Month: May 2012

Cabinet confirms decision to take over second MDP protest site at Usfasgandu

The new Maldives’ cabinet has announced its decision to hand over the Usfasgandu area to the Ministry of Housing and Environment.

The area is currently being used for protests by the ousted Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), after the party’s site near the tsunami monument was forcibly dismantled by police and military on March 19.

In a statement, the President’s Office said that during discussions concerning “the breach of agreement by the Male’ City Council (MCC) in utilising the land plots and other properties handed over to the City Council by the Ministry of Housing and Environment,” the cabinet had decided “to entrust the Minister of Housing and Environment with the authority to reclaim the properties from the City Council when required.”

Speaking with Mayor Ali Manik at the protest site, Minivan News was told that the government forces would arrive on May 14. Manik said he had received a letter from the Housing Ministry informing them of this plan at 1:30pm today.

Asked about the decision, Minister for Housing and Environment Dr Mohamed Muiz said that he was “not in a position to talk about that.”

The Housing Ministry informed the MCC one month ago that it intended to take control of the Usfasgandu area if the MDP activities did not cease.

During the same week in April the Housing Ministry was involved in a further dispute with the MCC after the re-allocation Dharubaaruge staff members from the MCC to the Housing Ministry.

This action prompted the council to lock the doors to the centre and send staff home. This action was subsequently described by Muiz as “unlawful” before policemen arrived to reopen the facility.

The following week the Housing Ministry informed the MCC by letter that it had less than 24 hours to remove its employees from the Huravee building in order to accommodate new government ministries.

Deputy Mayor of the Council Ahmed Falah maintains that MCC will refuse to accept these decisions and these disputes must be settled in the courts.

When asked about the current situation in the Huravee building, Falah said things were continuing “as normal. Still we are in there.”

The MDP’s international spokesman and Secretary General of the party’s parliamentary group Hamid Abdul Ghafoor, interpreted these actions as an attack on both freedom of expression and the decentralisation policies of the previous government.

“The coup administration is breaking up the decentralisation concept. The President’s Office is controlling everything – even down to the playgrounds on the islands. They are bringing back Gayoom’s policies of centralisation” said Ghafoor.

Ghafoor questioned the wisdom of the acquiescence of government-aligned parties in the face of such policies.

“They are also curtailing freedom of expression and freedom of assembly. The Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) and the Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) perhaps do not have a good concept of their basic human rights. Do their members consider what will happen to their freedom of expression? Their grassroots supporters may realise this too late,” Ghafoor continued.

The area behind the Dharubaaruge convention centre has been utilised by the now-opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) since security forces ejected them from their camp at the nearby tsunami monument on March 19.

Dubbed ‘justice square’, the camp in the Lonuziyaaraih Kolhu area, had become the hub for opposition demonstrations since the contentious transfer of presidential power on February 7.

The government’s allegations that these activities were of questionable legality prompted its dismantling of the camp and the subsequent court case brought by the MDP leadership.

The dismantling of the camp came at the end of a day on which MDP led protests at the reopening of the People’s Majlis had turned violent.

Multiple casualties were reported from both protesters and security forces. The headquarters of Villa Television (VTV), owned by leader of the government aligned Jumhoree Party (JP) Ibrahim Gasim, sustained significant damage.

The court case, the first incarnation of which was dismissed on a technicality, continues with the issue of land usage forming the backbone of the state’s defense.

The government has argued that the leasing of such public spaces for political activities violates the terms which govern the MCC’s stewardship of such areas.

Hassan Latheef, a member of the MDP’s legal team working on this court case, scheduled to resume on May 13, said that the government had “no grounds” to take the land from the MCC in either the case of Usfasgandu, nor that concerning Rahlugandu.

When asked about the government’s position on the use of council land for political purposes, Latheef argued that there was nothing in the decentralisation act that prohibits this.

“I do understand that anything is acceptable and expected in a police state. The country is being taken from the people by a few coup leaders. The Maldives is now a police state,” Latheef contended.

Blocking the steps leading to the raised area used for the MDP’s gatherings at Usfasgandu, a sign read: “No court order, don’t take this place.”

The original ‘justice square’ camp was leased to the MDP by Male City Council (MCC), itself established through the 2010 decentralisation act under the governance of former President Mohamed Nasheed.

In a clear refutation of this argument, the MCC made the decision to lease the Usfasgandu area to the MDP for a three month period within days of the party’s ejection from the tsunami monument area.

