Police have arrested a expatriate worker suspected of abusing a five year-old girl on Thoddu in Alif Alif Atoll, reports Haveeru.
The man was discovered hiding in the ceiling of an abandoned house on the island, escaping after he was brought before the island secretariat on Saturday and allegedly beaten.
Haveeru cited sources as saying that the man had been living on the island for three years and was employed in construction.
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(0)GMR Male International Airport will be subject to a tax audit, according to reports in local newspaper Haveeru, with the Maldives Inland Revenue Authority (MIRA) contesting the airport service charge and oil re-export royalties paid to the government did not match expected amounts.
Commissioner General of Taxation, Yazeed Mohamed, told Haveeru that MIRA was acquiring necessary documents from the Immigration Department, Customs and the Maldives Airport Company.
“We are authorised, under the law, to procure documents and conduct tax audits. We looked into the speculations and found that there are some issues with the amounts paid,” he told Haveeru.
A GMR spokesperson meanwhile told Haveeru that both charges were calculated based on information stored in the company’s departure databases: “We’d welcome all those who like to pay a visit and check the information. We haven’t committed any act of deception,” the official was quoted as saying.
(0)Dislikes(0)MPs clashed today over a resolution proposed by MP Ahmed Mahlouf to postpone parliament’s upcoming recess at the end of April to complete legislation currently at committee stage to reform the criminal justice system.
Several MPs from both main parties argued that convicts were not “roaming free and committing crimes with impunity” because of parliament’s failure to pass necessary laws.
MP Mahlouf – who has sided with the “Zaeem DRP” in the ongoing factional strife within the main opposition party – came under fire from his former Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) colleagues for taking a holiday after submitting the resolution.
Last Wednesday’s sitting of parliament was cancelled reportedly because Mahlouf, who was supposed to present the resolution to the floor, was out of the country.
Defending himself from the intraparty criticism, the DRP MP for Galolhu South asserted that he had not been “sun tanning on the beach” but had faced a family emergency.
“I would deeply regret it if you vote against the resolution saying ‘Mahlouf took a holiday,’” he said.
In the ensuing debate however, DRP MPs Ali Azim and Abdulla Abdul Raheem accused Mahlouf of submitting the resolution “with the intention of deceiving the public.”
While Azim claimed that Mahlouf was “the MP that took the most number of holidays during the past session,” Abdulla Abdul Raheem accused the DRP Youth Wing President of ulterior motives behind the resolution.
Raheem alleged that Mahlouf’s true purpose in delaying the recess was “to conduct business transactions with certain people here.”
Shifting blame
Praising Mahlouf for “continually raising the issue of curbing gang violence” in parliament, ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) parliamentary group leader “Reeko” Moosa Manik however contended that the necessary bills “cannot be finished in one night with us cooking rice pudding and staying here overnight.”
Moosa concurred with other MPs that the absence of legislation could not be blamed for either unenforced sentences or dubious judgments by judges.
Following consultation with the National Crime Prevention Committee and law enforcement authorities, the Minority Leader explained that a sub-committee was in the process of drafting temporary legislation containing crucial provisions of the three belated bills.
If opposition leaders could “control voting by their parliamentary group,” said Moosa, the bill should easily be passed on Thursday.
“Increasing the number of days we spend talking here is not going to bring a solution,” said People’s Alliance (PA) MP Abdul Azeez Jamal Abubakr, arguing that the resolution would not make a difference “one way or the other” as the bills in question were at committee stage and the reviewing process could continue during the recess.
MDP MP Mohamed Riyaz however backed the resolution and criticised opposition MPs for questioning Mahlouf’s intent.
On the issue of unenforced sentences, the MDP MP for Dhandhoo claimed that there were 622 convicts out of jail when the previous government left office.
“Those who killed people [in custody] in Evan Naseem’s case are at home today,” he said, referring to eight former prison guards found guilty of beating a 19 year-old inmate to death in September 2003.
Moreover, Riyaz continued, failure to locate former Atolls Minister Abdulla Hameed to face charges of corruption shows that Commissioner of Police Ahmed Faseeh has “failed.”
MDP MP Ibrahim Rasheed meanwhile criticised the “lazy attorneys” at the Prosecutor General’s Office for failing to secure enough convictions.
