Category: Society & Culture

CSC to take finance ministry to court over salary dispute

The Civil Service Commission (CSC) has announced it will take the finance to court to resolve the on-going civil servant salary dispute.

“We will go to the judicial courts and claim for the amount reduced from the salaries of civil servants,” the CSC said today in a statement.

The CSC said that receiving “full payment for their work” was a right for all civil servants, and advised them to be patient and continue working.

Press secretary for the president’s office Mohamed Zuhair said he preferred the dispute be resolved through discussions.

”I advise the CSC not to take the matter to court as first option,” he said, claiming that “some people are trying to use this situation as a political weapon.”

Zuhair said the government would defend itself if the CSC filed a lawsuit against it.

A senior staff member at the attorney general’s office today said staff would continue striking until their salaries were restored, even though the CSC has said it would not support strikes.

He gave the government three options: “restore the salary, agree to give us the money we have lost after the government’s economic condition stabilises, or reduce working hours,” he said.

He claimed the government had no legal action standing in court over the matter.

”We are planning to go to the courts, or to wait until the dispute between the CSC and the finance ministry ends,” he added, noting that only a few staff at the AG’s office presented for work today.

The finance ministry had not responded to Minivan News at time of press.

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‘Strikes lawful but we won’t support them’, says CSC

President of Civil Service Commission (CSC) Mohamed Latheef has said that the commission does not support strikes on principle “as civil servants are working for the benefit of the people, and [striking] is harmful for the people.”

However he said that those civil servants who were striking over the salary issue were using a right accorded them under the law.

He also said civil servants had a right to their full salary this month, and that it was “unfair” of the government to restore only some salaries (at the independent commissions).

Latheef said that all government employees, including independent commissions, “must face the difficulties due to the country’s economic condition.”

“The CSC believes that this is a national issue and it can be solved by speaking. Going to the court is not our first option, we wish this to be solved by talks,” he said.

Press secretary for the president’s office Mohamed Zuhair said it was not the government who decided the salaries of independent commissions, and that “rather it was decided by the parliament and the government does not have any power over it.”

Civil servants salaries accounted for 70 per cent of government’s expenditure, he said, while the independent commissions accounted for only five per cent.

He added that while the CSC might not believe that legal action could be taken against the striking civil servants, “that is not how the government feels about this.”

He said the government would restore the salaries of civil servants when its income reaches Rf7 billion, and the fact that parliament approved a budget of Rf7 billion “does not mean that we have it on our hands now,” he explained.

Spokesman for the Finance Ministry Ismail Shafeeq said that the government would provide civil servants “what we can.”

“Everyone knows the country’s economic condition,” he said.

Shafeeq said that he believes everyone, including civil servants and independent commissions, “must endure the special economic conditions of the country.”

“The finance ministry will be deciding whether or not to change their decision,” he added.

MDP MP Ahmed Easa said he believed civil servants and the independent commissions should both be receiving the lowered salary.

“When salaries are increased the country’s inflation rate gets high,” he said, “and when the inflation rate rises prices rise as well.’

Easa said “the best solution” was for the government to keep the 15 per cent salary money “and cut the import duty for food.”

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Religious scholars dispute government’s healthcare scheme

The vice president of religious organisation Jamiyyath-al-Salaf, Sheikh Hassan Moosa Fikry has claimed the government’s ‘Madhana’ healthcare scheme resembles an insurance program and is against the principles of Islam.

Sheikh Hassan said that the Madhana health insurance scheme “was not a balanced system” and represented
”a loss for both the people and the government.”

He also claimed that the Madhana scheme was not organised according to the Islamic banking system.

‘Madhana’ is a scheme run by the government that provides up to Rf100,000 (US$7782) of medical treatment for members, in return for an annual fee of Rf2000 (US$155).

”For example, I pay the government Rf2000 to take part in the Madhana program, and if I do not get ill that year, wouldn’t that be a loss of Rf2000 for me?” Sheikh Hassan said.