The MDP was widely supported by urban populations of the Maldives in last year’s local council elections, securing 100 percent of the council seats in Addu City in the south and Kulhudhufushi in the north, and nine of the 11 seats in the capital Male’.

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Police arrest 47 Bangladeshi nationals after raid on unregistered security firm

A total of 47 Bangladeshi nationals working for a local security firm were seized on Thursday by the Department of Immigration as part of a wider crackdown on unregistered migrant workers.

The detention of the expatriate workers comes after police late last year reported a “day-by-day” increase in human trafficking in the Maldives.  The Maldives Police Service’s claims were based on a surge in the numbers of illegal expatriate workers found in the country.

Assistant Controller of the Immigration Department Ibrahim Ashraf told Minivan News that the 47 Bangladesh nationals were all apprehended following a raid of a company providing security guards that was not registered to employ foreigners.

Ashraf claimed that the company the men had been working for had been in operation for 10 -12 years, yet no information could be found on its operations.

“During the raid, we found 47 Bangladeshi nationals all wearing security uniforms along with equipment like walkie talkies and badges,” he said. “They were not registered for this work and we could not find any records linked to the company.”

While the Department of Immigration has said that it was not cracking down specifically on security firms employing expatriate workers, Ashraf added that concerns remained about ensuring the industry had correctly licensed its foreign staff.

“Until recently, the Ministry of Human Resources did not provide [expatriate] work quotas to security firms,” he said. “There has been a growing demand among local businesses to hire security services. The Ministry of Human Resources has therefore begun issuing quotas for hiring expatriates in security services.”

Ashraf added that the Immigration Department’s concerns were not focused just on security firms, but instead on companies from various industries that had failed to obtain and then correctly register staff.

“Right now we are looking for expatriate workers on the run. We have received a lot of reports from employers about staff going missing,” he said. “This is especially true in the outer atolls, where we are getting complaints about unregistered employees travelling between islands.”

Ashraf claimed that the 47 Bangladeshi nationals who had been detained Thursday would not necessarily be deported if a sponsor could be found to provide employment and accommodation for them.

“We will try and give the employees the opportunity to stay here and work if a sponsor is willing to regularise them,” he said.

High Commission

The High Commission of Bangladesh in Male’ said it had been made aware of the 47 detained workers, who had been seized for not having proper documentation.

The commission said it was often notified regarding such cases, and was presently awaiting travel documentation for the detained expatriates before considering possible deportation.

The High Commissioner of Bangladesh, Rear Admiral Abu Saeed Mohamed Abdul Awal, said today that he believed workers from the country were regularly being brought to the Maldives to perform unskilled work, usually in the construction industry.  Awal alleged that upon arriving, expatraites from Bangladesh were suffering from the practices of “bad employers”.

“This is a real problem that is happening here, there have been many raids over the last year on unskilled [expatriate] workers who are suffering because of the companies employing them. They are not being given proper salaries and are paying the price for some of these employers,” he said.

Rear Admiral Awar added that it was the responsibility of employers to ensure expatriate staff had the proper documentation and suitable living standards.

Concerns about the treatment of expatriates from across the South Asia region were also shared by Indian High Commissioner Dynaneshwar Mulay. Speaking to Minivan News last month, Mulay raised concerns over the general treatment of Indian expatriates in the Maldives, particularly by the country’s police and judiciary.

Mulay claimed that alongside concerns about the treatment of some Indian expatriates in relation to the law, there were significant issues relating to “basic human rights” that needed to be addressed concerning expatriates from countries including Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.

Mulay’s comments were made following an alleged attack on a Indian resort worker, who was reported to have been struck with a hammer and mugged while staying in a hotel in Male’. The attack was allegedly committed by a former employee of the same resort.

Big business

Beyond concerns about the basic human rights of foreign employees in the country, labour trafficking is also believed to represent a significant national economic issue.

An ongoing police investigation into labour trafficking in the Maldives last year uncovered an industry worth an estimated US$123 million, eclipsing fishing (US$46 million in 2007) as the second greatest contributor of foreign currency to the Maldivian economy after tourism.

The authorities’ findings echo concerns first raised by former Bangladeshi High Commissioner Dr Selina Muhsin, reported by Minivan News in August 2010. The comments by Mushin were made shortly after the country was placed on the US State Department’s Tier 2 watchlist for human trafficking.

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STO, BML and MTDC fined over financial statements

The Capital Market Development Authority (CMDA) has fined three public companies including the Bank of Maldives (BML), State Trading Organisation (STO) and the Maldives Tourism Development Corporation up to Rf120,000 (US$7782) for failing to publish quarterly reports and financial statements.