In his turn, DRP Deputy Leader Ali Waheed argued that as the Maldives had a presidential system, it was President Mohamed Nasheed who should bear responsibility for the crime situation.
While police have recently revealed identities and crime records of 17 dangerous criminals, Waheed said that according to police statistics there are over 600 youth active in gangs in Male’ alone.
Moreover, he added, estimates from different state institutions of the number of convicts not serving sentences did not match.
Implying that he did not support the resolution, Waheed suggested breaking for recess to “give counselling to our political leaders” as they were “obsessed with winning power” instead of serving the public.
Independent MPs Ismail Abdul Hameed and Ahmed Amir meanwhile called for constitutional amendments to entrust wider powers to enforcement authorities, such as a longer period of detention and more legal discretion for judges.
Undelivered summons
Meanwhile in the continuing war of words between the rival opposition factions, DRP MPs Azim and Raheem alleged today that Deputy Speaker Ahmed Nazim – who was presiding over the sitting at the time – had dodged Criminal Court court summons eight times to date on the grounds that he was busy at parliament.
In March 2010, Nazim pleaded not guilty to charges of conspiracy to defraud the former Ministry of Atolls Development.
As the common man was routinely sentenced in absentia, said MDP MP Ahmed Easa, “what law is missing that the Honourable MP for Dhiggaru can’t be taken to court?”
Responding to accusations against the “missing” former Atolls Minister, MP Ahmed “Redwave” Saleem loudly denied the allegations against the long-serving Speaker of the People’s Majlis.
“There were big thieves in the previous government, why don’t you go find them?” he suggested.
(0)Dislikes(0)The Adhaalath Party has said the party has decided to terminate the coalition agreement with the ruling Maldiivan Democratic Parrty (MDP) should the government permit an Israeli airline to operate in the Maldives.
Transport Minister Adil Saleem told Minivan News last Thursday that relevant authorities were currently processing a license for Sun d’Or International Airlines, a subsidiary of Israeli national carrier El Al, with a view to it operating flights to the Maldives.
Saleem claimed such a move would create opportunities for both Israeli tourists to visit the country as well as facilitate pilgrimages for Maldivians to mosques around Jerusalem and other parts of the country.
However the Adhaalath Party, which has significant influence in the Ministry of Islamic Affairs and is led by State Islamic Minister Sheikh Hussein Rasheed, issued a statement claiming that the majority of Islamic countries had not permitted the Israeli national carrier to operate.
“There are only two Islamic countries that have permitted El Al Airlines to operate: Egypt and Jordan,” the party said in a statement. “The other Islamic countries that allowed El Al Airlines to operate in their countries have withdrawn their permission. And it is to be noted that this Sun d’Or Airlines which is to commence operation in the Maldives is not an airline that any Islamic country so far permitted to operate.”
The party claimed there “were reasons” why out of the 50 Islamic countries, 48 had declined permission for El Al to operate.
“It is because Israel is the biggest enemy of the whole Muslim community, a country that has stolen the holy lands of Muslims, a country that is committing violence against the people of Palestine and as Israeli flights are targets of terrorist organisations, it raises security concerns,” the party said.
The Adhaalath Party added that it “regretted” that the current government had restored diplomatic relations with Israel, “ignoring the feelings of the citizens.”
The Adhaalath Party’s President Sheikh Hussein Rasheed told Minivan News that the decision was an official decision made by the party and that he had no further comment on the matter.
Adil Saleem acknowledged to Minivan News last week that “some Maldivians see Israel as controversial over the issue of Palestine. Yet Palestine accepts Israel as a state, benchmarking the point that I don’t see why we should not allow these flights.”
He also said that the license process for the operation of Sun d’Or was almost completed and that flights were expected to commence operating in Maldives in October this year.
President of religious NGO Jamiyyathul Salaf, Ahmed Bin Mohamed Ibrahim, meanwhile added that the organisation strongly opposed any move that would strengthens the relationship between Israel and the Maldives.
“It will cause more harm than benefit,’’ said Abdulla. “Damage was caused after diplomatic ties with Israel were restored.”
Abdulla said the education system of the Maldives “was ruined” as co-education was also introduced after ties were restored.
