Maldives Defense Minister Tholhath Ibrahim’s personal car was attacked while parked outside his home on Tuesday night.
The rear window of the car was smashed in the attack.
Police Sub- Inspector Ahmed Shiyam told Minivan News on Wednesday that the case is now under investigation.
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(0)“If one country has a loophole, all countries suffer,” said Immigration Controller Abdulla Shahid, referring to the Maldives’ lack of a border control system amidst rising concerns over human trafficking. “The present border control system is only helping human traffickers.”
Authorities have reported a daily increase in human trafficking to the Maldives, particularly in the case of expatriate workers. The industry has a calculated value of US$123 million, making it the second largest contributor of foreign currency.
“This is a serious issue, there are about 40,000 illegal workers in the Maldives right now,” said Minister of Foreign Affairs Ahmed Naseem. “A border control system would be useful, especially in the future for maintenance. But there is a lot to do within the country as well, and we are currently trying to address these matters.”
The Maldives currently uses an eight year-old, outdated border control system. Plans to upgrade to a modern system have been delayed for over a year on allegations of corruption.
In November 2010, the government approved a Rf500 million (US$39 million) Border Control System by Malaysia’s Nexbis Limited, proposed by the Department of Immigration and Emigration.
Shortly thereafter, the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) requested that the agreement be halted due to “a serious public complaint” alleging corrupt dealings. The President upheld the ACC’s request in January 2011, by in May the Cabinet approved the program.
The ACC subsequently renewed its concerns and filed a case at the Civil Court and submitted a report to the Prosecutor General’s (PG) office earlier this month. The report accuses Former Controller Ilyas Hussain Ibrahim and Director General of Finance Ministry, Saamee Aqeel, then head of the Tender Board, for allegedly abusing their authority for undue financial gain.
Nexbis threatened legal action over the delay, citing millions of dollars in losses over equipment already imported to the Maldives. Shahid noted that the equipment is still sitting in Customs.
Immigration matters
Shahid said the public misconception that Immigration is a mundane department doing no-brainer tasks has led to a general misunderstanding of need for a border control system.
“Immigration personnel have to be trained to detect forgery, to profile passengers–we recently had courses for officers on how to detect physical alterations like makeup.
“In general, the public is not aware of the system’s value. It is to everyone’s benefit, even distant countries, to have a strong border control system in the Maldives. Terrorism and human trafficking involve other countries and their borders. If we have good communication, starting at Immigration, and a system, then we have good results.”
Currently a passport check requires an individual to manually scan hundreds of photographs, Shahid said. Without the key components of a modern system – facial recognition, finger-print identification technology, and eye scans – “people who were deported on criminal violations can re-enter the country. If they have a new or fake passport, we rarely detect them with our current system,” Shahid explained.
“A passport is just a piece of paper nowadays. The modern system, with the recognition technology, is almost a 100 percent guarantee of proper identification,” he added.
Nearby Sri Lanka, Thailand and Malaysia have been using modern systems for years.
“I think the proof is strong enough”
Shahid believes that cases against Ibrahim and Aqeel will be difficult to ignore in a court of law.
When the Nexbis system was first considered, a proposal was sent by Immigration to the National Planning Council. According to Shahid’s review of the documents, the final contract drafted deviated significantly from the initial proposal.
“The proposed system could be implemented in six months for US$4-5 million, with the company charging a further US$150-200 thousand per year for maintenance,” he asserted.
“According to this, the Maldives would pay US$8 million in the first year to Nexbis. Over 20 years that would be US$4 million paid annually. That’s fair. But right now the Nexbis plan is one-third of the budget.”
Taxes are also a consideration, particularly given the high numbers of foreigners and expatriates traveling through the Maldives.
“In 2011 we are reaching 1 million foreign arrivals. If we charge US$2 for arrival and US$2 for departure, that’s US$4 per person. Annually, the government would collect US$4 million for Nexbis. It would break even.”
Nexbis proposed these charges as part of its 20-year contract with the government in 2010.
