September 20, 2012 – Minivan News

Maldives signs education MOU with Australia

Australia has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Maldivian authorities to offer assistance in the field of education, local media has reported.

Edward Archibald, Counsellor from the Development Cooperation of AusAid, signed the agreement on behalf of the Australian government.

The agreement will involve Maldivian teachers receiving training from their Australian counterparts.

At the signing ceremony, Archibald highlighted the pre-existing links between the two countries in this sector – noting that 33 Maldivian were studying in Australia at the end of last year.

AusAid, Australia’s overseas aid department, announced its contribution of AUS$1million to the Maldives’ Climate Change Trust Fund (CCTF).

Likes

(0)Dislikes

(0)

MDP Chair would quit party over its excessive “restraint”

Chairman of the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) ‘Reeko’ Moosa Manik has told local media that he would consider quitting the party should it continue to take a “passive” approach to political opponents in the future.

He alleged that a previous strategy of “restraint” and “caring” has been qualities that had led political opponents to oust former President Mohamed Nasheed.

Local newspaper Haveeru has reported that Moosa, speaking to private broadcaster Raajje TV, claimed that while the MDP’s focus on “restraint” and “caring” had been an important focus whilst in government, it had not ultimately led to a “positive outcome” for the party.

He contended that, even in cases where religious scholars such as Sheikh Ilyas Hussan had “called for our heads”, the former government had shown restraint.

“But if we treated them strictly, maybe the outcome would have turned out differently,” he was quoted as saying.

Likes

(0)Dislikes

(0)

Adhaalath Party called on government not to negotiate with GMR, disrupt “national jihad” of airport nationalisation

The religious Adhaalath Party called on President Mohamed Waheed Hassan and other coalition parties to not conduct any communication with Indian infrastructure giant GMR which might disrupt the government’s push for airport nationalisation.

This call comes in connection with the visit of GMR’s Chairman, G M Rao, and board members on Thursday.

Local newspaper reported that Rao and the delegation arrived on a private jet on Thursday morning at 9:00am, and had departed by 2:50pm in the afternoon.

CEO of Ibrahim Nasir International Airport (INIA), Andrew Harrison, told Minivan News that the visit was part of a regular bimonthly business review and unrelated to the current rhetoric.

“They was never any intention [for the delegation] to meet anyone from the government. Media got hold of the manifest and drew conclusions,” he said.

A statement released by Adhaalath Party on Thursday stated that it did not accept that the GMR board being in the Maldives was a “coincidence”. The party called on the political and civil members of the coalition, which it described as being on a “national jihad” to nationalise the airport, to be cautious about the visit and to “fear Allah” in the interest of the nation and its people.

President of the Adhaalath Party, Sheikh Imran Abdulla, on Wednesday rejected an invitation to meet with Indian High Commissioner D M Mulay. Imran is quoted in local media as saying that he did not accept the invitation because of “the current situation” regarding the GMR issue and because the High Commissioner had not explained the reasons behind the invitation.

Imran also said that his rejection was not based on animosity towards India, as the GMR issue was “only a disagreement between the Maldivian government and a private company”. He expressed his hope that the Indian government would not get involved in the matter.

A letter allegedly sent by GMR to Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, requesting intervention by the Indian government, was reported to have been leaked in August.

The Indian Minister of Civil Aviation Ajit Singh has also spoken with the Maldivian government about settling the disputes regarding the GMR contract.

Meanwhile, Attorney General Azima Shakoor has asked the Supreme Court to rule on whether the laws of the Maldives could be applied to the agreement with GMR concerning the development of INIA.

Airport CEO Harrison stated that the company saw no need to responding to nationalisation rhetoric aired in the media: “We’re waiting for the government to tell us what it wants. Otherwise its business as usual,” he said.

Adhaalath Party President Sheikh Imran Abdulla was not responding to calls at the time of press.

Indian High Commissioner D M Mulay was also not responding to calls.

GMR won a 25 year concession agreement to develop and manage the airport during the Nasheed administration. The opposition at the time challenged the government’s privatisation and threatened to renationalise the airport should it come to power.

Following the controversial transfer of power on February 7, the unity government under President Dr Mohamed Waheed Hassan has swung between issuing reassurances within diplomatic circles that Indian investments in the country would be protected, while locally stepping up nationalisation rhetoric.

Likes

(0)Dislikes

(0)

State Foreign Minister Dunya attacks Amnesty report as “heavily biased”

Former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom’s daughter and current Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Dunya Maumoon, in a press conference today dismissed the international human rights NGO Amnesty International’s report on the Maldives.

The report titled “The other side of paradise – a human rights crisis in the Maldives” chronicled the human rights abuses in the country that took place following the controversial transfer of power.

