Category: Politics

Government is still “one man show”, says Vice President Dr Waheed

When Vice President Dr Mohamed Waheed appeared as the first-ever guest on VTV’s new show Hoonu Gondi (Hot Seat) on 12 April, he took the opportunity to say he was “not completely satisfied” with his job.

The aftermath of the Vice President’s interview has brought his comments to television shows, newspapers and blogs, with headlines exploiting his words as criticisms directed to President Mohamed Nasheed and his leadership.

Speaking to Minivan News, Dr Waheed said although he usually does not do interviews, but in a small community like Malé “people know when someone is not happy” and he felt he needed to speak out.

“I made a fairly measured response [to the question], careful not to be too critical of the government,” Dr Waheed said. “It is time to get rid of that fear of speaking out.”

He said people had been waiting for him to say something about his role as the country’s first elected vice president, and felt he needed to express “what is good, and what is not working” in the current government.

“This is also my government. Clearly there are ways it could be stronger,” he said.

Dr Waheed said he felt the government should be “shaped in the spirit of democracy and good governance,” adding that “we still have a lot to learn.”

He said he held the responsibility to tell the people who elected him how he felt about the government, their over-all performance and his role in it. “It’s my responsibility to express my feelings,” he said, “I think people in power should express themselves.”

Dr Waheed’s feelings were that the “way we function in [this] government is not too different to what it used to be. It’s still one man running the show,” he said, but assured he was “not picking issues” with the government, but “talking about democratic process.”

One of the main reasons for his dissatisfaction was that he doesn’t feel he is sufficiently involved in the decision-making process. “I don’t feel I am able to contribute, that consultation is not there.”

He said that while it was the president’s privilege not to consult him on everything, he thought the core of a democratic government should be “more inclusive and participative.”

“The people of the Maldives didn’t elect me to sleep for five years. I believe I am part of the leadership of this country and it is necessary for me to be involved,” Dr Waheed said. He added “the government will be stronger if the president consults with us.”

He also expressed concern over the fact that the current government won the 2008 elections on a coalition-party platform, but is now being run by a single party, the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP).

However Dr Waheed said this was “nothing that can’t be fixed”, as the government “is going through a learning process.”

He also believes the government is doing a good job in delivering their promises to the people.

“For any government, the first few months have to go into planning,” Dr Waheed said. “There has been a lot of work laying those foundations and results will be seen shortly.”

As the Maldives has not yet celebrated its second year under a democratic government, the vice president is sure these issues can still be resolved.

He said the government must be “much more consultative. We need to be more clear on what is being assigned and how that can be achieved.”

Dr Waheed defended his statements on ‘Hot Seat’ by reiterating that “I don’t see why we should be hiding our feelings now. We did not bring about this change to work in despair.”

He noted that despite the headlines today, “everything is OK” between him and the president.

Press Secretary for the President’s Office Mohamed Zuhair said the vice president’s interview “was not in an official capacity [as vice president], but as a party leader.”

“If he was going in official capacity we would get a notice, but this time it did not happen,” Zuhair said.

Dr Mohamed Jameel, president of the Dhivehi Qaumy Party (DQP), one of the parties that joined the MDP-led coalition that elected President Mohamed Nasheed’s administration in the 2008 elections, said he “agrees with Vice President Waheed completely.”

“I think [lack of consultation] is the very reason why many politicians from the coalition went away,” he said, adding “this is the final blow in the coffin.”

He said the problem was the government’s attitude: “Ever since they were elected, they have been saying it was a win for the MDP only.”

Dr Jameel said he thought the MDP had been “hijacked at gun point by their activists” and now the government was “conveniently giving into their demands.”

President of the Adhaalath party Sheikh Hussain Rasheed Ahmed, another coalition partner, said all the coalition parties had been having problems for a while “due mainly to political competition.”

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MDP to take province issue to Supreme Court

Spokesperson for the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) parliamentary group MP Ahmed Shifaz has said the parliamentary group intends to take the dispute over the province section of the decentralisation bill to the supreme court.

Shifaz said according to the constitution, when the parliament disputes an issue by resolution it has the power to ask for advice from the supreme court.

”The opposition say it is unconstitutional to divide the country in to seven provinces,” Shifaz said, ”so we are going to present a resolution to the parliament, and see what the Supreme Court says,”

He said he hoped the opposition MPs would agree to pass a resolution to hear what the Supreme Court says.