“All these issues were raised at the same time as the government restored diplomatic relations with Israel. Later came these doctors who first attempted to work in the Maldives without permission from the authorities,” he said. “They have already committed violence against Muslims in different areas of the world, so why should we expect any better?”
Visiting Israeli eye surgeons from the ‘Eyes from Zion’ NGO were in November met with protests and the burning of the Israeli flag in Male’s Republic Square. The Islamic Foundation NGO contested at the time that Israeli surgeons “have become notorious for illegally harvesting organs from non-Jews around the world.”
Opposition Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) MP Afrashim Ali claimed that Israelis and other foreign elements that “should not be allowed to enter a 100 percent Muslim country”, and would gain a foothold in the Maldives as a result of handing over management of the Male’ International Airport to Indian infrastructure giant GMR.
“[The airport deal with GMR] will open a big doorway for the people of Israel, who are brutalising Palestinians without any justification, to come to the Maldives and take over,” Afrashim said during the protests.
The debate over allowing Sun d’Or to operate in the Maldives could be moot after the airline’s license was revoked on April 1 by the Israel Civil Aviation Authority (CAA). El Al flights had reportedly been operating charter flights under different airline names – despite using the same aircraft and crew – in an effort to circumvent backlash from ultra-orthodox Israeli groups over its operating flights on the Sabbath and religious holidays. The airline has since stated that it would continue to not run flights on Sabbath days despite the loss of revenue, while Sun d’Or remains a charter brand under the national carrier.
“Sun d’Or operates as a designated carrier to European destinations, and carries out flights for El Al on the Saturdays and holidays. This enabled El Al to keep its 30-year plus status-quo with religious and haredi (ultra-orthodox) passengers by not flying on the Sabbath,” reported business magazine Globes.
(0)Dislikes(0)Prices reached US$124 a barrel yesterday, after peaking earlier this month at US$127. Worldwide output fell 700,000 barrels in March amid ongoing political turmoil in Libya, Yemen, Syria, Nigeria and the Ivory Coast.
CEO of Aramco Khalid al-Falih told an industry gathering in South Korea that “We are not comfortable with oil prices where they are today… I am concerned about the impact it could have on the global economy.”
The Maldivian economy is dependent on oil to such an extent that is spends a quarter of its GDP on it – US$245 million – the vast majority on marine diesel, making imported energy one of the single largest drains on the country’s economy.
Customs documents obtained by Minivan News in January showed that Maldives was spending almost US$100,000 more per day more on fossil fuels than it was in the summer of 2010. At that time, oil was US$86 a barrel.
By the same calculations but with today’s oil price, the Maldives is paying an additional US$450,000 per day for oil compared to summer prices last year.
In a previous interview with Minivan News, President Nasheed’s Energy Advisor Mike Mason suggested that spiralling oil costs could prove to be a strong argument for a return to sailing.
“I think there is a huge opportunity to take a knowledge of sail, wind and current – the thinking that has served the Maldives well for 2000 years – and apply modern technology such as solar to create a new transport paradigm. A sailing vessel with a modern hull, utilising modern technology can reach 30-40 knots, and would greatly reduce the reliance on diesel,” Mason said at the time.
(0)Dislikes(0)In the final part of a special report from the island of Fares-Maathoda, Minivan News looks at the challenges for communities developing beyond Male’s glance as they attempt to switch to decentralised governance and overcome their natural vulnerabilities.
Sitting in Gaafu Dhaalu Atoll, the conjoined landmasses making up the island of Fares-Maathoda present an environment that has seen little of the economic and infrastructure changes witnessed in the population hubs in North Male’ atoll.
Yet like everywhere else in the Maldives, the formation of island and Atoll councils following nationwide local elections in February 2011 has raised new challenges to bring about change on a more decentralised basis.
However, some opposition politicians believe that the government was “not fully prepared” in its plans to devolve power locally, and that has caused friction between the government and local councils over what exactly their roles and responsibilities are in relation to overseeing potential changes.
For the residents of Fares-Maathoda and the five-member council elected to serve them, these changes include a proposal to use aid funds from Denmark to try and offset continued flooding resulting from drainage and waste management issues as part of wider development aims.