The report detailed a number of incidents of police brutality on February 8, including attacks on Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) MPs Eva Abdulla and Mariya Didi.

“The overall objective of these violent attacks has been to silence peaceful government critics and stifle public debate about the current political situation,” said the report.

“Based on Amnesty International’s interviews with survivors of these violent attacks, it appears that many were targeted by security forces because they were MDP ministers, parliamentarians or supporters,” it read.

The report recommended that the Maldivian government “ensure prompt, independent, impartial and effective investigations into allegations of violence by officials.”

“Those suspected of offences involving such violations, irrespective of rank or status, must be prosecuted in proceedings which meet international standards of fairness,” the report read.

Speaking to members of the press – who did not include opposition-aligned Raajje TV – Dunya stated that the majority of the allegations stated in the “heavily biased” report were not true

“I am not saying that nothing happened. There were incidents that took place. But the report did not highlight on the arson attacks that took place in Addu City on February 8,” she said.

She further went on to stress that Amnesty must verify information that they receive before deciding its factual accuracy.

“Instead of just listening to just one party, Amnesty must thoroughly observe the happenings that take place in the Maldives,” she stressed.

Furthermore, the state minister stated that it was not the government’s wish to comment on “reports like that”, but “said it does not mean that government is dismissing all the reports that came out, concerning human rights abuses in the country”.

However, Amnesty’s researcher in the Maldives, Abbas Faiz, had a dissenting view.

“Without an end to – and accountability for – these human rights violations, any attempt at political reconciliation in the Maldives will be meaningless,” he said

Meanwhile, Minister of Home Affairs, Mohamed Jameel Ahmed earlier made similar remarks on the report as Dunya, criticising Amnesty International for failing to seek the comments from the government.

“They had not sought any comments from the Maldives government. I’m extremely disappointed that a group advocating for fairness and equal treatment had released a report based on just one side of the story,” Jameel told local media at the time.

“An international group of the caliber of Amnesty should have heard the other side as well. But they had failed to obtain our comments,” Jameel said.

The Amnesty report recounts sustained and pre-meditated beatings of protesters with a variety of weapons during the violent crackdown.

Some of those interviewed reported people being attacked in their hospital beds, whilst others recalled torture and further degradation whilst in detention.

Whilst Amnesty stated that several of its human rights recommendations were reflected in the Commission of National Inquiry’s (CNI) report, which was released on August 30, but Jameel argued that the CNI had highlighted misdemeanors of protesters which did not make it into the Amnesty report.

“CNI (Commission of National Inquiry) report had clearly highlighted the actions of demonstrators during protests in the Maldives. The foreign observers labelled the actions of demonstrators as cowboy tactics,” Jameel told Haveeru.

In their closing observations, Professor John Packer and Sir Bruce Robertson, advisers to CNI appeared critical of the anti-government protesters.

“Some would want to call an example of the rights of freedom of expression and assembly. In reality it is rather more bully boy tactics involving actual and threatened intimidation by a violent mob,” reported Packer and Robertson.

“The demonstrators undermine the peace and stability, carry out attacks while being inebriated, carry out attacks with sharp objects and damage private property. Even internationally such actions are regarded as violence. However, the Amnesty report has ignored all such things. It is extremely one sided and unjust,” said Jameel.

However, in relation to Jameel’s remarks, Amnesty International’s spokesperson rebutted the claims contesting its impartiality.

“Amnesty International is an independent and impartial human rights organisation without any political affiliation. We are not alone in highlighting the human rights violations since the transfer of power this year,” he said.

He also dismissed Home Minister’s remarks that the NGO had failed in getting the remarks of the government.

“In compiling our report we talked at length with government and police officials in Malé and Addu during our visit to the country in late February and early March. On the occasions they responded we have included their comments in our documents,” he said.

Likes

(0)Dislikes

(0)

Alms Act to increase zakat contributions

The Ministry of Islamic Affairs has said that a separate institution for the administration of zakat funds would result in increased payments as public confidence was enhanced, reports Sun Online.

State Minister for Islamic Affairs Sheikh Shaheem Ali Saeed said that the new Alms Act, for which drafting began earlier this year, would describe how much people were to pay based on their assets and income.

The giving of a fixed portion of ones’ income to charity is one of the five pillars of Islam.

Shaheem told Sun that the practices of other countries such as Kuwait, Qatar, and Malaysia had been studied when drafting the new legislation, which he is hopeful will be enacted when parliament resumes.

He said that the new institution will include a council and supervisory council.

Earlier this week, Shaheem told local media of his concern that recent changes to the country’s tax system had negatively affected contributions to the zakat fund.

Likes

(0)Dislikes

(0)

Will accept “cover up” with CMAG as price for progress, Nasheed tells Royal Commonwealth Society

Additional reporting by Mohamed Naahee and Kylie Broomhall

“I beg the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group (CMAG) not to deliberate on how power was transferred in the Maldives,” former President Mohamed Nasheed told the Royal Commonwealth Society yesterday.

