Maldives customs have begun discussions over whether to introduce drug-sniffer dogs to the Maldives, reports Miadhu.
The newspaper reports that the customs has recently been trying to upgrade its capacity to the scan of goodsimported into the country.
Last year Maldives customs seized almost 13 kilograms of illegal drugs.
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(0)Maldives Transport and Contracting Company (MTCC) has decided to reduce the motorcycle parking fee at the Male-Villingilli and Hulhumale’-Male ferry terminals, reports Miadhu.
Miadhu reported that MTCC decided to change the parking fee because a lot of customers had requested to lower the fee.
The fee MTCC charged at the first of January was Rf360 (US$28), and has been reduced to Rf185 (US$14).
(0)Dislikes(0)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.
(0)Dislikes(0)Mariyam Wafa, 25, lives in a two bedroom flat. By changing the light bulbs in her sitting room to energy saving bulbs, she claims her electricity bill dropped by Rf200.
In most homes lighting accounts for 10 to 15% of electricity bills. Simply changing to energy saving light bulbs can save up to 80% of the energy of normal bulbs.
“We can’t give an exact figure for how much you can save as no studies have been done in Maldives, and different brands and lights differ,” says Ahmed Rauf, engineer of STELCO.
However he says it’s always better to buy trusted brands ‘to avoid getting a 10 watt bulb instead of the 5 watt one as mentioned, because we have come across such cases.”
At a time when Maldivians are paying high prices for the electricity they consume, unlike before when STELCO was largely subsidized by the state, it makes sense to look into ways to reduce household electricity consumption. The Maldives has also pledged to become the first carbon neutral country, and suddenly the issue of one’s own carbon foot print comes into play.
Renewable energy: long term benefits
Vice president Dr Mohamed Waheed Hassan has been using solar water heaters since 2003.
“We haven’t used any electricity for heating water in the last six years – the heated water from the solar heaters is enough for the usage of a couple,” says Dr Waheed.
The solar-heated water is used for washing, cooking and showering.
“On top of that, there has not been any need for maintenance work also.”
Dr Waheed envisages a future where the vice president’s residence is completely powered by renewable energy.
Ibrahim Ali works in his family-run business Renewable Energy Maldives (REM), and says solar panels can be used with or without electricity from the grid.
“You could either opt to use [just] solar panels by saving energy to a battery for use during the night time, or switch to normal electricity during night and use solar panels during the days only,” he explains.
One house that uses a grid-connected solar system is Maafanu Sunny lodge.
“We have cut about 50% off our electricity bill since the installation,” says a resident of the house.
“We are using it on one floor of the building and it caters for the electricity needs of our family of six.”
The system is programmed to automatically switch off at night and use normal electricity during the night time.
Ibrahim acknowledges that it is expensive to install solar panels. But he reasons if you take into consideration the 15 year lifespan of the panels and the cost of electricity, “it is worth it.”
“Switching to solar air conditioners is very possible in Male. For a three room apartment it costs around Rf23,000 to install,” he says, explaining that this would typically cut energy consumption by between 30% to 70%.
He takes the case of Happy Mart: “Their electricity bill hovered around Rf5000 before they made the switch. These days the maximum figure on their bill is Rf 2000.”
Though some houses and businesses are opting for solar powered air-conditioners, the demand for solar among residents in Male’ remains low.
“We have installed them in uninhabited islands and resorts,” he says.
He says the price of the panels remains a problem, largely because of the 20% import duty President Mohamed Nasheed has promised to waive but has yet to do.
Reducing the bill
Rauf from STELCO says simply changing a few habits and making an informed choice when buying electrical equipment can reduce a person’s electric bill.
“A room should be properly insulated and have curtains on windows if air-conditioning is used.”
He also says maintaining an optimal temperature throughout instead of minimizing it once you come in from outdoors will consume less energy.
“People oversee the fact that ceiling fans also waste a lot of energy if left on when nobody’s in the room.”
Appliances on standby mode are other culprits: “Computers and other things could be turned off at night time.”
Rauf recommends buying fridges with the right capacity, as “a 400 litre fridge is enough for a family of six.”
“Make sure you don’t put any hot items in it.”
Changing to a steam iron and making sure that its less than 1200 watts, and ironing clothes in one go are other ways to make sure less energy is consumed.
“A little more attention to all this minimizes the consumption of electricity.”
(0)Dislikes(0)The Maldives Police Service has issued a statement saying it will investigate “serious crimes” committed during the protest outside the president’s residence, Muleeage, and MNDF headquarters late on Thursday night.
The police statement also condemned comments made by opposition Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) MP Ali Waheed that police supported the protest, and accused him of “trying to take away the people’s trust in the police. Police will always be faithful to the government and fulfil their duty.”
The president’s press secretary, Mohamed Zuhair, said he believed Ali Waheed “may be right”.
“I believe the police force is largely composed of law abiding officers, but there is still a rogue element and this may be the element Ali Waheed is referring to,” Zuhair said.
“The [protest] coincided with the firing of several police including assistant commissioner Abdulla Riyaz,” he said.
“Not 24 hours after [the protest], police raided a premises (Marble apartments) where three state ministers were staying, after claims of a girl crying. They went through the apartments saying they were searching for forensic evidence that a girl had been raped. Three times they raided and the fourth time they came in plain clothes and were denied entry – I’m sure some of them were not comfortable with the recent changes in the Maldives and the fact that their former hero lost the election.”