According to the CMDA, companies – including BML, STO and MTDC – listed under under the Securities (Continuing Disclosure Obligations of Issuers) Regulations must produce a quarterly report after every three months, within the following 30 days.

However, CMDA noted that both STO and MTDC had failed to produce first quarterly report for 2012 within the given 30 day period and therefore each company was fined upto Rf30,000 (US$2000).

Meanwhile, MTDC and the BML were each fined up to Rf30,000 for failing to publish annual financial statements as stipulated under the regulations. The statistics must be published within four months after the end of a financial year.

The companies had requested for deadline extension citing difficulties in producing the report within the given time frame, CMDA said. However the extension was not granted as the reasons provided were not acceptable, the authority claimed.

All the companies have been instructed to publish the reports by May 15.

BML was fined up to Rf10,000 (US$648) in January, after the bank failed to publish the quarterly report for the last three months of 2011 before the requested due date.

The bank said at the time that the report was delayed due to a pending audit.

“The fourth quarterly report requires more work as it must be published with annual figures that must be audited prior to publication,” BML said.

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Foreign Ministry slams “baseless” allegations against Indian High Commissioner

The Foreign Ministry has issued a statement condemning “in strongest words” allegations made by senior Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) officials to India’s Open magazine, among them that Indian High Commissioner Dnyaneshwar M Mulay had failed to pass critical information to the Indian government on February 7.

“The allegations made in the article against the Indian High Commissioner to the Maldives are totally baseless and unfounded,” the Foreign Ministry stated.

“The government and the people of the Maldives have the utmost respect for High Commissioner Mulay and his contributions to further strengthening the close bilateral relations between the Maldives and India. While the government of Maldives fails to understand the motives behind such unacceptable allegations made in respect of an esteemed diplomat of Mulay’s caliber, it may be recalled that close aides of President Mohamed Nasheed have in the past leveled similar allegations against President Waheed, the Maldives National Defence Force, the Maldives Police Service and all other political leaders of orchestrating the transfer of power,” it said in a statement.

“The government hopes that MDP will refrain in the future in accusing close allies of the Maldives.”

The MDP maintains that President Waheed’s government is illegitimate following Nasheed’s resignation “under duress” on February 7.

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High Court rules Deputy Solicitor General cannot represent state in ACC lawsuit

The High Court has ruled that Deputy Solicitor General Ahmed Usham cannot represent the Attorney General’s Office (AG) in a case forwarded by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) over the Nexbis border control contract.

In a hearing Monday, the High Court said Ahmed Usham, appointed by the AG’s Office to defend the state, was a member of the tender evaluation board that originally awarded Nexbis the contract . It ruled that Usham’s involvement in the process therefore represented a “conflict of interest”.

The High Court added that having Usham as a representative for the government would not be appropriate to continue the case, which was related to the tender evaluation process of the contract.

The court body said the decision was made was by the three presiding judges Dr Azmiraldha Zahir, Abdulla Hameed and Yousuf Hussain.

The case was first filed at the Civil Court after the previous government defied an ACC order to discontinue the Nexbis border control system project.  The ACC claimed that there might have been corruption involved in awarding the contract to Nexbis and asked parties to re-submit their bid for the contract.  Nexbis denies the allegations.

In a previous ruling, the Civil Court issued a declaration that there was no legal grounds for the Immigration Department to follow the ACC’s order to stop the border system.  The case has now been filed by the ACC at the country’s High Court.

Meanwhile, newspaper ‘Haveeru’ reported that a hearing was held yesterday where the state attorney told the High Court bench that the Home Ministry had asked the Immigration Department to stop the border control project.

The state attorney told the High Court bench that the Home Ministry had sent a secret letter to the Immigration Department.  The letter could not be given to the ACC, but was able to be shown to the presiding judges, reported Haveeru.

The paper also reported that lawyers for the ACC contended that the Immigration Department was still continuing with the Nexbis project.

Legal authority

The Civil Court in January 2012 ruled that the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) did not have the legal authority to order the Immigration Department to terminate the agreement.  Judge Ali Rasheed said at the time that while the ACC Act gave the commission the authority to investigate corruption cases, it was not able to annul contracts.

Judge Rasheed asserted that it was “unfair” to contractors if the ACC could annul an agreement without their input, as this violated their protections under Maldives Contract Law.