“I will be party to the cover up because we want a better life. Because we want to move forward. Because we want development,” he said.

Nasheed addressed an audience at the Commonwealth Club in central London during his visit to the United Kingdom.

Despite his reservations regarding the decision of Commission of National Inquiry (CNI), whose report ruled the transfer of power to have been in line with the constitution, Nasheed said that he no longer expected the international community to say it was a coup or to attempt his reinstatement.

“I will not rely anymore upon international engagement in consolidating democracy. I have no antagonism or outrage towards the international community – nothing like that – it’s practically not possible for them to do it,” he said.

He told the audience that he had sent a letter to the Secretary General before the coup, asking for assistance in consolidating a democracy which he felt was “under stress”.

“I am not for one second suggesting the transfer was legal…but we don’t have to go there to keep us on the CMAG agenda,” he argued. “I am willing to cover up the coup with the CMAG, I am willing to be party to it. But I’m not willing to be a party to doing the same thing to another country.”

The former president expressed his view that the revised mandate of CMAG allowed it to work more pro-actively, and that the Maldives case represented a “golden opportunity” to deal with issues other than merely violent overthrows of governments.

He argued that the new mandate, agreed upon in Perth in 2011, gives the body scope to keep countries on the agenda if there are persistent violations of the Commonwealth’s core values or severe deficiencies in democratic institutions.

Nasheed, therefore, stated his belief that it was “rather silly that we are talking about being removed from agenda”.

He also pointed out to the UK government that there was nothing in the Commonwealth’s regulations that requires a nation to be a member CMAG in order to lobby for keeping others on the CMAG agenda.

“I believe most of you pay your taxes believing your governments will do something about these things,” he told the audience.

“Unfortunately, after the coup, the Commonwealth appears to have forgotten that it is a new Commonwealth, that it is a new CMAG.”

Speaking at a press conference this morning, State Minister for Foreign Affairs Dunya Maumoon expressed her confidence that the Maldives would be removed from the CMAG agenda at the group’s next meeting on September 28^th.

She had previously joined fellow senior politicians in suggesting that the the Maldives should leave the Commonwealth if it was not promptly removed from the agenda.

Climate change, the judge, and Islamic radicalism

Before taking questions from the floor, Nasheed took some time to discuss the issue that brought him to the world’s attention before his ousting – climate change.

“Coup or no coup – I hope to continue talking on these subjects,” he said. “Small countries must focus again and again on climate change – that is the principle issue of the 21^st century.”

Nasheed stated his belief that development could be achieved without increasing carbon emissions, arguing that advances in technology meant that it was still be possible for the Maldives to reach carbon neutrality by 2020.

The Maldives’ most ambitious renewable energy project, the Scaling-Up Renewable Energy Program (SREP) was due to be finalised on the day Nasheed resigned. The ensuing political instability in the country deterred potential investors, causing the deal to fall through.

The new government has continued to pledge its commitment to the environmental projects and yesterday received contributions from its international partners for three new schemes under the Climate Change Trust Fund (CCTF)

Pre-empting anticipated questions about the arrest of Judge Abdullah Mohamed, Nasheed expressed his regret but argued that he had no other options.

“[In response to questions] I would say it’s complicated – we’ve done it. This was the only gentleman that I ever arrested,” he said.

“That’s not the kind of thing you’re supposed to do as a president and that’s not the kind of thing you’re supposed to do in consolidated democracy but I thought that people would also try to understand what happened there,” he continued.

When asked about potential action against those implicated in a coup, should he return to power, Nasheed reiterated his commitment to searching for amicable ways of “settling scores”.

“We are not going to go for a witch hunt. If you want that, the people of Maldives must find someone else to do that,” he said.

One member of the audience asked Nasheed when he felt his former Vice President, Mohamed Waheed Hassan, turned against him.

Nasheed responded that he felt Waheed had switched sides very early on in his presidency: “It’s a beautiful way of becoming president and you must give credit to that”.

When the same person asked about Islamic fundamentalism in the Maldives, Nasheed expressed his fears that the country was becoming more radicalised every day.

“When you have weak government, they are having to rely on any bit of support they can get from any quarters. So, unlike us, this government seems to entertain the radicals,” he said.

“In fact,” continued Nasheed, “the core of the renegade soldiers in the Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) were radicals. They came and joined the mutinying police, chanting ‘God is great’.”

“They are requesting for the military to grow their beards – I hope our military isn’t the biggest Al Qaeda cell in the Indian Ocean.”

Concluding his speech, Nasheed said that he expected he would be arrested in the near future.