“This means that neither the government nor the Maldivian public have to pay in exchange for a state-of-the-art border security protection,” Nexbis earlier claimed.
Shahid also noted that GMR is expanding Ibrahim Nasir International Airport (INIA) to accommodate 3 million arrivals annually, indicating that revenue will increase.
Nexbis also planned to levy a US$15 fee for expatriate identification cards. With the current 100,000 registered expatriates, Shahid said, the company receives US$1.5 million annually from expatriate cards alone.
“Nexbis will get US$27.5 million in 2025, according to the current statistics,” he said. Calculating for a gradual increase of arrivals over the next 20 years, “the generated revenue could build an airport of GMR’s standards and implement an up-to-date border control system.”
According to Shahid’s calculations, the approximate cost in the first year of installment and operation (US$8 million) of a Nexbis-quality border control system is far lower than the cost proposed in the final contract (US$39 million).
Shahid earlier estimated that maintaining a free system given by a donor country would cost at most several hundred thousand dollars a year, and said he was unsure as to why such an agreement had ever been signed.
“I don’t know much about the details of the ACC’s report,” he concluded. “Since I saw the contract for the Nexbis system, my argument has always been that the amount charged is ridiculous. It should not be done and must be halted. It is wrong.”
Ilyas Hussain Ibrahim declined to comment on the grounds that the issue was “politically risky.”
The Nexbis case is currently the largest corruption case before the courts and PG, the ACC confirmed. While corruption charges are regularly issued in the Maldives, resolution at the PG level is not so common. Speaking to Minivan News on the occasion of International Anti-Corruption Day, ACC President Hassan Luthfee said that of the 16 cases filed with the PG this year, zero have been addressed.
Vice President Muaviz Rasheed today said the ACC had received no information from the PG, but was hoping for the Civil Court’s ruling by the end of this month.
“The Civil Court has not been cooperative with the ACC on all counts, however the hearings ended in late November and we expect a ruling within the month,” Muaviz said.
Banana republic?
Although Shahid is confident in the court, he is unsure when the Maldives will take actual steps towards updating its border control system.
Without local capacity and expertise to produce a state-of-the-art border control system, the Maldives would turn again to the international market. Shahid said there are many options: “we could go anywhere, we could even get it as foreign aid.”
But after the dealing with Nexbis, withstanding international scrutiny could be difficult.
“Nexbis sees the Maldives as a banana republic that it can squeeze money out of,” Shahid observed.
With a score of 2.5 on Transparency International’s Corruption Perception Index and ranking 134th out of 185 countries, the Maldives may not be so inviting to foreign investors.
(0)Dislikes(0)Police have questioned President of the Adhaalath Party, Sheikh Imran Abdullah, and Abdullah Mohamed, head of the NGO coalition organising a religious rally on December 23, regarding slogans calling for the murder of “anyone against Islam”.
The slogans published on the website, 23December.com, were subsequently removed by the organisers who attributed them to “a mistake on the technical teams’ side.”
Sub-Inspector of Police Ahmed Shiyam told Minivan New that Abdullah and Sheikh Imran were summoned to the police headquarters at 1:00pm on Tuesday concerning a case under investigation. He did not reveal any further information.
However speaking to the press after police questioning, Abdullah and Sheikh Imran’s lawyer, former State Minister of Islamic Ministry Sheikh Mohamed Shaheem Ali Saeed, confirmed that police asked them about the slogans published on the website.
Shaheem said that slogans calling for murder were not on the website when it was launched, adding that the “content were manipulated by some people spying on the website”.
Abdullah who is the lead organiser of the the protest, also told Minivan News on Tuesday that they had not seen the slogans calling for murder until the day after the launch. “We corrected the mistake as soon as it was brought to our notice,” Abdullah said.
He said the slogans were earlier attributed as a “mistake on technical team’s side” after they identified some loop holes in the website security, adding that their “suspicions were confirmed” when the website was hacked on Tuesday morning.