In December last year, the ACC forwarded a corruption case against former – and now reappointed – Immigration Controller Ilyas Hussain Ibrahim to the Prosecutor General’s Office (PG).  The case, which also implicates Saamee Ageel, Director General of the Finance Ministry at the time, alleged that the pair had abused their authority for “undue financial gain” in giving US$39 million to Nexbis as agreed under the deal.

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Large discrepancies in Transport Ministry’s financial records: audit report

Auditors have found large discrepancies between the financial records maintained by the Ministry of Transport and Communication and the general ledger kept by the Ministry of Finance and Treasury.

According to the Transport Ministry’s 2010 audit report, the ministry’s records show that a total of Rf26 million (US$1.7 million) was spent on purchasing  information technology hardware, while the Finance Ministry’s ledger for National Center for Information Technology had no record of the expense.

Meanwhile, income received as Driving Licence Insurance Fee was recorded in the Transport ministry’s books as Rf229,935 (US$14,911) more than the amount stated in the Finance ministry’s ledger while the total income received by the Transport Authority in 2012 was recorded as Rf2.3 million less in the ministry’s ledger.

The latter discrepancy occurred because the ministry had not updated their records with the income generated from ministry’s services provided in the atolls under the Decentralisation Act, the report said.

Furthermore, Rf47 million (US$3 million) allocated to three regional airports in 2010 were recorded as expenses in the ministry’s financial statements, although  auditors found a sum of Rf947,014 (US$61,500) remained unspent in the respective airport’s bank accounts.

Over Rf 600,000 (US$39,000) received as revenue to the Kadhoo Regional Airport between November 2008 and February 2010 was not deposited to the state’s consolidated revenue account, the report added, while  poor management of  airport’s invoices and records made it difficult for auditors to determine how much money is owed to different parties or supposed to be received as income.

Auditor General Ibrahim Niyaz observed in the report that the the ministry had not “identified and reconciled” the aforementioned discrepancies.

The ministry also did not compile its financial statement in accordance with ‘International Public Sector Accounting Standards’ (IPSAS) as stipulated by regulations under the Public Finance Act, and as a result lacked important information such as detailed disclosure notes, Niyaz added.

Therefore, Auditor General refrained from providing an opinion of the ministry’ financial statements and instructed to adjust the figures accordingly to remove discrepancies and compile it in accordance with IPSAS.

The report further noted that the ministry had purchased equipment without the stipulated bidding process and had assigned maintenance of traffic lights to a company prior to signing the contract, thereby violating public finance regulation.

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GMR offers to exempt Maldivian nationals from airport development charge

GMR has offered to exempt Maldivian nationals from paying the contentious Airport Development Charge (ADC), in a bid to end a legal and contractual stalemate that threatens to bankrupt the Maldives Airport Company Limited (MACL) and deprive the government of the majority of all airport revenue.

The Indian infrastructure giant signed a 25 year concession agreement with former President Mohamed Nasheed’s government to upgrade and manage Ibrahim Nasir International Airport (INIA). Under the concession agreement, a US$25 charge was to be levied on all outgoing passengers to part-fund the US$400 million upgrade.

However while in opposition the Dhivehi Qaumee Party (DQP), led by Dr Hassan Saeed, now President Dr Mohamed Waheed’s special advisor, filed a successful case in the Civil Court in December 2011 to block the payment of the charge, on the grounds that it was effectively a tax not approved by parliament.

Nasheed’s government had agreed to deduct the ADC from the concession fees payable by GMR while it sought to appeal to verdict. As a result, Dr Waheed’s government received only US$525,355 from the airport for the quarter, compared to the US$8.7 million it was expecting.

In a statement today, GMR said the government had “expressed a desire to exempt Maldivian citizens from the ADC”, as “the majority of Maldivians travel abroad for the purposes for healthcare and education.”

“The ADC was conceptualised and incorporated into the concession agreement by the government to yield a maximum return to the Maldives while ensuring development of the airport and a reasonable return to the successful bidder,” GMR stated.

“We are sensitive to the apprehensions expressed regarding ADC; and would like to assure all concerned that the management of GMR Male International Airport is doing everything possible by offering viable options to reduce the impact on the Maldivians, thereby helping the government for the ADC implementation.”

GMR presented the government with two options:

  • Option 1: No Maldivian passport holder will have to pay ADC. Every departing foreign passenger will pay an ADC of US$28.00; or
  • Option 2: Maldivians travelling to SAARC countries will not have to pay any ADC. Every Maldivian Passport holder departing to countries other than SAARC and every foreign passenger will pay an ADC of US$27.00.

