Month: December 2009

Six men arrested for dismantling DRP camp

Six men who attempted to remove a temporary Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) campaign office in Haa Alifu atoll Dhidhdhoo were arrested by police after a confrontation with those inside, Haveeru reports.

Police said the six men were taken into custody “to keep the peace”, and were later cautioned and released.

Dhidhdhoo Councilor Ahmed Shareef claimed that no authorisation to set up a political camp, or ‘jagaha’, in the harbour area had been given as the area was a commercial zone.

Leader of the DRP jagaha, Mohamed Naseer Nasru, said no permission had been sought for the camp because many others had previously been built in the area.

“There is no justification for this; it’s just plain unfair,” he told Haveeru. “We asked them not to take the place apart as we are willing to pay the rent for it.”

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

Maldives ‘easiest country in which to pay tax’

The Maldives has been crowned ‘the easiest country in which to pay tax’ for the second year running by the World Bank’s Doing Business in 2010 report, ahead of Qatar and Hong Kong.

The report measures the regulatory environment of most of the world’s economies, scoring them on factors such as the ease of starting a business, obtain construction permits, get credit and enforce contracts.

Overall the Maldives was ranked 87th out of 183 countries in the survey, a fall of 16 places on last year largely attributable to the increased difficulty of starting a new business (37th to 49th in 2010) and employ workers (6th to 41st in 2010).

Gaining credit within the country, trading across borders and closing a business continued to be major impediments to private economic development, the report indicated.

“The regulatory environment for businesses can influence how well firms cope with the economic crisis and are able to seize opportunities when recovery begins,” the report said.

Where business regulation is transparent and efficient, it is easier for firms to reorient themselves and for new firms to start up. Efficient court and bankruptcy procedures help ensure that assets can be reallocated quickly. And strong property rights and investor protections can help establish the basis for trust when investors start investing again.”

The World Bank report also revealed that despite possessing a multi-billion dollar tourist industry, the economically-troubled Maldives has the world’s third-lowest total commercial tax rate of 9.1 per cent behind Timor-Leste and Vanuatu.

Two bills on taxation have passed committee stage and are to be put before parliament for a vote, including one on corporate taxation and another on administrative framework structures. Next year’s budget relies heavily on taxation, although the legislation has not yet been passed.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

Fire victim evacuated to Sri Lanka with 65 percent burns

A man who was critically burned in a fire on Saturday at Dhaalu atoll Vaanee school has been evacuated to Sri Lanka for medical treatment, reports Haveeru.

Twenty-one year-old Abdulla Hussain from Alivilaage/Vaanee suffered burns to almost 65 per cent of his body, and currently requires a respirator to breathe. Doctors at Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital (IGMH) said the fire had scorched Hussain’s lungs, and a subsequent infection had filled them with fluid causing him to struggle to breath.

“Because of that we decided to send him abroad in case his condition got worse,” Dr Abdulla Ubaid told Haveeru.

Another man injured in the fire, 21 year-old Ibrahim Rasheed of Hiyaleege/Vaanee, suffered burns to 40 per cent of his body. He is still in intensive care but is recovering, doctors said.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

Maldives welcomes home SAFF finalists

Thousands of Maldivians welcomed home the national football team last night, filling Republican Square to the brim following the team’s narrow defeat to India in the SAFF final held in Bangladesh.

Goal.com reported that despite the Maldivian team’s unlucky defeat, their prowess on the field has made them “the soccer power of South Asia” while “captain Ali Ashfag has been acclaimed as the best player in the region.”

The team were greeted at Male International Airport by officials from the airport and the Football Association, as well as vice president Dr Mohamed Waheed. The group travelled to Republican Square in a brightly coloured boat where they were led through the crowds of spectators to the back of a pick up truck. The team then toured the streets of Male, to the delight of cheering supporters, disembarking at Lonuziyaaraiykolhu to shake hands with assembled fans.

The muted celebrations after Sunday’s defeat in a 3:1 penalty shoot-out were forgotten as thousands thronged the streets, cheering and honking the horns of their motorcycles.

The victorious Indian team had less of a welcome, after their flight home to Mumbai was delayed by more than 12 hours. After two hours sleep at what a senior player described as “a third class hotel”, the team returned to the airport at 5am only to be told the flight would not depart until later that evening.

“We haven’t slept for the last two nights,” said Indian coach Sukhwinder Singh, when he finally arrived back in Mumbai.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

Councilor says dismissal was for failing to obey MDP

Councilor of Maavah Laamu atoll Waleed Zakariya has claimed he was dismissed from the post earlier this month because he failed to give into demands by Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) activists on the island.

Speaking to Minivan News, Waleed said he has learned that he was fired on the request of an MDP member on the island who was unhappy with him.

