Day: January 2, 2007

The Ministry of Higher Education, Employment and Social Security has released new statistics, which reveal that the number of expatriates working in the Maldives has surpassed the 53,000 mark.

The study shows that the three countries with the most nationals working in the Maldives are: India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka respectively. Over 19,000 workers from India are employed in the Maldives, 18,000 are from Bangladesh and approximately 7,000 come from Sri Lanka.

Data from the study, which has been published on the Ministry’s website, show that the construction industry hires the most expatriates with over 16,000 foreign employees registered as working in the trade.

The second highest number of registered expatriates in the country work in the tourism sector, which presently employees around 10,000 people.

Also, over 6,000 foreign workers are currently registered in the business and commercial sector, making it the third largest industry providing jobs for non-Maldivian nationals. The Ministry’s study also found that a significant increase of expatriate employees in the schools and education sector is also occurring.

Since the Employment Ministry’s last survey, nearly 8,000 more foreign workers were found to be employed in the Maldives.

This increase has occurred despite the Government publicly stating that it would like to see more Maldivians take over the jobs that are occupied by foreigners.

To help make their wish a reality, the Employment Ministry initiated the “Yes Campaign” in November, which is a job workshop that travels throughout the Maldives and aims to train youths for employment.

It has been estimated that thousands of young Maldivians will be provided with training under the program, which is intended to continue for five years.

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The Maldivian government has publicly condemned the execution of former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.

The main reason behind the Government’s disapproval was the fact that Hussein was hanged on the day of Al’ha Eid- the biggest festival celebrated in the Islamic world.

Foreign Minister Dr Ahmed Shaheed said that Hussein’s hanging on Al’ha Eid was “unacceptable” to the Maldivian government and that the action will do nothing but threaten the unity among Muslims and exacerbate existing conflicts.

“We condemn the crimes committed by Saddam during his rule,” said Shaheed. “He deserves to be punished. But hanging him will exacerbate conflicts among Muslims and threaten the unity of the Muslim world. This was not how it must have been done.”

Chief Government Spokesperson Hussain Shareef also spoke against the capital punishment used against Hussein.

“Hanging Saddam on the day of Al’haa Eid,” Said Shareef, “was an action that caused humiliation to Muslims.”

Shaheed went on to explain how the government of Maldives believed that Hussein’s hanging would intensify the current hostilities in Iraq.

“We are very concerned about the situation in Iraq,” said Shaheed, “Saddam’s execution will make things worse, he was hanged after he was found guilty of killing 148 Shi’ites in Dujail in 1982. Countries across the world have been condemning this punishment.”

The Maldivian Government was not the only group in the Maldives who criticised Hussein’s execution. The third political party to be recognised in the country, the Adhaalath Party (AP), said that the former Iraqi President was executed by the “Zionist and colonial powers” on the day of the Moslem Grand Festival deliberately to hurt the feelings of Muslims and intimidate them.

AP also went on to condemn the recent invasion of Iraq by foreign countries and said that it condemned the illegal occupation of Iraq by “the colonial powers of the United States of America and the United Kingdom”.

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