Ibarahim Shareef, spokesperson and deputy leader for the Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) told Minivan News that he believed a combination of a lack of experience among elected councillors and obstruction by central government was limiting the roles of individually elected councils to oversee and deal with projects such as development.
“There is disagreement over the role of councils and what duties are being issued to them. Our country is disintegrating around us,” Shareef claimed, accepting that divisions between the present and previous leaderships of his own party had added to the partisan atmosphere of the country’s political backdrop.
“We should get all the parties including the government and opposition groups to stick together and try and resolve the differences like this issue.”
Speaking earlier this month during a visit to Fares-Maathoda, two islands that were linked together in the 1990s by reclaiming area between them – a move that exacerbated flooding problems – UN Resident Coordinator Andrew Cox said he believed that environmental and development facing the country required cooperation from all stakeholders in light of decentralised government.
“What seems to be the case at the moment is that the decentralised structures [island and Atoll councils] are developing and that’s fine. But what that means at the moment is that until things become clearer in some of the areas where we need to work, we need to stay closely connected with everybody. Yet we appreciate the need for strong coordination,” he said.
“In the end, you need the right environment if you are going to attract large-scale funding. In actual fact for the money to come to the Maldives there needs to be a favourable environment for that and even more so there needs to be a good investment environment, because that’s the way that you are going to do large-scale projects.”
Cox was on Fares-Maathoda alongside representatives from the Ministry of Finance and Treasury, the Ministry of Housing and Environment, the National Office and the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) to meet with local councillors and outline how Danish donor aid for funding climate change adaptation would be allocated on the island.
Pointing to a sea-wall development riddled with flags, displaying the yellow of the MDP on one side and the blue of the DRP on the other, Cox suggested that was a powerful reflection of the country’s partisan political functioning and the challenges it created for decentralising aid distribution.
“You have the blue on one side and the yellow on the right, which typifies the Maldives more than anything else,” he added.
However, Cox claimed that rather than acting as a test for the viability of other collaborations with recently appointed local councillors in delivering aid, Fares-Maathoda represented the need for “development best practice” and how best to try and mitigate detrimental environment and economic factors over partisan thinking.
“In the end, people involved in a project need to be involved in its decision making. That’s the bottom line, so frankly I think if you succeed, you succeed and it’s good for development and everyone who is involved can take credit,” he said. “But if you fail, it’s important to know why you failed. Then you try and reflect that back when you expand an approach outwards than you better find a way of taken advantage of that knowledge and understanding and don’t do it again.”
However, Ibarahim Shareef said he believed that in opting to decentralise power following February’s elections, President Mohamed Nasheed and his fellow MDP members had been “shocked” by the number of island councils seats that fell to opposition parties like the DRP.
Shareef claimed that he believed the government was now aiming to try and centralise power in an apparent reversal of its original intentions.
“Local people have been in a long struggle for democracy, yet some are now questioning the wisdom of supporting democratic reform,” he said. “They have not got empowerment at the level they expected.”
Shareef said that despite these uncertainties regarding the exact role of local councils, everyone involved in the process of decentralisation needed to work together to set out what powers councillors did and did not have in order to function properly.
“It is in everyone’s interests to ensure they are working properly,” he claimed.
In a bid to try and help coordinate the development projects undertaken by local councils such as those bought forward by UN aid, the President’s Office announced the formation of seven national offices back in March that it claimed were not related between some isolated disputes with local councils.
Speaking from Fares-Maathoda during the UN visit, Mohamed Shareef, Deputy Minister of State for the Upper South Province national office, claimed that government coordination remained vital to ensure all councillors are sufficiently trained to oversee development and aid in the future.
Speaking to Minivan News, Mohamed Shareef said he believed that criticism of the national offices stemmed from incorrect presumptions that the government was acting against its own decentralisation plans by giving the president more power over the country.
To try and offset these criticisms the national office has said it is offering training programmes across the country in places like Thinadoo and Addu City that aim to provide information to councillors and outline their responsibilities.
“Councillors have come from many different walks of life, but many haven’t been in administration or management, so they are very new to these procedures and understanding them,” said Shareef. “They keep saying that there are no procedures, but it is just a matter of understanding what the procedures are. So we have to keep on running training programmes. The government has a very extensive programme to try and make the councillors and the public aware of the system.”