He claimed that the State Minister for Islamic Affairs Sheikh Mohamed Shaheem Ali Saeed once wrote a religious article about insurance, which on the first paragraph stated that health insurance was not allowed for Muslims.

However President of the Adhaalath Party Sheikh Hussein Rasheed Ahmed said that all health insurance programs were allowed under Islam, with the exception of self-insurance, and that Madhana was “a help” offered by the government to its people.

”I’m not saying this in response to what Salaf has said,” he added.

Religious scholar Sheik Ilyas Hussein also claimed that only self-insurance was prohibited for Muslims.

“If the Madhana health scheme was done as business then it might be a problem,” he said. “If it is done as charity it would be allowed.”

Spokesman for the Islamic Ministry Sheikh Ahmadhulla said he could not comment on the issue at the moment “because this is a religious matter” and he did not have the right to give religious advice.

Permanent secretary for the Health Ministry Sheena Moosa said that she was also unable to comment as the issue was a religious matter, but claimed the Madhana scheme was not modelled on health insurance.

”We do it as charity for the benefit of people,” she said, adding that the government did not invest any of the money received it received through the scheme.

”We keep all the money as a separate fund,” she explained.

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Government departments strike over salaries

Staff at several government departments, including the fisheries ministry and the attorney general’s office, have gone on strike in protest at the restoration of salaries for only some areas of government.

Staff a some of the other ministries, including the tourism ministry, are rumoured to be deciding whether they should take part.

Yesterday salaries were restored for staff at the independent commissions, courts, parliament and the judicial services. The president announced over the weekend that the remaining civil servant salaries will be restored in April if the country’s economy has stabilised.

A senior staff member from the attorney general’s office told Minivan News that more than 40 people working at the office were participating the strike, and would continue to do so until their received the restored salaries.

“We will come to the office every day, but we won’t be doing any work,” he said, claiming that the strikers were just trying to get their legal rights.

A senior staff member from the fisheries ministry confirmed that most of the civil servants at the ministry were on strike, including the management.

Some of the ministry’s senior staff had threatened legal action against the strikers, he said.

”We are working legally to get our rights,” he claimed, explaining that civil servants were present at the office but were refusing to work.

A civil servant working in the tourism ministry said staff were planning to sent a letter to the Civil Service Commission (CSC) about the issue.

”We will decide to strike or not depending on the answer we get,” she said.

The economic ministry said that all of its staffs were present and all of them were working “as normal.” A staff member said that they were not planning to strike.

Spokesman for the Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) Ibrahim Shareef said that no legal action could be taken against the civil servants protesting.

”It is a right for the civl servants according to the law,” Shareef said, but added that the DRP had not yet decided whether to support the strike.

CSC spokesman Mohamed Fahmy Hassan said the CSC had yet to discuss the issue in detail but was currently “definitely not calling for strikes”, and was instead trying to solve the dispute through administrative and legal means.

“We have stated very openly that if we cannot solve it administratively, we will take the issue to court until we get a verdict,” he said.

Strikes would disrupt the services provided by the ministries and inconvenience the public, he added.

“I think the fact that some salaries have been restored has made it harder to persuade civil servants that the country has a financial problem. It’s very unfair what’s happened.”

State Minister for Finance Ahmed Assad said that civil servants were entitled to strike for their rights.

”We have not decided to change any of our decisions yet,” Assad said, refusing to answer more questions “as it is too early to say anything.”

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Police testify against president’s office staff member over drugs charge

Two policewomen have testified in court against the deputy under secretary of the President’s Office, Aishath Eeman, after she was arrested on drugs related charge.

The police testified that Eeman refused to give them a urine sample when she was brought into the police station on suspected drug possession in December 2009.

Constable Mahdhoodhaa Saleem told the court that Eeman was requested to give a urine sample three different times, but she had refused.

Constable Thalia Ali also said she asked Eeman for a urine sample, and explained that the procedure was that the person would only give the sample if they wanted to.

When judge Abdulla Mohamed heard this, he said that giving the sample was a person’s own choice and that an accusation could’t be made just because someone refused to do something out of choice.

