The Maldives Customs Service has increased the import export duty rate to Rf14.10 to the dollar, starting from May.
Principal Collector of Customs, Mohamed Aswan, said the rate was in fluctuation and would be revised every month, in collaboration with the Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA).
The government recently floated the rufiya within a 20 percent band of the pegged rate of Rf 12.85.
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(0)GMR Male International Airport (GMIAL) today sought to clarify the payment of the airport service charges, fuel re-export royalty and concession fees to the government, following reports in newspaper Haveeru that it was undergoing a tax audit due to “inconsistencies”.
Commissioner General of Taxation Yazeed Mohamed was reported in Haveeru as saying that the Maldives Inland Revenue Authority (MIRA) was conducting an audit of the payments as “we looked into the speculations and found that there are some issues with the amounts paid.”
Yesterday, Haveeru reported the Managing Director of the Maldives Airports Company Limited (MACL) Mohamed Ibrahim as saying that the concession fee GMR had paid was US$2.6 million less than predicted.
“The payment was made in the first week of this month. We have informed the company that the amount does not match our estimations. The Finance Ministry has also informed the company that the actual amount would be more than that,” Ibrahim was reported as saying.
GMIAL issued a statement today claiming that concession fees up until March 31 had been paid “in full and complete compliance with the concession agreement.”
“MACL had certain observations to which GMIAL responded on April 11. MACL has not approached GMIAL with any further comments on the issue,” the statement read.
GMIAL further claimed the airport service charge was collected from airlines on behalf of the government until March 31 and paid to the MIRA on April 24, while the fuel re-export royalty was paid to MIRA on April 24 “as per the terms of the fuel re-export agreement.”
“GMIAL has not received any official communication from MIRA, other than acknowledgement of receipt, in relation to the above,” the statement concluded.
Speaking to Minivan News today, MIRA’s Director of Assessment and Audit Aiman Ibrahim said that the audit was “routine, as conducted for all tax types” and that the only inconsistency was that the airport service charge payment “was lower than our forecast.”
“Our forecast for the first three months, based on arrival and departures and factored into our 2011 budget, was that the airport service charge revenue would be US$4 million. The payment for November 25 to March 31 was US$3.9 million, so either there has been an underpayment or our forecasts were optimistic,” Ibrahim said.
The confusion was complicated, he said, “by an administration failure on behalf of the government. The Ministry of Finance was not aware it was supposed to be receiving the money. There is also conflict in the concession agreement: the agreement itself states that the [airport service charge] is to be paid monthly, but an annex in the agreement says payments are to be made on a quarterly basis. GMR had been keeping the money in a separate bank account.”
MIRA had not formally notified GMIAL that it was being audited, he said, as it was a routine audit and no notification was required unless further documentation from GMIAL was required.
GMR had met with MIRA today, Rasheed added, “and were very cooperative. They were concerned about the negative publicity.”
Indian infrastructure giant GMR, in consortium with Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad (MAHB), last year won a bid to develop and manage Male’ International Airport under a 25 year concession agreement which includes a spend of almost US$400 million on a new terminal.
Under the agreement the consortium paid the government US$78 million upfront, and will pay one percent of its profits and 15 percent of fuel trade revenue until 2014. From 2015 it will pay the government 10 percent of airport profits and 27 percent of the fuel trade until 2035.
The agreement has been a major point of contention with the political opposition in the Maldives, which opposed it on nationalistic grounds.
(0)Dislikes(0)A resolution to delay parliament’s upcoming recess at the end of the month, until crucial bills to reform the criminal justice system could be passed, was narrowly defeated today.
Opposition Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) MP Ahmed Mahlouf had proposed extending the ongoing session until belated bills on evidence law, criminal justice procedure and special measures to combat crime along with amendments to the gang crimes legislation and Children’s Act, could be enacted into law.
Of the 70 MPs in attendance, 34 voted against the resolution while 30 voted in favour and six abstained.
During yesterday’s debate, MPs of both the ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) and opposition parties argued that parliament’s perceived failure to pass necessary laws was not to blame for the shortcomings of the criminal justice system, particularly the authorities’ collective failure to secure convictions against “dangerous criminals” and enforce jail sentences.
Home Minister Hassan Afeef revealed on Monday that there were “about 300 people” sentenced in absentia that were yet to be taken to jail.
Closing the debate at the penultimate sitting of this year’s first session of parliament, Mahlouf argued that MPs should hasten to pass the legislation if only because “there will no longer be any person or institution that could point the finger at us and say ‘it’s because the People’s Majlis hasn’t completed [necessary laws].'”
Despite the 17th parliament having passed more legislation than any of its predecessors, Mahlouf urged MPs to “accept the reality” that the public did not believe parliament was doing enough.