The hackers replaced the website with green skulls and a statement reading “We’ll come out against you with machetes if you protest.”
Abdullah restated that the protest will be a “peaceful gathering” and they would ensure “no violence takes place from their side”.
However, he raised concerns over the attacks on their website and groups opposing the protest noting that “they might create violence during the gathering”.
Speaking at a Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) rally last night Mohamed President Nasheed has promised that should the protests target Maldivians, “The government and MDP will come out in defence of the people. We’ll not come out on the streets with the defence forces but with bare hands. No one can confront us on these streets,” Nasheed was reported as saying.
MDP national council has meanwhile passed a resolution today, to stand against the religious rally.
The resolution was passed with 45 votes out of 52 members who participated in the council meeting.
(0)Dislikes(0)The High Court today backed the Civil Court ruling that GMR’s decision to terminate its contract with Alpha MVKB duty free shop at the Ibrahim Nasir International Airport in March was valid, and that MVK’s request to extend the notice until December 31 violated its contract with GMR.
According to the ruling, GMR had vacated the Alpha MVKB Duty Free Shop at Ibrahim Nasir International Airport (INIA) legally and according to the agreement between both companies.
The High Court noted that GMR gave notice on March 1 and, as per the agreement, the contract terminated on March 31. As no party could extend the termination notice, the court concluded that MVK had no right to remain at the airport without approval from GMR.
Alpha MVKB was leased for 10 years under an agreement between MVK and Maldives Airports Company Limited (MACL). The agreement requires the party wishing to terminate the agreement to give a one-month notice; the High Court stressed that both parties had that right.
The High Court also denied MVK’s request for a temporary order allowing them to run the duty free shop through December 31 on the basis that the case had been closed.
Airport shops contracted under Maldives Airports Company Limited (MACL) were allowed to remain in operation for one year after GMR took over airport management. As per the MACL contracts, all shop contracts will terminate on December 31 of this year.
GMR said it has given the required 90-day notice to all shops except Spice Island, which will remain in service. Plans for new shops are unclear, however GMR has said it welcomes any company offering a product appealing to locals and foreigners alike.
Minivan News made repeated calls to Alpha MVKB Managing Director Ibrahim Shafeeq, MVK and Alpha MVKB offices, but had received no response at time of press.
GMR officials today said they could not issue a comment on the case until they received an official notice of the ruling.
Earlier this month, Customs officials intervened when GMR officials began dismantling a temporary wall outside of the Alpha shop and packing up goods.
“Duty-free goods are Customs’ responsibility, and we will be involved in the process of opening or closing duty-free shops,” said Customs Director Ismail Nashid. “As for the goods involved, there are several options for the shop owner to choose from including importing the stock to the Maldives or selling it internationally.”
GMR officials earlier said that action was taken against the shop after several notices for evacuation had been ignored, thereby complicating the airport renovation schedule.
The airport renovation is the single largest foreign investment in the Maldives at US$400 million. GMR is upgrading the old terminal ahead of completing construction of the new terminal in 2014, and will operate the airport for 25 years under a concession agreement signed last year with the government.
GMR has faced repeated legislative battles since it entered the contractual agreement.
Opposition Dhivehi Qaumee Party (DQP) earlier filed a case challenging GMR’s right to collect a US$25 (Rf385.5) Airport Development Charge (ADC) and US$2 (Rf30.8) Insurance Charge commencing January 2012. The DQP had claimed that a pre-existing Airport Service Charge (ASC) of US$18 (Rf277.56) invalidates the ADC.
The Civil Court ruled against GMR on December 8 on the grounds that a clause in the concession agreement with GMR violated the Airport Service Charges Act of 1978, which was amended in 2009 to raise the charge to US$18 for foreign passengers and US$12 for Maldivians above two years of age.
The government has said it will likely appeal the lower court’s ruling, given its contractual obligation to GMR.
(0)Dislikes(0)“Kill me before you kill a fellow Maldivian,” President Mohamed Nasheed has said, after several slogans calling for the “slaughter of anyone against Islam” were published yesterday on a website calling for a religious protest on December 23.