However the state prosecutor said that the judge had misunderstood, and that Constable Thaila had used the right of the police to request a urine sample.

Eeman’s defense team meanwhile said that Eeman could refuse giving a urine sample as part of her right to remain silent.

The policewomen’s testimony conflicted in the time Eeman was reportedly brought in. Constable Mahdhoodhaa said Eaman was brought to the station around 6:00pm in the evening, while Constable Thaila said Eeman was brought to the station between 9:00pm and 12:00pm.

Speaking on behalf of the president’s office, Press Secretary Mohamed Zuhair said Eeman was “technically on leave at the moment. We are providing legal assistance for her through the president’s office.”

Zuhair said the case was being conducted by the judicial system, “so even if the person is from the president’s office they must be investigated.”

The Deputy Prosecutor General Shameem said that despite the high profile of the defendant prosecutor general’s office was not giving the case any special attention and was treating it “like any other normal case.”

The trial is continuing.

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Education ministry shifts functions to province offices

The ministry of education signed management contracts with seven province offices yesterday to decentralise certain administrative functions of the ministry.

Minister of Education Musthafa Luthfy signed the contract on behalf of the Ministry and state ministers for each province signed on behalf of their province.

President Mohamed Nasheed said the government intended to eventually shift all the ministry’s powers and services to the province offices.

Dividing the Maldvies into seven provinces was one of the five election pledges Nasheed made in 2008, a move that has met with considerable controversy in parliament to the extent of stalling it completely in the closing sessions of its last sitting.

Independent MP Mohamed Nasheed said the government’s plan to “wipe out” the atolls from the Maldives by dividing them into provinces was against the law.

”The government is physically trying to re-distribute the country – it is not advisable,” Nasheed said.

Nasheed said the president could name ministries, provide offices and give them whatever powers he wished, but there were no provinces in the Maldives “according to the law.”

Furthermore, he claimed it was “not wise” for the president to beginning carrying out the work of decentralising the Maldives before parliament had approved it.

”We hope the next bill on decentralising the Maldives will include more compromise than the previous bill,” Nasheed added.

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MTDC agrees to pay Yacht Tours $3.5 million to end court dispute

The Maldives Tourism Promotion Board (MTDC) has agreed to an out of court settlement with Yacht Tours Maldives (YTM) after a long-running dispute over Herathera Island Resort.

MTDC claimed that YTM had been running Herathera Island Resort without paying rent and took the company to court. In May last year YTM was ordered to pay US$8 million in outstanding rent to MTDC.

Managing Director of MTDC Mohamed Mihad said if necessary, the board would withdraw the funds from the US$10 million bank guarantee YTM had paid to to secure the resort during the bidding process to sublease the island.

YTM stopped paying rent in December 2008, claiming MTDC had failed to fulfil a contractual obligation to build a channel between Herethere Resort and Hulhudhoo, an adjoining inhabited island, by 30 November 2008.

MTDC responded by terminating the company’s contract and giving Yacht Tours seven days to hand over the resort. In response, Yacht Tours lodged a civil case to sue MTDC for US$47 million in compensation for the incomplete channel and projected losses.

“Yacht Tours doesn’t have the right to stay on the island and do business without paying rent… We have sent them a letter asking them to leave as soon as possible,” Mihad told Minivan News at the time, adding that MTDC would file a court case if YTM refused to hand back the island.

YTM claimed it was unable to pay the rent because the occupancy of the island was low, due to the financial crisis. At one point YTM CEO Ahmed Mohamed claimed 600 staff were working at the resort despite there only being 28 guests.

In October 2009 the court gave MTDC control of the resort, which it claimed to have spent US$55 million developing.

At a press conference held today, journalists expressed confusion when the chairman of MTDC, Ibrahim Saleem, said that the organisation would now pay YTM would US$3.5 million over 24 months including including a US$1 million down payment.

Saleem said the decision was “a commercial decision” and “the best way we found to solve the problem.”

“If we continue disputing this we might have to continue for two or three years. It’s taken too long to solve this problem,” he said.

MTDC would earn a substantial profit from running the Herathera Island Resort while courting interest from foreign investors, he said.