”According to the constitution the Supreme Court is able to give the last word,” he said. ”I hope they agree and pass the resolution.”

MDP MP Ahmed Hamza said the MDP parliamentary group had decided to present a resolution according to the Article 95 of the constitution.

Aricle 95 of the constitution reads as follows: ”The People’s Majlis may by resolution refer to the Supreme Court for hearing and consideration important questions of law concerning any matter, including the interpretation of the Constitution and the constitutional validity of any statute. The Supreme Court shall answer the questions so referred and shall provide the answers to the People’s Majlis, giving reasons for its answers. The opinion shall be pronounced in like manner as in the case of a judgement on appeal to the Supreme Court.”

Hamza said that the opposition MPs claimed that dividing the country into seven provinces was against article 230 [b] of the constitution.

Article 230 [b] of the constitution reads as follows: ”In order to provide for decentralised administration, the President has the power, as provided in law, to create constituencies, posts, island councils, atoll councils and city councils.”

”This is not a constitutional issue, in fact, this is a political issue,” Hamza said, ”we want the Supreme Court to say whether dividing in to seven provinces is against 230 [b] of the constitution.”

Independent MP Mohamed Nasheed said did not wish to comment on the issue yet.

”This might even be a political issue,” he suggested.

Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) MP Ahmed Nihan said it was written in the constitution “in clear words” that the country’s administrative units cannot be divided into seven provinces.

Nihan said the party would not change its stand.

”I do not think the Supreme Court would say we are wrong either,” he said. ”I think our party will not change its mind.”

He said dividing the country into administrative units would make it more difficult for people to get services from the government.

Deputy Leader of DRP Umar Naseer said that presenting a resolution to the parliament to hear what the Supreme Court had to say on the matter “does not have any weight.”

”Although the Supreme Court can say whatever it likes, it’s in the hand of MPs to decide what to do with the provinces,” he said. ”They are just trying to delay this bill.”

He said that MDP MPs were already aware that people did not want to divide the country’s administrative units into seven provinces.

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UN signs five year assistance agreement with Maldives

UN Resident Coordinator Mansoor Ali and Finance Minister Ali Hashim yesterday signed the United Nations Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF), a five-year agreement that will see the UN continue its presence in the Maldives, honouring its US$40.6 million pledge made at the Maldives donor conference.

Mansoor Ali said the UN was engaging with the Maldives at a “very critical juncture” when the country is transitioning from Least-Developed-Country (LDC) status to Middle Income status.

“The graduation is not an event but a process,” he explained. “The graduation is a measure how well a country has developed, but middle income status does not necessarily mean there is equity in the country all the time.

“We are in a position where there has been a global economic crisis, and locally there have been a fuel and food crisis, so the graduation process is taking that into account.”

Finance Minister Ali Hashim said the role of the UN in the country post-LDC status was “something we have been discussing for a long time.”

“The UN is going to maintain a presence here in the Maldives even after graduation, because there will be a transition period,” he said, explaining that the international body’s assistance would be crucial in assisting with the establishment of bilateral agreements.

“We will no longer get concessions in the case of foreign loans or preferential treatment in trade agreements,” Hashim said, “but there are some countries that have indicated they are willing to enter into bilateral agreements and provide the country with transitional agreements over 3-5 years. The UN presence will be maintained during this transitional period.”

The UN indicated that it would work “shoulder to shoulder with the government to deliver outcomes”, targeting key areas of health, education, social security and welfare, democratic governance, HIV and substance abuse, climate change and environmental adaptation, and gender equality.

“Our committment [to the Maldives] still remains in your journey to a much more fruitful and democratic Maldives,” Mansoor Ali said.

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Minivan News Facebook page restored following fraud attempt

Update 21/4/10

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Previously:

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President grants clemency to self-exiled ‘Sandhaanu’ Luthfy

President Mohamed Nasheed has granted clemency to Ibrahim Moosa ‘Sandhaanu’ Luthfy, who was sentenced to life imprisonment for writing against the former government.

Luthfy escaped imprisonment by the former government when he was taken to Sri Lanka for medical treatment in May 2005. He undertook self-exile in Switzerland where he was supported by the United Nations and the Swiss government.

Press Secretary for the President Mohamed Zuhair said Luthfy was a man who was “on the front line” when the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) started its work “to reform the government.”

Zuhair said that  according to the new constitution, “freedom of expression is not illegal.”

”In the constitution people have freedom of expression,” he said, ”so [Luthfy] has committed no crime under the law and so should not be serving a punishment.”