“The MDP people who worked to get me fired asked me to do illegal things and made complaints to try and make me do those things,” he said, adding the actions they wanted him to take could not be taken “even by a dictator”.

Among the demands were repossessing parts of enlarged plots owned by Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) supporters and refusing to issue licenses and ID cards to them.

Waleed said some people demanded that he give out part of his salary to them and publicly refuse to provide any service to DRP supporters.

“I begged and pleaded with them and told them I can’t do those things, but they refused to accept,” he said, adding they believed the island office should pass criminal judgment on opposition members.

He added the government’s decision to dismiss him was very “irresponsible” as it was based on the complaints of “just three people”.

The three MDP activists in question had ties to high-ranking officials in the president’s office, he said.

Minivan News could not reach the president’s office press secretary for a comment at time of press.

While the MDP supporters claimed Waleed was ordered by the government to marginalize DRP supporters, Waleed said he did not receive any such orders. He had been councilor for 11 months prior to his dismissal.

A DRP supporter on the island told Minivan News that MDP “activists” did not like the councilor consulting opposition party supporters.

“They don’t even want to see him talking to anyone other than an MDP supporter,” he said.

Waleed said the DRP supporters on the island were happy with the job he had done. “I think the reason is that under my watch, I have rented out a lot of empty plots on the land to increase revenue for the people. When I took over the office, the total finances were Rf900,000. But, in these past 11 months, I have raised it to Rf2.2 million.”

MDP supporters are outnumbered by the opposition Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) on Maavah, which is represented by opposition People’s Alliance MP Abdul Azeez Jamal Abubakuru.

After the MDP supporters alleged in public that Waleed stole money from public coffers, the letter of dismissal was posted outside a popular café on the island.

Waleed said he had been approached by many islanders to express condolences and urging him to contest for the upcoming local council elections.

He said he was “100 per cent certain” that an MDP candidate would not win a seat.

Waleed said he still did not have any clear information about why he was fired when he was told about it on 3 December.

“It came as a shock to me. I said I’m at the office working right now and I haven’t heard anything either from the atoll office or the province office. And I have not been asked by anyone to clear up any information about my work. I said I found it hard to believe that I have suddenly been fired.”

He added neither the home affairs ministry nor the atoll office was informed of his dismissal even three days after the letter was sent out.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

Family claims two year-old died after receiving the wrong injection

A family is claiming the death of a two year old boy was due to the toddler received the wrong injection at Fuvahmulah Atoll Hospital, Haveeru reports.

The boy was taken to hospital because he was vomiting, and was given three injections and put on a drip by a doctor, the family said.

The boy’s condition began to improve gradually, however a nurse administered another injection that night, they claimed, adding that there were two needles on the tray she was carrying.

A family member told Haveeru that shortly after he was given the injection, the boy complained of a headache and started shivering.

“When we went to the nurse’s station and told them what was happening, the nurse who had administered the injection promptly left,” the family member told the newspaper. “A short while later the boy stopped moving and was taken to Addu under emergency condition.”

The child was rushed to IGMH hospital in Male, but died on Thursday night, the family member said.

The family have asked police, the Health Ministry, the Human Rights Commission and the Child Protection Department to investigate the matter.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

Internal threats to Islam most dangerous, says Adhaalath

The chairman of the religious scholars council of the Adhaalath told a  press conference yesterday that threats to Islam within the Maldives were far more dangerous than any external problems, Miadhu reports.

Dr Abdul Majeed claimed religions other than Islam were being introduced to the country by people travelling abroad for education and becoming converted.

“They embrace other religions. They become senior officials of the government or get elected as MPs,” he said.

Dr Majeed called for Islamic faith to be strengthened, saying “that if the faith is strong, none of the external factors will lead us astray either.”

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

Football team welcomed back

MPs and members of parliament’s secretariat held a lorry ride to welcome the Maldives national football team back to Male’ following their defeat in the SAFF championships, Miadhu reports.

MP Abdulla Abdul Raheem told Television Maldives that the team played well and their efforts should be congratulated. He also added that while the Maldives was defeated, he was hopeful of a victory next year.

Deputy Secretary General of Parliament Dr Ali Shameem said that while the team did not win they had united the country.

The Maldives won the SAFF championship last year but were defeated by India in a 3-1 penalty shootout.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

President invited to economic forum

The secretary general of the World Islamic Economic Forum (WIEF) has invited President Mohamed Nasheed to attend the forum’s sixth meeting.

The invitation requests the president deliver a keynote address for the special session on climate change

The forum will be opened by Dato Sri Najob Tun Abdul Razak, prime minister of Malaysia and patron of the WIEF foundation.

WIEF are scheduled in meet in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in May 2010.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)