YTM and MTDC sent a letter to the court saying both parties considered the problem resolved.

CEO of YTM Ahmed Mohamed was unwilling to comment to Minivan News regarding the matter.

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Hospital charges to remain stable despite Apollo deal, pledges health ministry

The ministry of health has pledged that hospital charges will remain stable at Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital (IGMH), even though it is to managed by private company Apollo Hospital Group.

Health Minister Dr Aminath Jameel said the hospital remained a state asset “and we have only handed the management of the hospital over to Apollo.”

The minister also said that IGMH would be turned into a teaching hospital, which would provide training for nurses and paramedics in line with the government’s aim of ensuring at least 80 per cent of hospital staff are Maldivian within 15 years. Currently 60 per cent of the hospital’s nursing staff are foreign.

The health ministry acknowledged that IGMH was not at the standard that a tertiary hospital should be.

“Even though it’s hard to accept, we don’t have the capacity within the country to bring the hospital up to standard. We needed help from a foreign party,” Jameel said.

A situational analysis of the hospital will be conducted in the first three months of new management, after which a work plan will be submitted to the government.”

“We want the hospital to have a good management team to oversee the daily management of services,” Jameel said.

She also offered reassurances that Maldivian jobs would not be lost as part of this deal, and that the agreement was within the Maldivian employment act.

The current ratio at IGMH is three foreign staff for every Maldivian, a statistic Jameel said the ministry hoped to reverse.

Where’s the money?

The ministry paints the deal as very good for the Maldives on paper. But what does Apollo stand to gain?

Zubair Mohamed, CEO of IGMH said the deal with Apollo “wasn’t done to make a profit, but to provide good health care.”

Asked if how Apollo would be able to make a return on their US$20 million investment in the dilapidated Male’ hospital, Zubair said money “was a combined investment made by Apollo, the Indian government and the Maldives – not to be recovered, but to motivate the hospital.”

The benefits would be quickly realised, he said, “and after the first five years, IGMH will have the capacity to train doctors on the job as general practitioners.”

Zubair also said that having a high standard of hospital would open up possibilities for medical tourism, a lucrative sub-sector of the tourism industry in countries like Thailand.

“Having a good hospital means doors are opened for things like wellness tourism and palative care. Even tourists can comfortably have a medical check-up,” Zubair said.

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NGO hold a meeting on decentralisation

Decentralisation is one of the biggest issues facing the Maldives, a group of NGOs said yesterday at a meeting intended to inform the public on the subject.

Transparency Maldives, Democracy house, Rights for All, Madulu, Maldivian Detainee Network, Strength of Society and the Hodehdhoo Association for Development gave out information on decentralisation, an issue which last month caused gridlocks inside parliament and protests outside.

During the last term of parliament, President Nasheed presented a bill to decentralising the Maldives and divide up the islands into seven provinces, as stated in the manifesto of MDP.

Opposition DRP MPs stalled the bill with ammendments leading to quarrelling in the final sessions and several protests. The DRP claimed dividing the Maldives into provinces would affect the provision of services to people, while the MDP claimed it would make it easier.

President Nasheed withdrew the bill due to the heated dispute between MPs, with the intention of returning it later.

DRP MP Ahmed Mahloof said that dividing the Maldives into seven provinces was “illegal”.

Mahloof claimed only 15 per cent of the population would vote for decentralisation if President Nasheed put it to a referendum.

”We asked them to take a vote among the people, and I know they are afraid,” said Mahloof.

Meanwhile, MDP MP Ahmed Easa claimed according to the law Nasheed is compelled to divide the Maldives into provinces because it was in the MDP’s manifesto.

”We believe that people voted for MDP because they want to have what is in our manifesto, so we do not need to be taking another vote on this which will cost more than Rf50 million to undertake,” said Easa.

He claimed that dividing the islands into provinces would bring facilities closer to people.

”For instance, is it easier to come Male’ to get a service provided by the housing ministry or to get that service from the nearby island?” Easa asked.

The bill will return to parliament when it resumes in March.

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