The organisers of the protest yesterday removed the slogans calling for murder, attributing them to “a mistake on the technical teams’ side.”
The website, 23December.com, this morning appeared to have been targeted by hackers, replaced with green skulls and the statement “We’ll come out against you with machetes if you protest.”
The original site promoting the protest is now back up at the domain.
Speaking at a Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) rally last night, President Nasheed promised that should the protests target Maldivians, “The government and MDP will come out in defence of the people. We’ll not come out on the streets with the defence forces but with bare hands. No one can confront us on these streets,” Nasheed was reported as saying.
His statements followed an attack on Saturday against a group of ‘silent protesters’ on the Artificial Beach calling for religious tolerance. Several people were injured in the skirmish, including controversial blogger Ismail ‘Khilath’ Rasheed who’s website was last month blocked on the order of the Ministry of Islamic Affairs.
That evening, Nasheed gave an address at a function marking International Human Rights Day, in which he said that “Islam stands for the dignity, honour, and nobility of mankind, on which Islamic Sharia is based”, and contended that those who claimed Sharia conflicts with fundamental human rights “are clearly unable to comprehend or accept Sharia verdicts.”
The explosive reaction against UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, following her recent call for a moratorium and debate on the practice of flogging for extramarital sex, and an amendment to the “discriminatory” constitutional provision that all Maldivians be Muslim, was a lost opportunity to showcase Sharia’s compatability with human rights, he said.
“Our scholars lost the chance by reacting in a provocative and ‘Jihadi’ manner, even calling to harm the High Commissioner,” Nasheed said.
Religious figures were yesterday quick to publicly condemn the calls for violence.
Speaking to Minivan News, Former State Minister of Islamic Affairs Sheikh Mohamed Shaheem Ali Saeed said that the slogan calling for murder was “not good”, adding that “Islam is a religion of peace, not of violence”.
(0)Dislikes(0)The High Court has backed a summon chit sent by Gaafu Dhaalu Gahdhoo Court to the Attorney General Abdulla Muiz.
Gadhoo court ordered AG Muiz to appear on December 11, stating that he had failed to send a representative from the Attorney General’s Office (AG) concerning a case filed by a person claiming state pension for a 13 year tenure at a 100 percent state owned company.
The AG however appealed the case in High Court.
High Court noted that the Gadhoo court had sent four notices to the AG requesting to send a representative, prior to the summon chit sent directly to AG Muiz on December 4.
According to the High Court, a recipient of the summon chit must appear in court, however noted that the AG is exempted, under the article 133 (c) of the constitution.
The article 133 (c) states, “The Attorney General has the right of audience in all courts of the Maldives, and the State shall be represented in all courts by the Attorney General or by a person delegated by him, except for those matters deemed to be the 49responsibility of the Prosecutor General in this constitution”.
Therefore the court decided that the Gadhoo court’s summon chit cannot be terminated as it does not “force” the AG to appear adding that he holds the right to send in a representative.
According to the local media, the Gahdhoo Court Judge claimed that AG Muiz was guilty of contempt of court and requested the Prosecutor General to take action against him, and said that no exemption would be made if Muiz defied the summons.
The court has the authority sentence a person to up to three months for contempt of court.
Attorney General Muiz was not responding to calls at time of press.
(0)Dislikes(0)The Finance Ministry has announced that the government will partner with Allied Insurance to provide all Maldivians with universal health insurance.
The Ministry said that three companies expressed interest in the public-private partnership, but only Allied completed the letter of expression.
“Sri Lanka Insurance and Amana Takaful didn’t complete the letter of expression. So we decided to award it to Allied,” Director General of the Ministry, Saami Ageel, was reported as saying.
Under the proposal, which the government intends to implement in January next year, Allied will own a 60 percent share in the scheme while the government with own the remaining 40 percent. The actual insurance premium will be paid by the government, while claims, billing and public awareness will be handled by the private partner.
