Category: News in Brief

President reconstitutes tender evaluation board

President Abdulla Yameen yesterday reconstituted the tender evaluation board, appointing Deputy Tourism Minister Hussain Lirar its new chairman.

Other members appointed to the board were State Attorney Moosa Alim, Zeeniya Ahmed Hameed, deputy director general at the Housing Ministry, Ahmed Ifthihar, director at the Economic Ministry, Rilwan Adam, director at the Finance Ministry, Mohamed Ali, director general at the President’s Office, Ahmed Gasim, deputy director general at the Health Ministry, and Saudhulla Hilmy.

President Yameen also made a number of changes to the boards of eight public companies and state-owned enterprises through the privatisation board.

According to local media reports, Dhiraagu Chairman Ibrahim Athif Shukoor was replaced with Rilwan Shareef while a government representative on the Dhiraagu board, Ilham Hussain, was dismissed and replaced with Abdulla Ahmed.

Maldives Water and Sewerage Company (MWSC) Managing Director Mohamed Ahmed Didi along with five board members were also dismissed and replaced.

Among other companies that saw top level changes were the Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation, Housing Development Corporation, Maldives Tourism Development Corporation, Gulhifalhu Investment, Hithadhoo Ports Ltd, Kulhudhufushi Ports Limited, and the Aasandha Company.

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Parliament sitting scheduled for January 26

Speaker of Parliament Abdulla Shahid has decided to hold sittings of the People’s Majlis from January 26 onward to debate revenue raising bills submitted by the government.

The decision to resume sittings during the ongoing recess was made following a written request by 27 government-aligned MPs, contending that implementation of the budget was being hampered due to the Majlis’ failure to pass the revenue bills.

The three bills submitted by the government include an amendment to the Goods and Services Tax Act to raise T-GST from eight to 12 percent as well as two amendments to the Tourism Act intended to reintroduce the discontinued flat US$8 bed tax and require resort lease extensions to be paid as a lump sum.

Following the Majlis’s failure to extend the tourism bed tax before the end of last year, Finance Minister Abdulla Jihad told local media that the resulting losses to state revenue would be MVR100 million a month.

Among other revenue raising measures proposed by the government include revising import duties, raising airport departure charge for foreign passengers from US$18 to US$25, leasing 12 islands for resort development, and introducing GST for telecommunication services.

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Verdict in Afrasheem murder case expected tomorrow

A verdict in the trial of Hussain Humam, the chief suspect in the brutal murder of MP Afrasheem Ali in October 2012, is expected tomorrow.

The final hearing of the case has been scheduled for 10:00am at the Criminal Court. The late moderate religious scholar’s heirs have all asked the court for the death penalty.

Humam had initially confessed to the murder, but later withdrew his statement claiming it had been extracted by the police under duress.

Humam is already serving a seven-year jail sentence for drug abuse.

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MBC chairman to remain in post after signing for PPM

Maldives Broadcasting Corporation (MBC) Chairman Ibrahim Umar Manik has said he does not intend to resign after signing for the Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) today.

Manik told local media that the MBC Act does not prohibit board members – responsible for overseeing state media – from joining a political party.

Manik revealed that he was planning to seek the party’s ticket ahead of the parliamentary elections in March, adding that he would resign should he win the primary.

Two former MBC board members, Nahula Ali and Iqbal Adam, had previously resigned to pursue political careers in the PPM and government-aligned Jumhooree Party respectively.

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Funds stolen from Naifaru mosque

Naifaru Island Council President Mahmood Abdul Hameed has stated that a fund box in Masjid-ul-Taqwa in the island had been damaged on Tuesday night, and all the fund money in it has been stolen.

Stating that the robbery has now been reported to the police, Hameed said that the amount of money in the box is not known.

“It is a fund box fixed onto a wall in the mosque. What we get from it is used to repair the mosque and for other needs of the mosque. Every 15 days, the council office retrieves the money deposited in it,” Mahmood told local media.

Mahmood further said that all three mosques in the island had fund boxes in it, and that the other two boxes had also been tampered with, but that the thieves had not been successful in the other two attempts which occurred on the same night.

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President appoints Ambassador at Large

President Abdulla Yameen has appointed Abdulla Hameed as Ambassador at Large at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Abdulla Hameed – who was previously serving as Honorary Consul of the Maldives in Seychelles – was appointed to his position on January 9, after 17 years of working in the Foreign Ministry.

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Two people arrested for engaging in illicit sexual acts

Police have arrested two persons on Tuesday night for engaging in illicit sexual activity.

Stating that they had raided Dream Relax Guesthouse in response to intelligence reports, police announced that they had caught the two persons while they were engaged in sexual activity.

The persons arrested are a 20 year old woman and a 25 year old man. In addition to catching them in the act, police stated that they had also discovered “additional material used for illicit sexual purposes” from the guesthouse.

The arrest happened ar 21:37pm on Tuesday, and police revealed that the woman was in a state of undress when they raided the guesthouse.

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Minister assures improvements in education sector with new academic year

The Academic year 2014 began today as the Education Ministry promised improvement in students’ performance with the implementation of their first-hundred day road map.

“As they [hundred day plans] are implemented students will improve a lot. education sector will improve a lot. Therefore I request those who work in the education sector and parents to work with us in implementing them,” Minister of Education Dr Aishath Shiham said in a speech delivered to mark the beginning of the 2014 academic year.

She said the government’s education policy is to provide value based education for a civilized society, and pledged not to leave behind any child in this effort. She also called for a student centered approach in implementing education policies.

Vnews has reported that the ministry has assigned ninety five percent of teachers for 214 schools around the country and eighty percent of repair work at schools has also been completed.

According to the news agency, a record 830 students – twice the usual number- from various islands have been transferred to schools in the capital Male’ this year, under the ministry’s policy to grant transfer permission for all requests.

The Commissioner of Police Hussein Waheed has also issued a statement on the occasion, where he highlighted that the Maldives Police Service has initiated programs to sustain good behavior and discipline among students.

Waheed said that Maldives’ Police officers “will remain as role models guiding students to the right path” and that it would be a pleasure to provide any service necessary for the safety and security of students.

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