to President Nasheed directly?

Dr Waheed: We have brought about this change to promote democracy and human rights, and good governance is a very important part of it. Part of the reason why I air these things publicly is because obviously I don’t feel that there are enough opportunities for us to discuss these things. To some extent, it is because of communication, but also these are things people need to know.

We’ve been in government for a year and a half now, and I have said these things in public before. I have tried very hard to work together and I’m still committed in doing so. I also like to be heard. I’m too old to sit around. We genuinely want to improve the way things work here.

Clearly this is still a young government and there is lots that needs to be done to improve. If you listen to what I said, and not what other people are saying, you will see that my comments are constructive comments. They are not meant to criticise. They were suggestions on how things can be improved.

LRO: Has anything changed or improved since your first TV appearance?

Dr Waheed: I don’t see any major difference still. It hasn’t been very long since I appeared on television. I am still hopeful that there will be an opportunity to work out things.

LRO: What is it you want to change?

Dr Waheed: I would like more consultation on major policy issues. I know that the Constitution doesn’t specifically say that I have to be consulted. But the spirit of the Constitution is that the vice president is here for a reason. Not to wake up every morning and find out the president is there so you go back to sleep — for five years.

LRO: So you want more communication within the government?

Dr Waheed: I think there’s no alternative to that. Any alternative to inadequate communication is breakdown.

One of the problems is that we still don’t have a culture of sharing information. Even in government offices decisions are made, and these decisions are not adequately communicated to the rest of the staff and to the people who should receive that information. So that is something that can be done fairly easily, but we have to develop a culture of doing that.

I am used to working in places where, when you make a decision, everybody who is concerned with it are informed. And it’s very easy to do that now with e-mail. We don’t have a culture of using e-mail effectively for work. People use it for personal communication, but not so much for improving office communications.

LRO: Do you think that the opposition will use your comments against the government?

Dr Waheed: It’s a competitive political environment, and different people will use them differently. The most important thing is public impression. In the past, we don’t say anything. I also worked in the previous government. We don’t say anything and we just stay quiet, and we just continue as if everything is perfect. And then it blows up.

I think we are in a different environment now. For us, freedom of expression and human rights are the reason why we are here. And part of it is also respect for each other’s views.

LRO: What do you think of the opposition? Are they being constructive or are they working against the government?

Dr Waheed: You’re talking about the opposition, and the opposition’s interest is in opposing the government. But one of the things I said was there should be a mechanism for dialogue, between the opposition and the government.

LRO: Are there no such mechanisms in place?

Dr Waheed: I don’t see that. There is too much polarisation. There are things, of course, we want from the opposition. We want their support to pass the bills in Parliament, and there may be things they want from the government. And that is also to address some of their own concerns. I believe we should be able to engage with all parties.

LRO: Do you think it’s possible for a coalition government to work in practice?

Dr Waheed: I think it’s possible. We have to be a lot more tolerant and respectful of each other. We cannot pretend that we know everything. That’s why we have to listen to others. It’s healthy to take other people’s views and to be consultative. Of course, you cannot get everything you want when you talk to other people. Sometimes you have to do things differently. But because no one is infallible, the decisions we make together are likely to survive and to succeed more.

The wisdom of consultation, I think, is probably more valid but also it helps to get buy-in and ownership. So to me, in a democratic form, in a democracy, good governance means more teamwork.

LRO: Will your party (GIP) survive?

Dr Waheed: I believe it will. But the political landscape of Maldives is not fixed, because it is in the very early stages of democracy. It’s not like a mature, old democracy. I’m sure in the future there will be many changes. Whether our party will survive will depend on how active our members are and how determined they are to build it. So we’ll see.

LRO: Should political parties be dissolved all together?

Dr Waheed: Political parties are very new in the country, they’re also struggling to develop and be at capacity. At the moment there is vicious competition among parties to grab members. And in so doing, maybe inadvertently, people are making direct or indirect threats about their job security, their benefits, about their businesses and privileges and so on. It’s not good for the country.