Speaking from Switzerland, Luthfy told Minivan News the charges against him by the former government were “unjust and made by force.”

Luthfy said he had been charged for “misleading the people and defaming a former government cabinet minister.”

”At first we started dropping papers on the ground to let people know about the condition of human rights and the judicial system in the Maldives,” Luthfy said.

“Then the internet was invented, and we started our work as an online, unregistered magazine based in Malaysia called ‘Sandhaanu’.”

Luthfy claimed the former government put him under life imprisonment “because they had no other way to stop us from working.”

”They tried to catch us in many ways, including sending CID agents to Malaysia, but they could not,” he said.

”Then during the time of the September 11 attack, the former president [Maumoon Abdul Gayoom] gave out an international red notice that we were terrorists.”

He said he was then caught and brought to the Maldives.

”Criminal court judge Abdulla Areef [now a judge at supreme court] gave the verdict without giving me the chance to use a defense lawyer or to present any witnesses to defend myself,” he said.

Luthfy claimed that the serious injuries he received while in prison led to international journalism organisations pressuring the former government to take him out of jail for medical treatment.

”They brought me to Male’ where doctors said I needed to go abroad for treatment, so the former government took me to Sri Lanka along with two guards,” he said. ”The doctor at the Sri Lankan hospital gave me two options: either stay in the hospital for seven days for observation or to come back after seven days, and said I preferred to come back after seven days.”

He stayed in a hotel with the two guard, but one morning he managed to escape.

”One day after fajr prayers when I came out of my room, the two guards were sleeping so I ran away,” he said.

”I sought for help from the United Nations and other organisations via e-mail, and meanwhile sent messages to the former government saying that I would let people know about how people were being tortured in the cells if any international notice was put out to find me.”

He claimed the former government tried to find him, assisted by the Sri Lankan police, but were unsuccessful.

The United Nations protected him in Sri Lanka for six months before sending him to the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) in Switzerland.

”I have been here for seven years but will be returning to the Maldives very soon,” he said.

Spokesman for the former President, Mohamed Hussein ‘Mundhu’ Shareef, said as far as he was concerned Luthfy was “not a person”, “a nobody [who will] remain so” and he would not drop his reputation to the same level as Luthfy by commenting on the matter.

Furthermore, Mundhu said that news outlets reporting on “these kinds of unprofessional people” also risked being categorised as unprofessional.

“All you achieve in giving this clown space in the media is giving him unwarranted attention and importance. I do not wish to have any such part in such an exercise. Scum will always remain scum,” he said.

“If you want people to believe that Minivan [News] is anything but Anni’s mouthpiece, it’s advisable to stay clear of such [an] exercise to give cosmetic makeovers to people like Luthfy.”

He noted that MDP Chairperson Mariya Didi was a State Attorney at the former Attorney General’s office at the time of Luthfy’s  conviction.

Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) Leader Ahmed Thasmeen Ali and DRP MP and former cabinet minister Abdulla Mausoom failed to respond to Minivan News at time of press.

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Finance Committee deliberating over distribution of media subsidies

Parliament’s Finance Committee has appointed a seven member sub-committee to discuss how media subsidies allocated in the state budget will be distributed. The recommendations will then be reviewed by the main committee and submitted for debate in Parliament.

Finance committee member MP Riyaz Rasheed told newspaper Miadhu that the committee was currently receiving submissions from media organisations and expected to make recommendations by the end of the week. Early discussions include splitting the amount allocated in the budget, about Rf4 million (US$307,600), between radio and newspapers at a ratio of 3:2.

Managing Editor of Miadhu Abdulla ‘Gabbe’ Latheef said that distributing the subsidies “just to media the Majlis likes is not fair. This money should be divided by the [soon to be elected] media council, not the Majlis.”

“For instance, they are only considering print and broadcast media for subsidies, not internet media,” he claimed. “Media in the Maldives is not only TVM and DhiTV.”

Latheef said that media subsidies in the past had not benefited staff, “only newspaper owners.”

Finance Minister Ali Hashim told Minivan News that any subsidies provided would take the form of training and capacity building, such as scholarships, rather than direct financial assistance.

“We will work with the [Maldivian Journalists] Association,” he said, but added as a caveat that “any form of hand outs compromise independence.”

Latheef said he feared the MJA was turning into the “Opposition Journalists Association”, as it had recently issued a press release reporting on a ‘meeting of editors’ to which it had failed to invite Miadhu.

