Day: May 26, 2010

Foreign Ministry accuses Nihan of “creating mistrust” over Gitmo claims

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has accused DRP MP Ahmed Nihan of “irresponsibly” spreading false rumours that Guantanamo Bay detainees had been secretly brought to the Maldives, calling his claims “not only false but designed to mislead the public and create mistrust.”

Nihan yesterday claimed he was “99.99 percent sure” that the detainees had already been brought to the Maldives, an assertion the government has “categorically rejected”.

“The Maldives government, last December, publicly announced its intention to contribute to the closure of the Guantanamo Bay detention facility by receiving a few innocent detainees in the Maldives,” the Ministry said today in a press statement.

“The governments of the United States and the Maldives are carrying out bilateral discussions to establish the legal framework within which the humanitarian transfer will take place, in full compliance with the laws of the two countries, and in manner that will ensure that the persons invited to the Maldives will not a pose a security threat to the Maldives,” it added.

Accepting detainees would “directly contribute to the enhancement of the national interests of the Maldives, through promotion of human rights and solidarity with fellow Muslims, and strengthening partnership with countries who cherish freedom and human dignity,” the Ministry said.

Nihan, who said he was on his way to Mecca for a pilgrimage, today claimed that “a press statement is not enough to prove I’m wrong.”

“I wonder why they are so worried about what I said?” he asked, accusing Foreign Minister Dr Ahmed Shaheed of “speaking in double tongue.”

Nihan argued that the government had not been open with the public on the matter, saying “I’m sure the government can clarify that 0.01 percent. Parliament’s National Security Committee will be requesting information from immigration regarding people who had visited the Maldives with improper passports.”

He said the government, “especially President Nasheed and the Foreign Minister Dr Shaheed”, “should be more open to the public regarding the Guantanamo Bay issue if they really want to prove that the gitmos are not here already.”

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“Bad effects” if Dhivehi and Islam made optional, warns State Islamic Minister

State Islamic Minister Sheikh Mohamed Shaheem Ali Saeed has warned on the Adhaalath Party website that making Dhivehi and Islam optional subjects at A-Level would risk “bad effects” to the country.

Shaheem said that changing the subjects from compulsory to optional was one of the biggest disputes regarding the new developing school curriculum.

”In my view it would wiser to instead revise the school curriculum and keep Islam and Dhivehi as compulsory subjects,” said Shaheem.

He recommended that A-Level Islamic studies be improved through the inclusion of topics such as ‘human rights in Islam’, ‘freedom of expression in Islam’, and ‘the Quran and science.’

”It would prove to the students that Islam is a religion fit for all ages, and will lead students to understand how developed it is,” Shaheem said.

He said that changing Islam and Dhivehi to optional subjects was like ”breaking down a good habit attached to the country.”

He said the school curriculum should be designed in a way that would make Islam an interesting subject for students.

”We do not have to demolish mosques because people do not pray,” he said.

The controversial decision to make Dhivehi and Islam optional subjects for A-Level students has sparked a series of protests outside the home of Education Minister Dr Mustafa Luthfy.

Dr Luthfy recently said the decision was not finalised and was ”just a suggestion proposed by the Education ministry’s steering committee.”

The move led Independent MP Ibrahim Muthalib to push a no-confidence motion against the Education Minister over the decision, while the Adhaalath Party meanwhile warned that Dr Luthfy “has put the final nails in his political coffin.”

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Government to build 350 housing units in Male

The Housing Ministry will build 350 housing units in Male within one and a half years, and 500 within two years according to a report in Miadhu.

The work will be performed by K. Agrawal of India, and will consist of three bedroom units of 1000 square feet, with a monthly rent of US$850.

“The housing units will be leased in a manner that the person will complete the payment within 15 years. Some of the flats will be awarded to those who are eligible for housing benefits,” Aslam said.

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PA membership drops to less than 3000

A political party membership report published by the Elections Commission (EC) shows that the membership of People’s Alliance (PA) has dropped to less than 3000.

The EC recently sent a bill to parliament that if passed, will mean any political party which does not have a minimum of 3000 members will dissolves by default.

The EC report, published on May 20, indicates that the PA now has 2986 members, 35 less than the previous report published on May 13.

President of the EC Fuad Thaufeeq said that after the bill is passed any political party with a membership of less than 3000 would be given a period of one year before it was disbanded.

He said that he did not know when the bill would be passed and implemented.

PA Registrar Mohamed Rasheed said the party had sent 250 membership forms to the EC which would take the membership number above 3000.

”We focus to maintain the membership at least at 3000,” Rasheed said. ”As we are in a coalition with the DRP we don’t do much work to increase the number of members.”

Rasheed said that people have always been resigning and joining the party.

”400 people may resign within a week,” he said, ”another week 800 people may join.”

The Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP), led by Ahmed Thasmeen Ali, has the highest amount of members according to the EC report, ahead of the Maldivian Democratic Party MDP by 2036 members.

The DRP hada  total of 38,254 on the last report, which was 191 members less than the previous report.

MDP had 36,218 members in it, 1185 members more than the previous report.

The Jumhoory Party lead by Gasim ‘Buruma’ Ibrahim was the third largest political party with 6204 members.

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Doubling salary spend in 2007-09 crippled economy: World Bank

An internal World Bank bank report produced for the donor’s conference, called ‘Placing the Macro Challenge Facing the Maldives in Context’ has revealed the full extent of the economic challenge facing the country.