LRO: Do you think there are elements in the government that are detrimental to the country’s progress?

Dr Waheed: There are always people trying to influence the government’s efficiency and so on. There are also individual interests in that, but this is precisely why we have checks and balances. Within the government also there are mechanisms for getting things through, as long as we don’t short-circuit them. And we have the Anti Corruption Commission (ACC) and other watch-dog institutions. I believe those checks will be there. I’m optimistic that there will be those checks, if you compare now to the past.

But all of these institutions are still at an infant stage. And this is why we have to raise some of these issues. My comments certainly are not meant to be detrimental. I am trying to say things that I believe are good for the country. I have nothing to personally gain from this. But I don’t want to be sitting around, not being as useful as I can. I believe I am part of the senior leadership of this government, but there are people who don’t agree with that.

LRO: What do you think of statements made by members of the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) calling for the resignation of anyone in government who doesn’t adhere to the MDP manifesto?

Dr Waheed: This is very short-sighted and narrow thinking. This is not coming from everybody at the MDP, it’s coming from some people. I have a lot of affinity to MDP, as well. I helped found that party, as well. I was there at the initial stages when we built the party, and a lot of my relatives are still there.

So it’s not that I’m against MDP, we are sister parties. And I believe we should have a mechanism for working together, instead of the big fish trying to swallow the little one. That’s why I think my party’s people are resisting. They may not have a choice because it’s a much smaller party. We have a number of people from our party in the government.

The level of tolerance of this government will be judged very soon by how many of our colleagues will be forced to join MDP if they want to retain their post.

LRO: Do you think that will happen?

Dr Waheed: My colleagues in government are under pressure to leave my party (GIP) and join MDP.

LRO: What did you mean when you said the country is becoming ‘colour coded’?

Dr Waheed: If you talk to people, you don’t have to just talk to me, talk to people in government, do a survey. You will find that there is a lot of concern about this. People are having difficulty, the way they were also having in the last government. I thought we wanted to get away from these pressures.

LRO: What pressures?

Dr Waheed: If you don’t join the government, if you don’t join the political alliances, you don’t get jobs, you are threatened, you might lose your job, these kinds of things.

LRO: Is this happening within the government or to members of the general public?

Dr Waheed: This is happening everywhere. And every day we are getting complaints about this. Just yesterday, a civil servant has been transferred from one department to the other because that person signed up for my party.

These things are happening all the time. And I don’t think we should do this, because what happens next? You have another government, when a new government comes, they kick out everybody who was hired during our government. And it’s not healthy for the country. So we have to be a lot more tolerant and value people for their merit, their experience, not their political affiliations.

LRO: What would you say are your biggest achievements as Vice President?

Dr Waheed: I had been assigned the responsibility for guiding the National Narcotics Council. And I believe that there has been a very marked reduction in the availability of drugs in the country. I also believe that we have a good plan for prevention of narcotics in the country. We had a very successful stake-holder meeting and the findings have been reflected in the National Strategic Action Plan.

Implementation of it is slow. If I had sufficient powers I would have set up a stronger department for drugs and rehabilitation and treatment. It’s not working very well at the moment. I have proposed that it should be much more empowered. And once that happens I’m sure it will move faster. We have successfully revised the narcotics bill, it is now in the Parliament. And once it is approved by the Parliament, we will be able to move faster. So this is one area.

And the other is I was trusted by the president to lead the international donor conference. I believe that we had a successful one. I’m very proud of it. Now we have the pledges and commitments, we have to now still do a lot of work to access the resources. And we are in the process of doing that. I’m not the key person responsible for that now, different departments do their work, but I’m hoping that I will have a lead role in monitoring and supporting that. At the moment, my role, in fact, is a little bit vague.

LRO: Will you be running for presidency in 2013?

