Year: 2010

Presidential Commission member resigns over “political influences”

Presidential Commission member Idham Muizzu Adnan resigned from the commission yesterday, claiming a lack of transparency and impartiality.

The Presidential Commission is an independent body created by President Mohamed Nasheed in May 2009 to investigate corruption allegations in the country. The president was also responsible for appointing all of its members.

Spokesperson for the Presidential Commission, Abdulla Haseen, said the commission’s mandate was to investigate corruption cases, particularly targeting people accused of corruption under the previous regime.

However Adnan, who has worked with the commission since it was created, said he resigned because of “certain political influences” that were being imposed on the commission.

“I agree the president has the power to dictate [how the commission is run]… but he should do it in a reasonable and impartial manner,” Adnan said.

Adnan said sometimes the commission was pressured “not to call on certain people” when investigating a case, or was advised not to disclose certain information to the public.

“In decree, the commission is to function independently… [it] should not be used as a tool to protect people or attack opponents.”

Furthermore, “we should be allowed to disclose any information [we find],” he said, “because these corruption issues need to be investigated.”

Adnan said a press conference scheduled for yesterday evening was cancelled at the last minute on request from the President’s Office, which made him reconsider his position in the commission.

“I feel [the commission] cannot function in an impartial manner,” Adnan said.

Haseen confirmed Adnan’s resignation and said Adnan “is really concerned about transparency… he is not satisfied with our decision to postpone a press conference.”

Haseen confirmed the scheduled press conference was postponed “on the advice of the President’s Office.”

He said the commission gives press conferences “frequently” and this one was postponed “because the issue is quite controversial.”

The Presidential Commission is allowed to share information with the public, Haseen said, but “we have some limitations.”

Haseen explained that once the investigation of a case is completed by the commission, a press conference will normally be held before the registration report is sent to the police. The police then have to send it to the Prosecutor General’s office, who decide whether the case will be sent to court.

Although Haseen said the President’s Office “never intervenes with the process” of investigation, on this occasion, “Mr Adnan is not happy about it.”

Haseen said the commission regularly seeks the president’s advice, since “he appointed the commission, it is related to his advice,” and their investigations are always “cooperative.”

Haseen said the issue of the commission’s transparency was “nothing to worry about.”

Press Secretary for the President’s Office Mohamed Zuhair said President Nasheed expressed his regret about Adnan’s resignation, and thanked him for his sincerity and the legal advice he provided the commission.

Zuhair noted the President created the commission to strengthen the role of the Anti Corruption Commission (ACC) and the Human Rights Commission of the Maldives (HRCM), among other independent commissions

“The Presidential Commission is an auxiliary body to help police and other agencies at the front line of legal matters,” Zuhair said.

He said he believed Adnan “jumped the gun” with his resignation.

“He may have other assumptions [about the commission],” Zuhair said.

Zuhair said the press conference that was cancelled yesterday had originally been scheduled for Thursday, but the commission postponed it until Sunday “for their own reasons.”

He said the president then wrote a letter to the commission asking for the details of the press conference, “saying he should be informed of the key points to be made public.”

Zuhair said “it would not be the decent thing to do to go ahead with the press conference without giving the president the facts he wanted. It is the Presidential Commission. The president is the head of this body.”

He said the president “didn’t want to jeopardise the legal process” by revealing certain information before the case was made public and sent to the police. “The president wanted to know whether the commission had a water-tight case.”

But he assured “there was no order [made] to stop the press conference.”

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Man confirmed dead after boat accident

Police have found the body of Ibrahim Shareef, 35, Kudhi Lunboamaage, L. Hithadhoo, south-east of Olhuveli reef, about 45 metres from the surface, reports Miadhu.

Shareef was reported missing after an accident between a dhoani and a speed boat last Saturday night, which occurred off the coast of Olhuveli.

The search was conducted by the Coastguards and a group of divers in the area.

Police have reported the body has been taken to L. Hithadhoo for the funeral.

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Islanders will “regret it” if DRP wins council elections, says MDP

Secretary General for the Maldivian Democratic Party(MDP) Hussein Shah said that if the Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) wins the upcoming island and atoll council election, “islanders will regret it.”

Shah accused the DRP of not wanting to “bring powers close to the people”.

”They wish everyone to be crowded in Male,” Shah said. ”Their purpose is to try and stop the government from fulfilling its pledges.”

He said the party was trying to make people understand how things would be like if DRP won the election.

”In parliamentary elections we did not win the majority,” he said. ”Now people can witness the DRP MPs trying to [sabotage] the beneficial bills sent by the government.”