“The Maldives faces the most challenging macroeconomic situation of all democratic transitions that have occurred since 1956,” the report claims, noting that the full level of financial strife “may not be fully appreciated.”

In terms of GDP growth rate the Maldives is in the lowest 10 percent of the distribution of all transitions, and in terms of public sector deficit, the Maldives faces the worst situation of all previous democratic transitions.

Under the heading ‘How did the Maldives get into this situation?’, the World Bank report notes that “the origin of the crisis is very clear… the wage bill for public sector employees grew dramatically in a very short time.”

An accompanying graph of the country’s total spending on ‘salaries and allowances’ shows a doubling of expenditure between 2003 and 2007, and a sharp increase between 2007 and 2009 as spending more than doubles yet again from Rf2 billion to almost Rf5 billion. Revenues meanwhile plummet steadily during 2008.

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Inflated spending on salaries in 2007 sparked an economic crisis

“Even before government revenues fell and when government revenues were at an all time high in 2008, the ratio of the wage bill to revenues at 46.5 percent was also at an all-time high (46.5 percent compared to an average of 38.1 percent between 2000 and 2007). When revenues plummeted in 2009, the share of the wage bill to revenues rose an astronomical 89 percent,” the report explains.

“While part of the increase was due to hiring more workers, the major part of the increase was due to the increase in compensation,” it said.

Increases to the salaries and allowances of government employees between 2006 and 2008 reached 66 percent, “by far the highest increase in compensation over a three year period to government employees of any country in the world,” the report noted.

Spokesman for the Civil Service Commission (CSC) Mohamed Fahmy said the increases needed to be considered in the context of “the total budget situation”, and were in line with government expenditure during the period.

“We have a tradition of salary increases every other year,” he said, rather than an annual increase based on inflation.

Those paid by the government included not only civil servants, “but political appointees, commissions, the judiciary”, he emphasised.

“Our case all long has been that everyone employed by the government has to be treated equally,” Fahmy said.

“If the government does not have the money to pay in full, then whatever it does have has to be paid out in an equitable manner that upholds the constitution. Everybody has to be treated equally – it is very important to make that distinction.”

World’s greatest tax haven

Meanwhile, the World Bank’s annual ‘Doing Business’ report for 2010 saw the Maldives’ ‘ease of doing business’ ranking fall from 71 to 87, and identified no ‘business-friendly’ reforms. The report acknowledges the Maldives as the world’s number one tax haven, although this could soon change if a pending bill on taxation is passed by Parliament.

Countries with successful business reforms “follow a longer-term agenda aimed at increasing the competitiveness of their firms and economy,” the report noted.

“But while successful reformers follow a clear direction in their policy agenda, they do not hesitate to respond to new economic realities,” it said. “Mauritius, the top-ranked economy in Sub-Saharan Africa, just announced a new insolvency act ‘to maintain the viability of the commercial system in the country.'”

The top countries in which to do business are Singapore, New Zealand and Hong Kong, the report noted.

Correction: An earlier version of this story described Mohamed Fahmy as a member of the ‘Civil Service Association(CSC)’.  Fahmy is a member of the Civil Service Commission (CSC).

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Visiting scholar Zakir Naik and family arrives to the Maldives

World famous Islamic scholar Dr Zakir Naik and his family yesterday arrived in the Maldives.

Naik is scheduled to deliver sermons tonight at the Maafannu Stadium on the topic ”Misconceptions of Islam”.

Naik’s wife is also scheduled to deliver a sermon to women at the Islamic Centre.

Zakir Naik will depart on March 31.

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Bangladeshi expatriates can strengthen cultural links, says VP

Bangladeshi expatriates can help strengthen the cultural relationship between the Maldives and Bangladesh, Vice President Dr Mohamed Waheed Hassan said at a forum organised by the Bangladesh High Commission to the Maldives.

Dr Waheed said historically the Maldives had focused on Bangladesh’s economic input to the Maldives, “but should appreciate the cultural and human dimensions of Bangladesh’s rich culture.”

He noted that Bangladesh had one of the world’s most advanced civil society movements, from which the Maldives could benefit.

The forum marks the beginning of a cultural exchange programme between the two countries.

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Man found dead in woods

A 52 year old man was found dead in the woods of Faresmaathodaa in Gaafu Dhaalu Atoll, after he was believed to have fallen from a coconut tree.

Miadhu reported that Ali Hussain Manik was found by other islanders at 6:00am this morning, nearby a rope used for climbing coconut trees and a carving knife.

The body was taken to the Faresmaathodaa Health Centre where the attending doctor concluded Manik had died on the May 23.

The Police are continuing to investigate the incident, Miadhu reported.

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UK electoral system “not corrupted, but certainly corruptible”, say observers

A team of Commonwealth Election Observers have released a report claiming that the UK electoral system is corruptible “and open to fraud.”

While believing the recent UK election was undertaken in a free and fair manner, this was a success based on “trust” rather than “controls and deterrents.”

The observers suggested improving the identification of voters at registration and polling stations, better verification of postal ballots to close certain loopholes, centralisation of electoral roll records to prevent multiple registrations in more than one constituency, and more staff at polling stations to ensure people can vote in a timely manner.

This last issue caused widespread condemnation following the day of the election, with thousands of voters queuing outside venues turned away when the ballot boxes closed at 10pm. Many people in London reported waiting in lines for several hours, with many office workers struggling to vote in time.

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