No fee would be charged to either Maldivians or foreigners using the domestic terminal, the company noted.

In the statement, GMR noted that the government received US$33 million in 2011 from airport concession fees, “three times the money the government ever made in a year [from the airport] before privatisation.”

Following construction of the new terminal in 2015 – including “a state-of-the-art 600,000 square foot integrated Passenger Terminal and a 20,000 square foot VIP terminal, and various other airside and landside developments,” expected revenue from the airport to the government was expected to reach US$50 million per year, GMR observed, and almost US$100 million from 2021 as passenger numbers increased.

“In effect, GMIAL’s contribution to the government would be over US$2 billion over the concession period of 25 years, which will make a very significant contribution to the economy of the Maldives.”

President’s Office Spokesperson Abbas Adil Riza said the government had not yet officially received details of the offer, but said that such an offer would be evaluated by the Attorney General’s office “to see whether it is in line with the Financial Regulation Act.”

Attorney General Azima Shakoor was yesterday reported as expressing concern that settling the issue would be “quite difficult”, but vowed that “the government would settle the issue for the benefit of the country.”

On May 2 President Dr Mohamed Waheed told media at the inauguration of the Civil Air Navigation Services Organisation (CANSO): “I do not believe [the ADC] can be charged in the current situation because of the court’s decision.”

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Government to consult tourism industry on potential T-GST increase

The government will hold a consultation with the tourism industry this week to test its appetite for an increase in the Tourism-GST (TGST), Tourism Minister Ahmed Adheeb has said.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has urged the Maldives to increase the T-GST from six percent to 12 percent, among several measures the organisation says are urgently needed to offset the Maldives’ spiraling budget deficit, and avoid miring the country in poverty.

Parliament’s Finance Committee last week calculated that the budget deficit would reach 27 percent of GDP, on the back of plunging revenues and a 24 percent increase in government expenditure.

Adheeb told Minivan News that the government would present the IMF’s report to the industry, and discuss how to proceed: “We have to be realistic,” he said.

“The IMF has recommended an increase to 12 percent – we need to discuss what kind of increase the industry would like to see over the next five years,” he said.

Adheeb emphasised the need for stability rather than sporadic increases in the tax, cautioning against a sudden change in the T-GST which would affect those tour operators who make pricing agreements and publish brochures up to a year in advance.

However, Secretary General of the Maldives Association of Tourism Industry (MATI), Mohamed Ibrahim ‘Sim’, warned that the tourism industry was already under pressure from a decline in traditional markets.

“Is there an appetite [to increase the TGST]? No, not really. The European economy is not doing well and we would like the costs to remain the same – GST is something we have to pass to the customer. We need to maintain it, at least for the moment,” Ibrahim said.

One resort manager told Minivan News on condition of anonymity that such an increase would have “serious ramifications on many of the markets.”

“Some operators will not accept the increase mid-contract and hence resorts will have to absorb this from revenue,” he explained. “The additional costs will need to be balanced somewhere in the operation and you will find resorts have to [reduce] some of the nice touches for guests, [cut] staffing levels etcetera in order to deal with these ever growing expenses.”

The manager expressed exasperation that resorts were being asked to shoulder the burden without a parallel commitment from the government to reduce expenditure.

“We have seen an increase in some public services salaries and a reduction on working hours in many government departments who are meant to serve the resorts. Many of these government departments make it difficult for the resorts to do their jobs, with bureaucracy and rules to keep extra people in a job rather than making it easier to support the resorts in order to do their job: build more business, increase revenue and hence increase GST [revenue] in a positive manner. An increase in GST right now is the wrong solution.”

The government “needs to take a more supportive approach to the resorts”, he suggested, “whether it be processing visas, expediting customs waits or speeding up the immigration process for guest at the airport. A serious revision of the various government departments is required.”

According to figures from the Maldives Inland Revenue Authority (MIRA), the T-GST brought in 32.4 percent of all government revenue in April.

Total revenue collected in April was Rf2.5 billion (US$162.1 million) – almost double that collected in April last year – however MIRA’s figures do not take into account the substantial revenues lost from the phasing out of import duties, previously the Maldives’ main source of tax revenue.

Former government to blame?

Adheeb blamed the need for the increase on the former government’s changes to the calculation of land lease rents, which he claimed were responsible for an Rf540 million (US$35 million) shortfall overall after the new taxes were introduced.

MATI’s Ibrahim however contended that the changes to the fixed rents were offset by the new taxes: “Our calculation at the time these taxes were introduced were that overall it balances out, but that some resorts pay more.”