Dr Waheed: I have no idea where this is coming from. There are lots of political pundits in Maldives, there’s no shortage of them now. It must be coming from them. No, I have not made that decision. I think it’s a little early. But if that’s how the political formulations work in the country, and if that’s the best way I can serve, then why not?

LRO: So there is a chance you will run?

Dr Waheed: As I said, the circumstances will determine.

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MPs vote against referring to Supreme Court on provinces issue

Yesterday MPs rejected the resolution presented by the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) to refer to the Supreme Court on the controversial provinces issue.

35 MPs voted for the resolution while 38 MPs voted against the resolution.

Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party Vice President and MP Ali Waheed said that he doubted the accuracy of the resolution, claiming that it was presented “to mislead the people.”

”MP Ahmed Sameer (who presented the resolution) has told so many lies standing near the podium,” Waheed said. ”Maybe he wanted to make a record for the first ever issue taken to the Supreme Court.”

The provinces section was removed from the decentralisation bill on the vote of the DRP, Dhivehi Qaumy Party (DQP), Peoples Alliance (PA), Jumhoory Party and several Independent MPs.

”I never knew that people voted to divide the country into seven provinces,” he said.

Waheed said even if the issue was taken to the Supreme Court, they were also unable to divide the country.

”It can only be done by the vote of 77 MPs,” he said.

Independent MP Ibrahim Muthalib said he was concerned that if the issue was taken to the Supreme Court, it would set a precedent and many decisions would be made by the Supreme Court.

”We are losing our dignity on our own,” he said.

MDP MP Mohamed ‘Colonel’ Nasheed said that the issue was not a constitutional issue, and was rather a political issue.

”Dividing the country into provinces were in both the MDP and DRP manifestos,” Nasheed said. ”To fulfill the pledges of MDP, it’s one path we have to go down.”

He said that it would be more beneficial if there were seven ‘Males’, instead of one.

”What is really going on is that some DRP MPs and vice presidents had told me that if the issue was taken to the Supreme Court, it would rule that it is lawful,” he said. ”They asked me how they will save face in front of the people if that was the case.”

He called on the DRP MPs to take the issue to the Supreme Court if they were confident on the matter.

”If the Supreme Court rules it is unconstitutional we will also be supporting DRP MPs,” he said.

DRP MP Ahmed Mahloof said the purpose of MDP presenting the resolution was to mislead the people.

‘The ‘DRP manifesto do not say it the party will divide the country into provinces,” he said, ”it says it would make four cities like Male’.”

Jumhooree Party MP Gasim ‘Buruma’ Ibrahim said it was not necessary to pass the resolution and take it to the Supreme Court.

”We should take this out of the parliament floor and continue our work making laws,” he said.

DRP MP Ahmed Nihan said that before taking the issue to the Supreme Court people should define the meaning of MDP’s pledges they made to the people.

”They pledged to provide houses for people made homeless by the Tsunami within one year,” he said. ”We should ask them what they meant by ‘one year’ and ‘providing houses’.”

MDP Parliamentary group leader Moosa ‘Reeko’ Manik recently said that the MDP parliamentary group would put forward a no-confidence motion against the speaker of the parliament.

However, newspaper ‘Miadhu’ reported that DRP MP Rozaina Adam had claimed there were MDP MPs who would not vote for the no-confidence motion.

Rozaina told Minivan News that she did not wish to speak about the matter.

Reeko said that the parliamentary group would be deciding the matter after the decentralisation bill.

”We do not want to speak about it yet,” he said.

MDP Secretary General Ahmed Shah, Spokesperson Ahmed Haleem and Chairperson Mariya Didi did not respond to Minivan News at time of press.

DRP Vice President Umar Naseer said Reeko had promised to draft the no-confidence motion against the speaker not with the intention of doing it, ”but just to charge their activists.”

MDP can only get 27 votes even if the no-confidence motion was forwarded, he said: ”MDP can’t shoot goals in parliament.”

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