Former Information Minister and Independent MP Mohamed Nasheed, who is not part of the committee deliberating on media subsidies, said he did not favour “cash handouts” but rather supportive subsidies, such as “10 to 15 percent of the electricity or water bill, rent, or the cost of training human resources.”

“Subsidies should be given for capacity building and upgrading quality of service, not necessarily cash-in-hand,” he suggested.

While he acknowledged that subsidies risked compromising media independence, Nasheed observed that media “is oxygen for democracy and a fundamental right in and of itself. You can’t compare it to something like subsidies for the fishing industry.”

“There needs to be a universal set of rules [for media subsidies] allocated through the government’s annual budget; they should work and earn it, and meet a set of criteria.”

Nasheed noted that during his time as Information Minister be formulated policy to stop newspapers “linked to people in the government” receiving direct subsidies in the form of rent assistance or lump sums for machinery.”

“This allowed the mushrooming of several papers favouring the then-opposition,” he noted.

Regarding the former government’s indirect subsidisation of media through advertising, Nasheed suggested a “one plus one” model whereby government ads would be rotated through the country’s largest newspapers. The current government moved all government advertising to an in-house gazette, a move that did not endear it to the country’s largest newspapers or the MJA, which has previously claimed that the unique economic situation and limited population of the Maldives is not conducive to 100 percent ad-funded media.

However Nasheed suggested “it’s a misnomer that this is a limited market. When you spread the papers out and see what they charge per centimetre, you can see what they’re getting in terms of advertising. But while they say how much they print, there’s no independent statistics for their circulation or how many people actually read the paper.”

“Nobody does these surveys and the papers are not willing open their records to the government,” Nasheed said.

Adjusting to an environment of competition and free expression was “today’s challenge [for the media],” he claimed. “Three years ago the challenges were very different, when the struggle was finding space for dissent, and the giving of that space. Today’s challenge is building credibility and capacity.”

Beyondthe issue of media subsidies, Nasheed said, “now we need to enshrine the principles of media freedom in our laws, build an independent institution that protects and consolidates media freedom, and introduce proceedures for the public to make complaints.”

Media Council

The Department of Information has meanwhile short-listed 14 candidates out of the 35 who applied to be members of the Maldives Media Council.

Those selected by the Department as candidates for the seven seats include Ahmed Mizmad, Ali Hashim, Fathimath Ishan Ali, Mohamed Azim, Abdul Hadhee, Ali Waheed Hassan Manik, Ibrahim Ismail, Mohamed Fareed, Aishath Aniya, Abdul Raheem, Ahmed Abdulla, Shujau Hussein, Anas Ali and Ahmed Faisal.

The department considered whether the candidates were eligible as stated in the Media Council Act, while giving priority to those without a stake in a media organisation, business, political party, or NGO, the official said.

The 14 candidates have a range of backgrounds including education sector, religious studies, politics, business and gender, the department said.

Representatives of 20 media organisations will vote on April 20 to elect seven members to the council. Information Department acknowledged some of them were from discontinued newspapers and magazines, but said they were eligible for voting.

“We can include them under the law, as long as they don’t dissolve the organisation. So we have decided to include them as well,” he added.

Representatives of DhiFM, DhiTV, Radio Atoll, a ceased newspaper called The Voice, Haveeru, E-Sandhaanu Magazine, Hiyama Magazine, Vanni Magazine, Minivan News Online, the now stopped Minivan Daily, Aaila (Family) Magazine, VTV, Navaranna, Sungadi, the disbanded Manas Daily, Manas Magazine, Haama Daily, Miadhu Newspaper, Television Maldives (TVM) and Youth TV would be voting in the election.

The MJA has expressed concern that several of those shortlisted “are editors of magazines and newspapers that have been dissolved, and some of titles the MJA has never heard of.”

“The MJA does not believe that the power of the Media Council should be given to these people,” it said in a press statement.

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Presidential Commission member resigns over “political influences”

Presidential Commission member Idham Muizzu Adnan resigned from the commission yesterday, claiming a lack of transparency and impartiality.

The Presidential Commission is an independent body created by President Mohamed Nasheed in May 2009 to investigate corruption allegations in the country. The president was also responsible for appointing all of its members.

Spokesperson for the Presidential Commission, Abdulla Haseen, said the commission’s mandate was to investigate corruption cases, particularly targeting people accused of corruption under the previous regime.

