Category: News in Brief

Labour Tribunal overrules GMR summons to airport employee

The Labour Tribunal issued an injunction Tuesday to GMR after the company ordered an employee of the Maldives Airports Company studying abroad to report back to work.

According to Haveeru, the tribunal issued the temporary order after investigating a complaint filed by the employee, Shahryaz Latheef, who is currently in Bangkok, Thailand.

Pending a final decision on the case, the tribunal ordered GMR to pay Latheef basic salary and other expenses for the course as agreed upon in an agreement made with the Maldives Airports Company on July 8, 2010.

However, Latheef’s lawyer Ali Shah claimed that as of today GMR has yet to make the payments, adding that he would take the Indian infrastructure giant to court to enforce the tribunal’s order if it failed to comply before the end of the day.

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MRM will be political forerunner, claims Dr Munnavar

Former Attorney General Dr Mohamed Munnavar has said his newly-registered Maldives Reform Movement (MRM) aims to lead the way for other political parties, according to Haveeru.

“What’s needed isn’t for us to follow the rest of the parties. The aim is to see that other parties come to us. I want to make this party that strong,” the former Maldivian Democratic Party leader said, adding that it would take three to six months for the party to become active.

Munnavar said that work was being done to improve the party administratively, suggesting that “other parties will take our side when we become active.”

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MWSC introduces AMR technology and e-services

The Maldives Water and Sewerage Company (MWSC) launched its new e-services and Automatic Meter Reading (AMR) technology at a ceremony on Tuesday night.

According to the utility company, as the new meters are equipped with wireless transmitters capable of sending information to a receiving device at the company office, employees would no longer be sent to households every month for meter readings.

The device will also immediately alert the company to leaks or other problems.

MWSC’s e-services meanwhile include e-portal, e-bill and e-pay to enable customers to check their balance and make online payments.

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Parliament approves members to Broadcasting Commission

Parliament approved seven members to the newly-instituted Maldives Broadcasting Commission yesterday, after voting on nominees put forward by President Mohamed Nasheed.

The seven members approved to the commission were Badr Naseer, Aishath Hana, Mohamed Shaheeb, Mariyam Shaugy, Ibrahim Ashraf, Moomina Adam and Abdulla Shujau.

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Bill mandating parliamentary approval for Managing Directors rejected

Parliament today rejected an amendment to the Companies Act proposed by Republican Party MP Ibrahim Muttalib stipulating that the President must seek parliamentary approval before appointing Managing Directors for public companies and state-owned enterprises.

Of the 68 MPs in attendance, only 16 MPs voted in favour of the amendment while 49 voted against and three abstained.

The amendment was severely criticised by MPs of the ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) as the latest in a series of bills intended to wrest control from the executive and undermine presidential prerogatives.

Several opposition MPs also argued that the amendment would threaten the independence of public companies, claiming that a single amendment was not enough to overcome the shortcomings of the existing Companies Act.

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President appoints Prinicipal Collector of Customs, three State Ministers

President Mohamed Nasheed yesterday appointed Mohamed Aswan as Minister of State, Principal Collector of Customs.

Aswan replaces former Principal Collector Ilyas Hussain.

In the same day, President Nasheed appointed State Ministers to three regional offices. They were, Mohamed Hunaif as the Minister of State, National Office, Upper North Region; Hussain Irfan Zaki as the Minister of State, National Office, North Central Region; and Ahmed Mujuthaba as the Minister of State, National Office, South Central Region.

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Live stream introduced for local radio and TV

Maldivian company Net Solutions has introduced free live stream of local television channels and radio stations.

Live streams of MNBC One, Youth TV, Villa TV, DhiTV as well as Raajje Radio and Raajje FM is available on the site.

While the service is free of charge anywhere in the Maldives, a fee will be charged for streaming outside the country.

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Construction begins on Addu convention centre

Construction work has begun on the convention centre to be built in Addu City ahead of this year’s SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation) summit, reports Haveeru.

According to Ameen Construction, work on the site will continue night and day as the company hopes to complete the centre by August this year.

The Foreign Ministry is meanwhile preparing to select candidates from Addu and Fuvahmulah for training ahead of the regional summit.

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