“[They say] the number of days we work in the Majlis is low,” he said. “I accept this today. We take a holiday for four months of the year. We work about 12 days a month. For a year, it’s about 96 days. We don’t work for about 260 days of the year.”
The DRP MP for Galolhu South noted that none of the MPs opposed to postponing the recess had claimed there was no urgent need for the criminal justice legislation.
After voting on the resolution ended, Speaker Abdulla Shahid informed MPs that completed legislation on special measures to combat crime has been sent for their perusal.
The bill was amended in consultation with law enforcement authorities to include essential provisions from all three belated bills to serve as a stop-gap measure until parliament returned from recess.
Shahid explained that a proposal for a special sitting to be held during the recess in May would be put forward at tomorrow’s final sitting.
MDP MP “Reeko” Moosa Manik raised a point of order to suggest a sitting to be held tomorrow night to pass the crime legislation, but Shahid replied that a decision would be made after discussion with party leaders.
DRP squabbles
Mahouf – who has sided with “Zaeem DRP” against DRP Leader Ahmed Thasmeen Ali in the ongoing factional strife within the main opposition party – was attacked yesterday by MPs of the rival opposition faction for taking a holiday after submitting the resolution.
While DRP MP Abdulla Abdul Raheem accused Mahlouf of attempting “to pin a medal on himself and claim to be the best,” DRP MP for Mid-Henveiru Ali Azim claimed Mahlouf had taken the most leaves of absence during the past Majlis session.
Mahlouf hit back at Raheem today, claiming that he saw a form the Maafanu West MP had allegedly signed to defect to the MDP before changing his mind in 24 hours.
Moreover, he added, MPs Rozaina Adam and her husband Mohamed Nashiz were yet to return from an official trip to Panama despite MP Mariya Ahmed Didi, Speaker Shahid and Secretary General Ahmed Mohamed having arrived back in the country three days ago.
After attacking Thasmeen and Football Association Chairman Ali Azim for alleged poor attendance and lack of participation in important committee tasks, Mahlouf also exchanged heated words with DRP MP for Mathiveri Hussein Mohamed, who told him “to shut up and sit down.”
Hussein Mohamed argued that since Mahlouf’s resolution stated that a one month holiday should be granted once the “complex and technical” bills were passed, “what if we are only able to go to recess in November, how do we pass the state budget then?”
(0)Dislikes(0)The base period for measuring real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) or national productivity of the Maldives has been updated from 1995 to 2003, the Department of National Planning revealed this week.
Real GDP is an inflation-adjusted measure that reflects the value of goods and services produced within a country in a given year expressed in base-year prices.
“Changing the base period to a more recent year improves the accuracy of GDP estimates,” reads a press statement by the department. “Internationally, regularly changing the base period is encouraged. In most countries GDP is rebased once every five or ten years. Maldives’ GDP has been rebased after an eight year period.”
With the change in the base period, real GDP in 2011 is now calculated at Rf21,123 million while GDP per capita rises to Rf4,061, an increase of Rf1,217 from previous estimates.
“Among the reasons for the difference, apart from richer information used to calculate GDP, include changes to methodology,” the statement explains.
A “supply and use table” based on all transactions that occurred in 2003 was employed as a benchmark for rebasing GDP.
“In the rebased series extensive use was made of new available data, including annual accounts, government budget details, survey data, and price and unit value indices. The rebasing exercise took approximately three years to complete,” reads a report by the department.
Based on the 2003 series, it notes, real GDP on average grew 7.9 percent each year during the past decade, compared to 5.8 percent under the 1995 series.
Inflation
According to the last monthly economic review by the Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA), the pace of GDP growth in 2011 is projected at 4 percent.
Tourist arrivals registered a 15 percent increase in the first two months of 2011 compared to the same period last year while fish catch showed growth of 31 percent from 2010.
Increase in food prices meanwhile contributed to half of inflation in February 2011.
According to the planning department, the consumer price index (CPI) for Male’ last month rose by 5.6 percent compared to March 2010.
Compared to the previous year, the highest inflation was recorded for education with 23 percent – driven by a 42 percent increase in school fees – followed by fish products, which rose by 14 percent.
Food items such as coconut, green chili, watermelon, chicken sausage and oranges, showed a price increase between 25 percent to 70 percent.
However, the monthly inflation rate was low at 1.30 percent and showed deflation of 0.07 percent excluding fish.
(0)Dislikes(0)The Education Ministry has strongly condemned Sheikh Ilyas Hussein for claiming that senior officials at the ministry “do not accept Islamic principles.”
A strongly-worded statement issued by the ministry on Monday notes that Ilyas’ remarks at an Adhaalath Party religious sermon on April 22 was “unacceptable,” defamatory and disrespectful to the dignity of education sector officials.
“The whole philosophy of education in the Maldives is built upon Islamic principles,” it reads.