Zuhair also claimed it “was within the resources of Riyaz to find out certain facts about the man who [allegedly] died in police custody, to try and rile up the crowd.”
“I suspect this was instigated [from within] the police. They were trying to make a similar situation to Evan Naseem.”
Riyaz was not responding to calls at time of press. Sub-inspector Ahmed Shiyam said police could not comment on the case during the investigation, but noted that the police operation to control the crowd had ultimately been successful “and police did not fail in any way.”
“People gathered at the artificial beach and proceeded to police headquarters,” Shiyam said. “Police tried to stop them but they broke police lines twice, before police reorganised and dispersed the crowd outside the president’s house.”
He noted that “senior parliament members broke police lines after police ordered them not to”, while in addition, “some people tried to enter the gate of MNDF headquarters, and MNDF has sent the case to the police. This is really serious to national security.”
DRP MP Ahmed Mahlouf, who acknowledged himself as one of the protest’s leaders, questioned police support for the government.
“We are sure that 90 per cent of the police and MNDF do not support the government’s policy or the president,” he said, adding that the police statement sounded “very pressured”.
“Statements on DhiFM that the protest was trying to overthrow the government were just not true,” he said. “We try to control our protests and ask people to not attack the police and be nice. I’ve watched MDP’s protests for almost five years, and they are very violent and they attack police.”
Despite accusations to the contrary, the protesters outside Muleeage did not throw stones into the compound, Mahlouf said, “as there were no rocks in the area”.
He acknowledged that some protesters had thrown sand in the faces of police officers – Zuhair accused “opposition” parties of “employing Indian and Bangladeshi expatriates” to throw the sand.
“I also saw that on the video,” Mahlouf said. “I do not support that, it was not something nice. But I believe that happened after police fired tear gas, while the crowd was very angry.”
He said claims that the protesters had tried to gain entry to the MNDF base and the president’s residence were “a joke”.
“Nobody would have gone inside, for sure. I was one of the people leading the protest and there was no plan to go inside the MNDF headquarters or the president’s residence,” he said.
“Saying that the DRP was trying to enter the MNDF headquarters is a joke. I am still mentally fit and would not walk into the MNDF base with guns [pointed at me].”
Mahlouf insisted that the protest “wasn’t organised by us” and it “never got out of hand. I was very happy with the way the police and MNDF treated us. We didn’t do anything against the law; we can protest where we want without informing the government. They can’t override the constitution.
“It is sad that Mohamed Nasheed’s government is investigating a protest when he is the president who gave Maldivians the right to protest,” he added.
(0)Dislikes(0)Ahmed Thasmeen Ali has been elected as the leader for the opposition Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP), as no other member of the party stood to compete against him.
The party’s former leader Maumoon Abdul Gayoom recently endorsed Thasmeen as the DRP’s leader following his resignation from politics.
DRP member and former president of the Islamic Democratic Party (IDP) Umar Naseer congratulated Thasmeen for becoming leader but the leader of the DRP “must not [automatically] be the DRP’s candidate for the presidential election; it has to be taken by a vote,’ he said.
DRP spokesman Ibrahim Shareef said he had “nothing to say about it.”
“The DRP congress will confirm Thasmeen as the president and it’s done, what else should I say?” he said.
MDP MP Ahmed Easa claimed Thasmeen’s automatic election as leader was undemocratic, particularly after Gayoom’s public endorsement.
“It’s unbelievable that nobody else stood up for the DRP leadership,” he said.
Press secretary of the president’s office Mohamed Zuhair said while the government was happy that the DRP is strengthening its internal democracy, Thasmeen’s election and Gayoom’s endorsement was “a one horse race, just the way it used to be.”
‘That the leader of the DRP was elected without a single person standing against is not very democratic,” Zuhair stated.
Minivan News was unable to reach Thasmeen for comment.
(0)Dislikes(0)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.”
(0)Dislikes(0)Staff at the former atolls ministry have collected more than Rf195,000 (US$15,100) in aid for the Islamic Ministry, to be put towards the construction of mosques, reports Miadhu.
The Islamic Ministry has said there are 16 islands where mosques need to be constructed, at a cost of more than Rf60 million (US$4.66 million).
(0)Dislikes(0)Diva resort in the Maldives has been voted the third most romantic hotel in Asia by TripAdvisor, reportedly the world’s largest travel website.
The luxury Maldivian resort was placed behind of Cape Sienna Hotel & Villas in
Kamala, Thailand, and Samaya Bali in Seminyak, Indonesia.
The 2010 Travellers Choice award recipients were decided by tabulating the opinions of millions of real travellers from all over the world.
Travellers praised the South Ari atoll resort as “breathtaking”, “a heavenly paradise”, and “beyond comprehension.”
General manager of Diva John Mathis told Miadhu that the award was “good news” that will “further boost our position as a prime destination for romance and honeymoons”.
Despite only being open for two years the resort has already been named the ‘Best hotel in the Indian Ocean’ in Conde Nast Traveller’s Hot List 2009 and ‘Hideaway of the Year’ 2008 in German magazine Hideaway.
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