Category: News in Brief

Health Ministry increases salaries of doctors

The Ministry of Health and Gender has restructured and increased doctors’ pay in January.

Health Ministry’s Permanent Secretary Geela Ali said salaries had been restructured to level foreign and local doctors’ pay. Work hours had been increased along with the salary hike, and doctors will be allowed to see patients at private clinics, she said.

However, doctors have alleged that the revisions to the doctors’ salary structure had decreased pay by as much as MVR10,000 (US$ 648).

Doctors have held meetings with the management of the public Indhira Gandhi Memorial Hospital (IGMH) over low pay, local media has reported.

The World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) have previously expressed concern over the Maldives’ large wage bill.

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President requests Maldivians to be vigilant of foreign forces plotting to weaken the Islamic faith

In his message to the nation on the occasion of the Maldives’ conversion to Islam, President Abdullah Yameen has warned Maldivian citizens about foreign influences working to weaken the nation’s Islamic faith.

“We should also be very vigilant of foreign influences attempting to weaken our religious faith. And I call on the beloved citizens of the Maldives be very aware of attempts by various parties to disrupt the religious unity among the people of Maldives, and never give any opportunity for such activity,” Yameen said in his statement.

The president said that the unity and brotherhood among Maldivian people is the result of building the ‘Dhivehi Ummah’ upon the stable foundations of Islam.

Yameen also requested parents and teachers to sustain a religious spirit in the hearts of children and to discipline them within the Islamic limits in order to build a well-disciplined generation.

The ‘Maldives conversion to Islam day’ marked on the first of Rabi’al Akhir every Hijri year is a public holiday. Marking the day on the date began in the year 2000 under Yameen’s bother President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom’s rule. Maldives converted to Islam following the monarch’s conversion in approximately 1153 AD.

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Police recover MVR200,000 stolen from shop in Eydhafushi

Police have recovered MVR200,000 and MVR68,000 worth of goods stolen from a shop in the island of Eydhafushi, Baa Atoll.

Police said that two minors and an 18 year-old man were arrested in connection with the case.

According to the police, the shop was robbed in the early hours of January 31, and was reported to police the same afternoon.

Police stated that a special police investigation team in Baa Atoll had conducted an operation, recovering the money and property, and arresting the suspects.

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Staff control fire outbreak in Safari Island Resort

A fire in Safari Island Resort this morning was controlled by staff before the Maldives National Defense Force (MNDF) or Police could reach there.

The MNDF said that the fire incident occurred inside a water bungalow in the resort, with the room fully destroyed by the fire before it was controlled.

No injuries were reported during the incident, the MNDF said. The incident was reported at about 4:42am, and an MNDF vessel left Male’ at 5:07am.

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LGA Vice President Ahmed Faisal resigns

Local Government Authority (LGA) Vice President Ahmed Faisal has resigned from his post at the local councils’ oversight body.

Faisal told local media that he resigned to make way for new members to work with newly-elected councils.

The LGA is tasked with monitoring local councils and coordinating with the government. Its board is comprised of a cabinet minister appointed by the president, a member from Malé City Council, four members elected from atoll councils, a member appointed by parliament to represent civil society, a member of the general public by parliament and a member of a city council elected from the Malé and Addu city councils.

Faisal was the civil society member on the LGA. Following the swearing-in of newly-elected councillors on February 26, the LGA’s board will be reconstituted.

Faisal had been outspoken about reforms to the current model of decentralisation followed in the country. He had recently suggested lengthening council terms from three to five years to allow the Elections Commission to conduct the parliamentary and local council elections simultaneously.

At a press conference last week, current LGA chair, Defence Minister Colonel (Retired) Mohamed Nazim, criticised Faisal’s recommendation and dismissed it as his “personal opinion”. The defence minister also alleged that Faisal had been pursuing a personal agenda in deciding matters related to local councils.

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Cargo boat capsizes with 12 onboard

A cargo boat en route from Malé to the Filitheyo resort in Faafu atoll capsized 15 miles off the coast of Alif Dhaal Dhiggurah in the early hours of Friday following a collision at sea.

According to the Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF), a coastguard squadron was dispatched to rescue the crew upon receiving reports of the accident at 4:48am.

Eight men, two women and two minors were onboard when the 60-foot “3 A 28” resort supply dhoni (traditional Maldivian vessel) went under. All 12 were found by the coastguard on a lifeboat dingy and had escaped without injury.

Police meanwhile launched a search yesterday for the second boat, which allegedly sped away after the collision. The ‘Kumeri’ dhoni was found docked at the Hulhumale’ harbour.

The crew and captain were however released by the police after questioning. Newspaper Haveeru today reported a crew member of the Kumeri dhoni as saying that the crew saw 3 A 28 speeding away after the accident and were unaware that it had capsized.

The fishing boat from Faafu Magoodhoo was en route to Hulhumalé to buy ice, he said.

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Indian doctors treat over 900 patients in nationwide medical camp

Some 931 patients have been treated so far in a ‘medical camp’ conducted across the country by the Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) in collaboration with the Indian military.

According to the MNDF, three teams of specialist doctors from the Indian military visited islands in three areas of the country under the military’s northern, central, and southern commands. Having commenced on January 27, the medical camp is due to conclude tomorrow.
The team of doctors included specialists in skin diseases, surgery, ENT, and children’s illnesses as well as gynaecologists, ophthalmologists, and dentists.
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Direct flights between Malé and Delhi being discussed

The Maldives deputy tourism minister has told Indian media that direct flights between Malé and Delhi will begin soon.

“The national carrier Island Aviation will be shortly operating chartered flights from here to our country. This is being done to provide direct flight service from here to Maldives to attract more tourists,” Hussain Lirar was reported as telling India’s Business Standard.

During a recent state visit to India, Maldives President Abdulla Yameen was said to have discussed the importance of introducing direct air links with Indian leaders.

The Maldives High Commissioner to India Mohamed Nasser, was also reported to have said that a road show would soon be launched in India to showcase future developments in the Maldives largest industry. Chinese arrivals account for around 25 percent of the current market share, compared with India’s 3.3 percent.

Similar roadshows were produced in China in 2012, following the explosion in Chinese tourist arrivals over the past five years.

The head of the Maldives national airline has told local media of plans to introduce direct flight between Malé and Indian capital New Delhi.

Abdul Haris, managing director of Island Aviation, told Haveeru that discussions were ongoing between Maldivian airline and an Indian aviation company. He said that feasibility studies – examining the likely profitability of the route – were underway.

Links between the Indian and Maldivian governments have of late experienced an improvement after rising tensions during the previous administration of Dr Mohamed Waheed.

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‘Help Syria Through Winter’ campaign raises over MVR600k

A fund raising campaign dubbed ‘Help Syria Through Winter’ conducted by local NGO ‘Help’ has raised MVR605,907 (US$39,294) in three weeks.

According to Sun Online, a delegation from the NGO recently departed for Istanbul, Turkey to deliver the funds, which are to be used to purchase four ambulances.

Fund raising activities that took place across the Maldives included selling T-shirts and placement of fund boxes as well as religious workshops and sermons.

The fund raising efforts were led by NGO Salaf preacher, Sheikh Adam Shameem Ibrahim.

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