DRP MP Abdulla Mausoom said people had “no confidence” in the current government “as they have feel that it is a dictatorship.”

Mausoom said that people knew now that “nobody in the MDP thinks about the nation and its people.”

”In all the islands of the country we see people against MDP,” he said. ”It’s up for them to make a good decision.”

Press Secretary for the President Mohamed Zuhair said that a loss to DRP in the island and atoll council election would mean the government “will not be able to do anything for the people.”

Zuhair said after the council election there will be a direct link between the government and the islanders.

”Look at the parliament now – the situation is worse there than in countries that have civil wars,” he said.

He said the supposed date to hold the elections had now passed.

DRP Deputy Leader Umar Naseer claimed that the government had proved it could not run the country.

”Eighteen months have passed and they haven’t done anything,” Umar said. ”DRP would try to do everything it can to develop the islands.”

”Nothing will happen if MDP wins, ” he said. ”Things will be just same as they are.”

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Nominee for new Auditor General will be ready next week: Zuhair

Press Secretary for the President’s Office, Mohamed Zuhair, confirmed the nomination for the post of Auditor General will be sent to Parliament next week, reports Miadhu.

According to the Constitution, the Auditor General must have the necessary academic qualifications to discharge his or her duties and shall not take any other job while posted as Auditor General.

The Auditor General must be nominated by the President and approved by Parliament. Zuhair said the government was giving the issue priority.

The post of Auditor General is vacant after a no confidence motion in Parliament against former Auditor General, Ibrahim Naeem.

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MWSC and Hitachi to improve water supply and sewage systems in Maldives

President Mohamed Nasheed attended the inauguration ceremony of Hitachi Plant Technologies’ participation in the operation of Malé Water and Sewerage Company (MWSC) yesterday morning.

In January 2010, Hitachi and the Maldivian government signed an agreement to work in partnership with the MWSC, which is expected to lead to an upgrade of water supply and sewage systems in the country.

President Nasheed thanked the Japanese government and people for their assistance to the Maldives and expressed his hopes that more firms will see the Maldives as “an exciting place to do business and pioneer new technologies in the field of water, waste and energy.”

He said safe drinking water was in short supply in the Maldives, and was becoming insufficient to meet people’s needs. He noted “only eighteen islands in the country have proper sewerage systems and only four islands have water networks.”

President Nasheed said the price of electricity was very high, making water desalination plants an expensive measure to get potable water. He said renewable energy sources are needed for providing safe drinking water at affordable prices.

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President Nasheed welcomes new Mexican ambassador

New Ambassador of Mexico to the Maldives, Jaime Virgilio Nualart Sánchez, presented his credentials to President Mohamed Nasheed at the President’s Office yesterday morning.

The meeting focused on finding areas of cooperation between the two countries and strengthening areas of cooperation.

Ambassador Nualart Sánchez noted climate change and human rights issues were of concern to both countries.

President Nasheed said the Maldives will give all possible assistance to make the next climate change summit COP16, to be held in Cancún, Mexico later this year, a success.

Nualart Sánchez has previously been ambassador to Egypt and India.

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“Hell will come” to parliament over provinces section: MP Mohamed Nasheed

Parliament’s decentralisation committee has removed the concept of ‘provinces’ from the contentious Decentralisation Bill, claiming that dividing the country into seven provinces and not keeping it divided into its current  21 administrative regions is unconstitutional.

During the decentralisation bill’s third innings at Parliament, the Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP)-led committee in charge of reviewing the bill voted in favour of removing the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) proposal of provincial division.

In protest against the removal of the ‘provinces’ from the bill, four MDP MPs walked out of the committee meeting last week leaving the remaining seven members to take a vote on whether the provincial divisions should remain or be removed.

According to Independent MP Mohamed Nasheed, this “sticking issue” has been causing disagreements in Parliament and within the committee since the Bill was first introduced. The reasons behind the argument were “partly legal, partly political,” he explained.

According to the Constitution, the country should be divided into 21 administrative districts. Nasheed points out that the Constitution does not mention provinces; nor does it say whether the country can or cannot be divided into provinces.

Nasheed said the DRP is against the move because they claim it is unconstitutional, while the MDP counters that because provincial governance is in the party’s manifesto and people voted for MDP, it should be allowed.

Nasheed said the government began constructing new province offices and appointing ministers while the bill was still being disputed, and has spent Rf125 million (US$9.6 million) on administrative costs already.

“The government did not consult with the main opposition [before going ahead],” he said.

In an effort to avoid the protests and disruption that occurred during the last vote in parliament over the bill, Nasheed suggested a compromise whereby the president has the right to group regions together for administrative reasons, similar to the way it is done in the health and education sectors.