The service will cover emergency treatment, including overseas if the treatment is not available locally, inpatient and outpatient services, domestic emergency evacuation, medicine under prescription, and diagnostic and therapeutic services.
Allied Insurance in July claimed to have launched the country’s first international health coverage policy allowing individuals, families and businesses to access hospital services anywhere in the world.
Provision of the services were said to have been made available through a collaboration with London-based international banking organisation Lloyd’s and the US-based Global Assurance Group.
While regional health policies for destinations like Singapore and Sri Lanka have been available for some time in the country, Allied claimed that its premium package now allowed for coverage everywhere in the world including the US and Canada.
Allied said at the time that although it has worked to provide coverage suitable for all types of income, the international coverage have been devised for higher income earners in the country.
Meanwhile, MPs this week proposed almost a hundred amendments to the National Health Insurance Bill, including a call for it to be made compulsory for locals and expatriates alike.
The bill currently requires workers to contribute 3.5 percent of their salaries to the scheme, however an amendment proposed by MP Yusuf Abdul Gafoor would require the government to pay insurance costs for everyone in the country, out of revenue derived from taxing tobacco products.
Haveeru reported that Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) MP Mohamed ‘Colonel’ Nasheed had proposed a 1.5 percent employee contribution, with three percent paid by the employer. Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) MP Rozaina Adam proposed that workers pay only 0.5 percent.
(0)Dislikes(0)The owner of Thai fishing vessel that ran aground on the reef along Shangri-La Villingili Island Resort last month will today be issued a Rf700,000 (US$45,400) fine per day for failing to salvage the boat within the legal 25-day period.
Transport Minister Adil Saleem said the fine was within the legal limit of Rf1 million. The 25-day resolution period expired yesterday.
Saleem said removal of the “Emerald Reefer” was attempted once with a tug in Addu, “but apart from that we have seen no activity or movement.” He added that the Transport Authority earlier ordered the owner to have all oil and other hazardous materials removed, “but we haven’t seen anything done in that regard.”
The ministry planned to alert the City Council and Maldives National Defense Force (MNDF) later today to be prepared for potential leaks or problems relevant to the grounded boat.
Saleem said that the issue was being handled by the Transport Authority and the boat owner’s appointed agent in the Maldives, which has been responsive and cooperative. However, if the owner fails to pay the fines the boat will be sold.
The Transport Authority earlier received a letter from the vessel’s Maldivian agent claiming that the owner is not attempting to salvage the boat, Haveeru reports.
“Unless it’s salvaged, it won’t be sellable,” Saleem continued. “It could become a disaster. The boat is sitting on the reef and moving a bit with the water, so there could be damage. But it can’t become a shipwreck and sink to the bottom. If it can’t be safely removed or salvaged it will be a big chunk of metal.
“We hope to remove it, but we haven’t found a process yet to do it safely,” he concluded.
“Emerald Reefer” was in Maldives to buy fish from locals. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Deputy Director General Ibrahim Mohamed didn’t know if navigational hazards led the boat off course, but believed that the ship was unfamiliar with Addu’s few and narrow routes.
“Usually ship captains know the routes, and this boat does not appear to have taken a normal route,” he said. “In Addu, there are only a few entry and exit points. This will bring more awareness to other ships who travel through that area as well.”
Mohamed said it had been a while since a boat ran aground in the Maldives; “in Addu, this is new.”
The EPA is currently working with the Transport Authority to manage the issue and control the potential for environmental hazards. Mohamed said the EPA has assessed the impact and is reviewing possible solutions, and will carry out a more extensive review next week with the coast guard.
“We advised the company to move the ship,” said Mohamed. “We have no idea of the damage.
“There is a lot of oil stored in the ship, but there is no risk yet. Unless the ship is damaged it is unlikely that oil will get into the reef area. But rough seas are rocking the vessel on the corals, so we expect to see some damage there.”
(0)Dislikes(0)A proposal currently under review would allow doctors to provide medication directly from health centers, bypassing the prescription process which often leads patients on a wild goose chase around Male’s pharmacies.