However Adnan, who has worked with the commission since it was created, said he resigned because of “certain political influences” that were being imposed on the commission.

“I agree the president has the power to dictate [how the commission is run]… but he should do it in a reasonable and impartial manner,” Adnan said.

Adnan said sometimes the commission was pressured “not to call on certain people” when investigating a case, or was advised not to disclose certain information to the public.

“In decree, the commission is to function independently… [it] should not be used as a tool to protect people or attack opponents.”

Furthermore, “we should be allowed to disclose any information [we find],” he said, “because these corruption issues need to be investigated.”

Adnan said a press conference scheduled for yesterday evening was cancelled at the last minute on request from the President’s Office, which made him reconsider his position in the commission.

“I feel [the commission] cannot function in an impartial manner,” Adnan said.

Haseen confirmed Adnan’s resignation and said Adnan “is really concerned about transparency… he is not satisfied with our decision to postpone a press conference.”

Haseen confirmed the scheduled press conference was postponed “on the advice of the President’s Office.”

He said the commission gives press conferences “frequently” and this one was postponed “because the issue is quite controversial.”

The Presidential Commission is allowed to share information with the public, Haseen said, but “we have some limitations.”

Haseen explained that once the investigation of a case is completed by the commission, a press conference will normally be held before the registration report is sent to the police. The police then have to send it to the Prosecutor General’s office, who decide whether the case will be sent to court.

Although Haseen said the President’s Office “never intervenes with the process” of investigation, on this occasion, “Mr Adnan is not happy about it.”

Haseen said the commission regularly seeks the president’s advice, since “he appointed the commission, it is related to his advice,” and their investigations are always “cooperative.”

Haseen said the issue of the commission’s transparency was “nothing to worry about.”

Press Secretary for the President’s Office Mohamed Zuhair said President Nasheed expressed his regret about Adnan’s resignation, and thanked him for his sincerity and the legal advice he provided the commission.

Zuhair noted the President created the commission to strengthen the role of the Anti Corruption Commission (ACC) and the Human Rights Commission of the Maldives (HRCM), among other independent commissions

“The Presidential Commission is an auxiliary body to help police and other agencies at the front line of legal matters,” Zuhair said.

He said he believed Adnan “jumped the gun” with his resignation.

“He may have other assumptions [about the commission],” Zuhair said.

Zuhair said the press conference that was cancelled yesterday had originally been scheduled for Thursday, but the commission postponed it until Sunday “for their own reasons.”

He said the president then wrote a letter to the commission asking for the details of the press conference, “saying he should be informed of the key points to be made public.”

Zuhair said “it would not be the decent thing to do to go ahead with the press conference without giving the president the facts he wanted. It is the Presidential Commission. The president is the head of this body.”

He said the president “didn’t want to jeopardise the legal process” by revealing certain information before the case was made public and sent to the police. “The president wanted to know whether the commission had a water-tight case.”

But he assured “there was no order [made] to stop the press conference.”

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Islanders will “regret it” if DRP wins council elections, says MDP

Secretary General for the Maldivian Democratic Party(MDP) Hussein Shah said that if the Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) wins the upcoming island and atoll council election, “islanders will regret it.”

Shah accused the DRP of not wanting to “bring powers close to the people”.

”They wish everyone to be crowded in Male,” Shah said. ”Their purpose is to try and stop the government from fulfilling its pledges.”

He said the party was trying to make people understand how things would be like if DRP won the election.

”In parliamentary elections we did not win the majority,” he said. ”Now people can witness the DRP MPs trying to [sabotage] the beneficial bills sent by the government.”

DRP MP Abdulla Mausoom said people had “no confidence” in the current government “as they have feel that it is a dictatorship.”

Mausoom said that people knew now that “nobody in the MDP thinks about the nation and its people.”

”In all the islands of the country we see people against MDP,” he said. ”It’s up for them to make a good decision.”

Press Secretary for the President Mohamed Zuhair said that a loss to DRP in the island and atoll council election would mean the government “will not be able to do anything for the people.”

Zuhair said after the council election there will be a direct link between the government and the islanders.

”Look at the parliament now – the situation is worse there than in countries that have civil wars,” he said.

He said the supposed date to hold the elections had now passed.

DRP Deputy Leader Umar Naseer claimed that the government had proved it could not run the country.

”Eighteen months have passed and they haven’t done anything,” Umar said. ”DRP would try to do everything it can to develop the islands.”