“It does not need to be crystallised in law,” he explained.

He noted that creating provincial councils would only complicate things as it would mean four layers of government in the country: island council, atoll council, province council and national government.

However Nasheed said he believes that “no one will give up” on the issue, as “the government has climbed the ladder so high, it would be a major political defeat if they back down. Right now, it’s MDP against everyone else,” he said.

Nasheed said he expects “a lot of friction” in Parliament this coming week, suggesting that “hell will come” when the issue is sent back to the Majlis.

MDP response

MDP MP for Henveiru South Hamid Abdul Gafoor said the bill “should have been enacted into law on 1 July 2009… it has to be done within the transitional two years [since the change of government]. There are only three months left.”

Gafoor said because the population of individual atolls are so small, sometimes under 10,000 people, it is not enough people to make administrative costs economically viable.

“We need [about] 40,000 people [in each region] to make it economically feasible,” he said, noting that this would mean cutting civil servants “as the extra layer simplifies the system.”

Gafoor said there would still be atoll councillors, but there wouldn’t be a need for representatives of the central government in each atoll, therefore reducing costs.

“We will cut down on red tape, on bureaucracy,” he said.

Gafoor added that if this section of the bill is passed, the subsequent elections for provincial ministers and representatives would be “a landmark election” for the country.

DRP response

Chairperson of the Decentralisation Committee and DRP MP Mohamed Mujthaz said there will only be another vote if an MP proposes amendments. Otherwise, he said, “tomorrow, the committee will finish [reviewing the bill].”

DRP MP Ahmed Nihan said the DRP has been “refusing to add” this concept of provincial division from the beginning.

He said DRP has never been against decentralisation, as it clearly stated in the Constitution the country should be run by a decentralised government. But he added “it is unconstitutional” to make the division into seven provinces and not the stipulated 21 regions.

Nihan said this new division would only complicate things more, adding “the public is now confused” as to where to go: the island office, atoll office, or province office: “The service is getting far away from the people.”

Nihan said MDP can ask for an amendment in Parliament, but said he thought “the public is not in the mood to let this happen.”

Government response

Press Secretary for the President, Mohamed Zuhair, said “the president’s view has been publicly stated. Just having atoll councillors does not prove good economics; it is too small a population.”

Zuhair said although the Constitution stipulates the country be divided into twenty-one atolls, “it does not prohibit” dividing it by provinces.

He said grouping the atolls into provinces was “necessary” and noted that “aid agencies have [also] grouped them. This is not a new idea.”

Zuhair said MDP MPs are boycotting the committee and said “there will still be intervention,” assuring “there will be a vote” in Parliament to resolve this.

He added that the president could, “by decree” include the provinces into the bill, “but it’s not the ideal situation. The president is still trying to garner support.”

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Civil Court fines supermarket Rf1 for overcharging customer

The Civil Court has ordered the Mahchangolhi branch of prominent Male’ supermarket Agora to pay Rf1 (US7 cents), after a distgruntled customer filed a lawsuit against the economic ministry and Agora’s owners, the Bright Brothers company.

Hassan Suwad of Sulha in Henveiru sued the shop for selling him a bottle of ‘Biore’ facial foam for Rf1 more than the purchase price mentioned on the product.

Civil Court Judge Hathif Hilmy ruled that Agora pay Rf1 to the Civil Court within five days, so it could be returned to the customer.

Furthermore, Judge Hathif said that according to the witnesses it was proved that Agora had tried to return the Rf1 to Suwad when he purchased the product.

Judge Hathif said that without presenting the economic ministry in court, the Civil Court cannot order on them in their absence.

Agora and Bright Brothers did not respond to Minivan News at time of press.

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President Nasheed says improving tertiary education essential for country’s future

President Mohamed Nasheed said special measures are needed to increase the Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) for tertiary education by 40 percent over the next five years.

The GER shows the levels of enrolment for primary, secondary and tertiary education.

President Nasheed said to increase the GER for tertiary education, reforms in the school system were needed, as well as an increase in secondary education. He said three out of four students took the commerce stream, resulting in limited opportunities for employment and higher education.

President Nasheed said passing the Maldives National University Bill was of utmost importance, as well as transferring research work from government offices to the national university.

The president added that it is crucial to start medicine courses in the Maldives, as 340 doctors are needed to provide quality healthcare. He said the government would provide loans for higher education outside the country, including 50 student loans for nursing and medicine courses.

President Nasheed said starting degree courses in areas such as architecture, quantitative surveying and town planning also needed to be started.

He noted that capacity building in the judiciary was another important area.

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