State Health Minister Ibrahim Waheed yesterday announced that the proposal is being discussed with health corporations, and that prescriptions could be ruled out by next June at the earliest.
He further suggested that a large pharmacy would be established in every atoll hospital, and would supply products to other health centers across the atolls.
Health Minister Aminath Jameel reportedly did not respond to most questions posed by MPs regarding health corporations at a committee meeting yesterday. Speaking to Minivan News today she said the proposal fell under the ministry’s remit but that she did not have the details and was unable to comment.
Other officials and offices at the Health Ministry had not responded to phone calls at time of press.
Generic drug-based systems which include hospital-centered distribution are commonly practiced in other countries, sources say.
The World Health Organisation supports the use of generic drugs, particularly in developing countries.
In a speech earlier this year, WHO Director General Dr. Margaret Chan said, “Generic products are considerably less expensive than originator products, and competition among generic manufacturers reduces prices even further. Generics serve the logic of the pocket. An affordable price encourages good patient compliance, which improves treatment outcome and also protects against the emergence of drug resistance.”
CEO of Indira Ghandi Memorial Hospital (IGMH) Cathy Waters said the hospital had not been officially informed of the proposal, but noted that pharmacies were generally not well-stocked and that there were multiple available brands.
Medical Director at Male’ Health Service Corporation Dr Robert Primhak said he “would welcome an improvement in pharmaceutical supply and prescribe system.”
According to Primhak, doctors currently prescribe drug brands rather than generic medications. Shifting to a generic drug-based system would mean that a list of nationally-approved drugs would be available for the first time in hospitals, clinics and pharmacies, a “major improvement” that would improve the medical system’s transparency.
However, such a shift would also require “robust quality control” and a centralised import and supply system, Primhak said.
These reforms could take the edge off of the medical import and supply business.
“There’s no business advantage in stocking medications that are not commonly used,” Primhak explained. “For example, a baby who is born with a heart problem needs a specific drug to keep a vessel open. We might get that case three times a year. But instead of stocking these specialised drugs which are only rarely used, the retailers prefer to stock common drugs and brands that will sell, because they know that they can get a turnover.
“The drugs that are imported are the ones they want to sell, not the ones we want to prescribe.”
MPs yesterday voiced concern that the proposed system would incur huge losses for pharmaceutical importers.
Minivan News asked Primhak if medical decisions in the Maldives were driven by business interests and ought to be re-directed towards serving the people. “Yes, to both points,” he said.
Chief Operating Officer at ADK Hospital and former head of the Center for Community Health and Disease Control (CCHDC), Ahmed Jamsheed, believes the proposed change would engender a stronger monitoring system by default.
“The new system would move towards generic drugs which would make it easier to monitor drug quality and standards, and bring down the price,” he said.
It would also improve patient convenience. “Now, a medication prescribed by a doctor in ADK may not be available in the hospital pharmacy, so the patient has to hop around to different pharmacies to get the prescription filled.”
Jamsheed believes the change would benefit the Maldives’ medical system but agrees that the focus should be on people, not corporations.
“Currently, there is a big network of pharmacies, most of which are privately owned. It is known that most pharmacies are poorly monitored, and the authorities are unable to control them. Many prescription-only drugs not meant for over-the-counter sale are actually available to anyone who asks. That carries a huge risk for the patient community.”
Usually, Jamsheed said, a small country like Maldives only needs one or two sources for importing the drugs. But he said the MPs have a point: standardised markets don’t foster high profit margins. “But at the end of the day, the government has to consider whether the system is best for the country and its people,” he observed.
Under the proposed 2012 state budget, Rf2 billion is allocated to the health sector; Rf638 million of that amount is to be used for developing mechanisms providing easy access to health care. Another Rf543 million is designated to developing atoll health centres under Public Private Partnership.
The budget also allots R720 million to the universal health insurance scheme, due to take effect in January 2012, while Rf100 million is to be spent on health corporations’ capital investments, which are made to improve their services.
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