The ministry was moreover “extremely concerned” that a political party was spreading falsehoods about the education sector that could “unsettle the public.”
The Education Ministry has come into conflict with the religious conservative Adhaalath Party during the ongoing process of revising the national curriculum for the first time since 1984, notably after a now-retracted decision by the curriculum revision steering committee to make Islam and Dhivehi optional subjects for A’ Level students.
(0)Dislikes(0)The Criminal Court last night released Hassaan Ali of Faresmaathoda in Gaafu Dhaalu Atoll, identified by police as one of the country’s most dangerous gangsters.
Hassaan has previously been arrested 13 times for violent assault and robbery, with two cases sent to the Prosecutor General’s Office (PGO).
Police arrested Hassaan last month for alleged assault during a special operation conducted to avoid potential clashes between gangs after the fatal stabbing of 21 year-old Ahusan Basheer in March.
After keeping Hassan in pre-trial detention for several days he was released by the Criminal Court to house arrest, but was arrested again shortly afterward.
The Criminal Court at the time extended his detention for three days, and after keeping Hassaan in pre-trial detention for a further three days he was released when he was presented to the court by police requesting an extension of detention.
While Hassaan was on his way home from the court he was arrested yet again and taken to court by police, who requested yet another extension of detention. This time the judge ordered Hassan be placed under house arrest.
Local media have reported that police are now watching Hassaan’s house as on several occasions persons kept under house arrest have fled.
Meanwhile, the Prosecutor General brought criminal charges against Hassaan for his involvement in a fight that occurred in Boduthakurufaanu Magu on December 3, 2010.
In court this morning, Hassaan denied the charges and invoked his right for a lawyer, which the judge provided him.
Police requested the court allow them to keep Hassan in detention in a place of their choosing for the duration of the trial. The decision is pending.
(0)Dislikes(0)Parliament today approved President Mohamed Nasheed’s appointment of Ahmed Inaz as Finance Minister with 68 votes in favour and two against.
Presenting the committee evaluation report, Mathiveri MP Hussein Mohamed said that the committee found that Inaz was qualified for the post and a majority voted to recommend consenting to his appointment.
Opposition Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) Deputy Leader Ali Waheed argued that Inaz’s youth and perceived inexperienced should not be held against him while People’s Alliance (PA) MP Abdul Raheem Abdulla praised Inaz as capable and qualified.
(0)Dislikes(0)The Aydeniz group, a Turkish development company, is set to launch its first resort development in the Maldives later this year with the opening of the 112-villa Ayada Maldives property in Gaaf Alif Atoll.
A spokesperson for the company told Minivan News that the resort is scheduled to open in the autumn and would be an entirely new tourist property operated by a recently formed local subsidiary of the Aydeniz Group.
According to the resort operator, Ayada Maldives will consist of 62 seafront villas and 50 water villas spread over a 150,000 square meter island that will also aim to offer both reef and pool swimming, water sports opportunities, spa treatments , a “health bar” and a selection of restaurants providing international cuisine.
Along with its tourist properties, the Aydeniz Group has operations in areas such as agriculture, engineering and construction that includes bridge and road building projects in the Maldives, Turkey, Afghanistan and Ethiopia.
(0)Dislikes(0)The religiously conservative Adhaalath Party has announced a nation-wide protest march for next Friday calling for the implementation of Islamic Shariah in the Maldives.
”Murder, violent assaults, robbery, rape, drug abuse and other such crimes have reached an extreme level in this country,” the Adhaalath Party said in a statement. ”The whole nation is threatened and institutions have failed.”
The gathering is to be held under the slogan ”Islamic Shariah is the Solution” and NGOs and political parties have been invited to participate.
”The gathering will commence at 4:00pm near the tsunami monument next Friday,” said the Adhaalth Party, appealing for as many people as possible to attend.
The statement suggested that participants should carry a national flag if possible.
”More than 100 NGOs have confirmed that they will be joining us in this gathering,” a party official said today. ”In the islands they will gather at an area decided amongst themselves; our target is to get as many islands, NGOs and political parties join this gathering.”
While the official did not mention names of specific NGOs and political parties that will participate, he revealed that the NGO coalition formed to protest the planned sale of alcohol from hotels in inhabited islands would be involved.
Religious NGO Jamiyyathul Salaf announced that it backed the Adhaalath Party’s gathering and Salaf would join the party’s event in support.
Salaf President Abdulla Bin Ali Ibrahim explained that Salaf would join any event that demands Islamic Shariah be observed.
”We will hold a meeting tonight to discuss it within our NGO,” Abdulla said. ”We have also expressed our ideas and sent it to the Adhaalath Party.”
The Adhaalath Party has recently threatened to terminate its coalition agreement with the ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) should an Israeli airline be allowed to operate in the Maldives.
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