With the councils now in place, Shareef said that these training programmes would be vital to try and ensure the success of decentralisation. However, he accepted that there was a notable difference of opinion between whether more details and information should have been given to candidates and the public before electing councillors or whether the system should be fleshed out afterwards.
Despite criticisms that more education for the public and councillors on the exact purpose of decentralisation in the Maldives should have been in place before voting began, the national office claimed that it believed the best way – as has happened – was to start the programme and learn along the way.
“I think if we had earlier tried to make people understand what [the government] were trying to do, it would have been a difficult process. On the other hand, if you have bought the system and make everyone learn by experience it might have been easier for us – it could be debated either way,” Shareef said. “We were in need of immediate change that was for sure. So we wanted a change to be implemented and it was done very quick.”
In terms of main challenges facing national offices like those in the Upper South Province, Shareef said that the cost of running five member councils across the country was definately a concern.
“We have a very poor income and the country is very small in terms of people and resources. We can discover new resources in terms of tourism but the challenge lies in the expense of bring about these changes [local councils]. It is an expensive process.”
Shareef claimed that the national councils would ultimately like to see more responsibility being taken by local councillors in dealing directly with donor agencies such as the UN over development and aid projects, while it held a light coordination role in instead.
“This would allow the direct impact [of these funds] to be felt more closely by the councils. Otherwise we should have a major role. It’s not very easy for the government agencies,” he said. “In terms of being more responsible, I think the councils can very much have a role in making the maximum use of aid coming in.”
Mohamed Shareef added that the belief of the national councils was that training projects would be at the heart of granting more development roles to local councillors in the future.
“The vision of the government is that we are going to have a very big leap in terms of development by having decentralisation. So the councils need to be very responsible and capable if they want to take up these challenges,” he said. “It all depends on how capable the councils are. In one way it’s a big relief for the government that there are councils and governors who are interested in dealing with them. For the government, it doesn’t make it very easy, but it’s the way they want to go forward I guess.”
Ultimately, Shareef said that the main plan in the long-term for each council would be to have them become more technical and development orientated rather than trying to serve a particular party political interest.
“That was the stand with which the councils came into their position, but still we have some way to go to get the councils to realise they are a technical and development body and not a political body.”
(0)Dislikes(0)President Mohamed Nasheed met yesterday with Saudi Arabia’s Deputy Minister of Islamic Affairs, Dr Abdul Aziz Al-Ammar.
Vice President Dr Mohamed Waheed Hassan, National Security Advisor Ameen Faisal, Advisor on Political Affairs Mohamed Shihab and Minister of Islamic Affairs Dr Abdul Majeed Abdul Bari also attended the meeting.
Nasheed highlighted the close brotherly relations between the Maldives and Saudi Arabia, and thanked the visiting deputy minister for Saudi Arabia’s continued development assistance to the Maldives.
Dr Al-Ammar said Saudi Arabia has a special relationship with the Maldives, and the Saudi government attached a particular importance to enhancing the relations between the Maldives and Saudi Arabia.
(0)Dislikes(0)A debate due to be televised between candidates running for the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP)’s top post has been cancelled, along with a debate between candidates for the vice-presidency.
MDP’s official website said the debate was cancelled after former Fisheries Minister Dr Ibrahim Didi, a candidate running for MDP presidency, decided to boycott the debate citing “concerning issues”.
Dr Didi sent a letter to the Chairperson of MDP and MP Mariya Ahmed Didi saying that he would not participate in the debate as he was experiencing “issues” related to the debate, according to the MDP Official website.
Debate between candidates for the vice-presidency was also cancelled after MP Alhan Fahmy decided to boycott the event, alleging undue influence.
The debate was canceled after Alhan also sent a letter to Chairperson Mariya Didi raising “issues” with the advertised debate.
Alhan wrote that he did not wish to publicly reveal his objections to the debate as disunity or discord within the party was not his intention, adding that he did not want members to lose confidence in a cabinet minister.
Last night, speaking to the media, Alhan said that he was unsure whether his opponent was unaware of the questions that might be asked during the debate, in which case he said his opponent would be sure to win.
Both Alhan and Dr Didi have not yet revealed the details of the issues concerning the debate.
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