”Nothing will happen if MDP wins, ” he said. ”Things will be just same as they are.”

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“Hell will come” to parliament over provinces section: MP Mohamed Nasheed

Parliament’s decentralisation committee has removed the concept of ‘provinces’ from the contentious Decentralisation Bill, claiming that dividing the country into seven provinces and not keeping it divided into its current  21 administrative regions is unconstitutional.

During the decentralisation bill’s third innings at Parliament, the Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP)-led committee in charge of reviewing the bill voted in favour of removing the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) proposal of provincial division.

In protest against the removal of the ‘provinces’ from the bill, four MDP MPs walked out of the committee meeting last week leaving the remaining seven members to take a vote on whether the provincial divisions should remain or be removed.

According to Independent MP Mohamed Nasheed, this “sticking issue” has been causing disagreements in Parliament and within the committee since the Bill was first introduced. The reasons behind the argument were “partly legal, partly political,” he explained.

According to the Constitution, the country should be divided into 21 administrative districts. Nasheed points out that the Constitution does not mention provinces; nor does it say whether the country can or cannot be divided into provinces.

Nasheed said the DRP is against the move because they claim it is unconstitutional, while the MDP counters that because provincial governance is in the party’s manifesto and people voted for MDP, it should be allowed.

Nasheed said the government began constructing new province offices and appointing ministers while the bill was still being disputed, and has spent Rf125 million (US$9.6 million) on administrative costs already.

“The government did not consult with the main opposition [before going ahead],” he said.

In an effort to avoid the protests and disruption that occurred during the last vote in parliament over the bill, Nasheed suggested a compromise whereby the president has the right to group regions together for administrative reasons, similar to the way it is done in the health and education sectors.

“It does not need to be crystallised in law,” he explained.

He noted that creating provincial councils would only complicate things as it would mean four layers of government in the country: island council, atoll council, province council and national government.

However Nasheed said he believes that “no one will give up” on the issue, as “the government has climbed the ladder so high, it would be a major political defeat if they back down. Right now, it’s MDP against everyone else,” he said.

Nasheed said he expects “a lot of friction” in Parliament this coming week, suggesting that “hell will come” when the issue is sent back to the Majlis.

MDP response

MDP MP for Henveiru South Hamid Abdul Gafoor said the bill “should have been enacted into law on 1 July 2009… it has to be done within the transitional two years [since the change of government]. There are only three months left.”

Gafoor said because the population of individual atolls are so small, sometimes under 10,000 people, it is not enough people to make administrative costs economically viable.

“We need [about] 40,000 people [in each region] to make it economically feasible,” he said, noting that this would mean cutting civil servants “as the extra layer simplifies the system.”

Gafoor said there would still be atoll councillors, but there wouldn’t be a need for representatives of the central government in each atoll, therefore reducing costs.

“We will cut down on red tape, on bureaucracy,” he said.

Gafoor added that if this section of the bill is passed, the subsequent elections for provincial ministers and representatives would be “a landmark election” for the country.

DRP response

Chairperson of the Decentralisation Committee and DRP MP Mohamed Mujthaz said there will only be another vote if an MP proposes amendments. Otherwise, he said, “tomorrow, the committee will finish [reviewing the bill].”

DRP MP Ahmed Nihan said the DRP has been “refusing to add” this concept of provincial division from the beginning.

He said DRP has never been against decentralisation, as it clearly stated in the Constitution the country should be run by a decentralised government. But he added “it is unconstitutional” to make the division into seven provinces and not the stipulated 21 regions.

Nihan said this new division would only complicate things more, adding “the public is now confused” as to where to go: the island office, atoll office, or province office: “The service is getting far away from the people.”

Nihan said MDP can ask for an amendment in Parliament, but said he thought “the public is not in the mood to let this happen.”

Government response

Press Secretary for the President, Mohamed Zuhair, said “the president’s view has been publicly stated. Just having atoll councillors does not prove good economics; it is too small a population.”

Zuhair said although the Constitution stipulates the country be divided into twenty-one atolls, “it does not prohibit” dividing it by provinces.

He said grouping the atolls into provinces was “necessary” and noted that “aid agencies have [also] grouped them. This is not a new idea.”

Zuhair said MDP MPs are boycotting the committee and said “there will still be intervention,” assuring “there will be a vote” in Parliament to resolve this.

He added that the president could, “by decree” include the provinces into the bill, “but it’s not the ideal situation. The president is still trying to garner support.”

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