Recent changes introduced by the new government to the payment of lease extensions – from a lump sum to an annual basis – have also pulled US$135 million in revenue from the 2012 budget, the ousted Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) contends.

Economic indicators published by the Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA) meanwhile show a fall in the number of tourist arrivals for March 2012 compared to the previous year, from 80,732 to 76,469. The number of bed nights fell 6.8 percent for the same period, one of only a few recorded declines since the 2004 tsunami. February – a month of high political turmoil and widespread negative international media coverage – recorded a 2.5 percent decline.

An increase in prices would affect established markets already under strain, Ibrahim reiterated.

“It’s hard to say if emerging markets would be put off – China, Russia and the Middle East – maybe not. But [price increases] are affecting the established market. The market situation is not looking good at the moment.”

A survey of nearly 3000 tourists last year reported that 46 percent believed accommodation in the Maldives was too expensive. Soft drinks, alcohol were rated as expensive by 42 percent, while food, water and souvenirs received a similar rating from 41 percent of tourists polled.

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Nasheed launches campaign for MDP presidential primaries

Ousted President Mohamed Nasheed launched his campaign for the Maldivian Democratic Party’s (MDP) presidential primary, on the island of Magoodhoo in Faafu Atoll on Sunday.

Nasheed alleges he was deposed in a coup d’état on February 7 and has called for early elections within 2012. The Commonwealth and the EU have supported the call. However, new President Dr Mohamed Waheed Hassan has said the earliest constitutionally-permitted date for elections was July 2013.

The MDP presidential primary is to be held on June 15. Nasheed is presently the MDP’s sole candidate, but has to win 10 percent of votes in order to gain the MDP candidacy.

Speaking to Magoodhoo residents, Nasheed emphasised the importance of an elected government claiming the chances of a 2013 election were slim if an election could not be held in 2012.

“When a government is elected through a vote, it fosters a close relationship between the people and their leaders. Such a government will benefit the people, it will fulfill the needs of the people. Because the government originates from the people,” Nasheed said.

“No earthly power, not even that of the police or military, can equal the power of the people. When an individual finds courage in another, and the people come out to enforce their will, no one can challenge that will. Not even the police, the military or judges,” he added.

President Waheed’s administration was established by force, Nasheed claimed, and was prioritising the approval of the police and military over that of service delivery.

“The current administration will prioritise getting the approval of the police and military. The government treasury, the government’s expenditure, will not be spent on the people. They will have to end Aasandha, dismiss the utility companies, abolish the health corporations. They will have to stop the transport network,” he said.

President Waheed has repealed many of Nasheed’s policies, including the abolition of regional health and utility corporations, reviewing the free universal healthcare scheme Aasandha, ending the second chance program for rehabilitation of inmates, and halting all public-private-partnership development projects claiming the contracts’ legality needed to be reviewed.

The coalition of political parties backing Waheed have accused Nasheed of corruption in the awarding of development contracts.

Waheed had also decided to accept resort islands’ lease extension payments in installments rather than upfront at the end of the lease. The MDP has alleged the move will immediately take US$135 million out of state coffers.

“They did not make any promises, hence, they have no way to fulfill promises,” Nasheed said regarding Waheed’s policies.

Nasheed campaigned on a platform of development, pledging to continue installing water and sewerage systems, development of harbors and improving education, utility and health services at island level through public-private-partnerships.

The policy would “award an island for resort development to companies who develop water and sewerage system in an inhabited island,” Nasheed said.

“I cannot understand why we should hoard Maldives’ resources when Maldivian citizens do not get the services they need. Magoodhoo does not have a proper sewerage system or potable water. Magoodhoo does not have a harbor. But Magoodhoo has two to three islands in its lagoon. I do not understand why we let these islands be left untouched for Valla [sea bird] to lay eggs on in the belief they are invaluable natural resources,” he added.

The MDP administration had allocated 150 islands to lease out to companies on the condition of carrying out development work in the atolls of the Maldives.

Nasheed urged all MDP members to vote in the party’s primary.

“I assure you I will not take undue benefits from your vote. I pledge to fulfill the party’s promises to you. I assure you I will not steal a single laari of your money,” Nasheed said.

“We have a vision, a picture, a hope, a dream, a thought to change this island. MDP knows what must be done to gain development,” he added.

During his visit, Nasheed also visited the islands of Kudhahuvadhoo, Meedhoo, Bilehdhoo and Feeali. He lay foundations for MDP offices in Meedhoo and Biledhoo.

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