“I don’t want to be there but we have to face reality of consequences and I don’t see the international community as robust enough to stop that happening – this is very sad… I might not be with you for the next few years but, rest assured, we will come back and democracy will reign in the Maldives again.”

Likes

(0)Dislikes

(0)

Climate Change Trust Fund receives money for new projects

The Maldives government and its international partners today announced the launch of three projects under the World Bank administered Maldives Climate Change Trust Fund (CCTF).

A total of US$8.5million has been contributed by Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID) and the European Union (EU) to the CCTF to assist with these projects.

The CCTF was established in 2010 after the signing of an MOU between the Maldives government, the World Bank Group and the EU with the aim of targeting solid waste management, capacity building for environmental management, and technical assistance for monitoring and managing key natural assets.

The projects announced today included the Ari Atoll Solid Waste Management Pilot (AASWM) and a project called Wetlands Conservation and Coral Reef Monitoring for Adaptation to Climate Change (WCCM).

AASWM will assist in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and damage done to the local marine environment in the western atoll.

“The success of the pilot project is expected to bring about the participation of the remaining inhabited islands of Ari Atoll, particularly those where IWMCs were built with prior funding from EU”, said Bernard Savage, EU’s Ambassador to the Maldives.

Australia’s new High Commissioner to the Maldives, Robyn Mudie described the benefits of the WCCM scheme.

“Sustaining wetlands and coral reefs is a cost-effective strategy for climate change adaptation with strong benefits for disaster mitigation, ecosystem conservation and economic growth”, she said.

The WCCM will work with resorts in North and South Male’ atolls to demonstrate the way in which monitoring techniques can help in targeting conservation efforts.

“The WCCM being implemented in Fuvahmulah of Gnaviyani Atoll, Hithadhoo of Addu Atoll and Alif Alif Ukulhas Island in North Ari Atoll will benefit its 22,000 inhabitants enabling the local governments to implement a clear strategy for wetland management, drainage management, ecotourism and community rainwater harvesting,” read today’s joint press release.

“These three projects will be particularly useful in the context of the decentralized governance framework and public private partnerships. Once piloted and proven successful, the models could be scaled-up and replicated across the country,” it added.

The final project announced today will attempt to provide an annual 300MWh of renewable energy via solar voltaic systems and energy efficiency measures for the people of Thinadhoo Island in the Gaafu Dhaalu Atoll.

“Independence from carbon-based fuels, if achieved through energy efficiency improvements and use of indigenous renewable energy resources has important energy security co-benefits as it will avoid fossil fuel imports that cost Maldives 20 percent of its GDP, annually”, said Dr. Mariyam Shakeela, Minister of Environment and Energy.

The Maldives’ most ambitious renewable energy project, the Scaling-Up Renewable Energy Program (SREP), fell through after political instability in the country deterred potential investors.

Climate change governance

The World Bank’s original objectives for the trust fund’s programme included strengthening government leadership and increasing the country’s institutional capacity to deal with climate change issues.

Following the announcement of these projects, local civil society group Transparency Maldives (TM) told Minivan News of its concerns regarding the CCTF financing agreement.

“We welcome the utilisation of the funds from the CCTF for the benefit of the people, but we note that the Financing Agreement of CCTF was signed in January 2011 and, as the Auditor General’s report for 2011 has identified, there are considerable delays as well as waste involved in CCTF,” a spokesperson said.

“This points to weaknesses in climate governance in the Maldives,” they added. “At the same time, we are deeply concerned by the constant change of institutions or creation of new institutions or inaction of existing ones. This increases risks of corruption.”

The spokesperson expressed their concerns that the civil society and the public were not more involved in the conception and planning of climate change projects.

TM established the Climate Change Integrity Project (CGIP) last year in order to help ensure that financing for climate change projects is transparent, equitable, and free from corruption.

The current government has been criticised by members of the opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) for what it views as attempts to undo the decentralisation measures taken during its time in office

Following the decision last April to re-centralise health and utility service, party member Aminath Shauna said that it was impossible to effectively implement country-wide services from the capital.

“They want to re-establish a relationship of dependency between the islands and Malé. Their intent in this is to consolidate power,” said Shauna.

Similarly, party’s spokesman Hamid Abdul Ghafoor last month stated his belief that public-private partnerships (PPP) initiated under the MDP government have been suspended “in the interest of preserving the status and wealth of few local wealthy businessmen.”

Likes

(0)Dislikes

(0)

President Waheed meets with EU, Thai Ambassadors

President Dr Mohamed Waheed Hassan yesterday met with Bernard Savage, the European Union’s Ambassador to the Maldives, in Male’.

The current political and economic status of the Maldives, along with measures taken to try and relieve the national fiscal deficit, were among the main topics of discussions during the meeting at the President’s Office.

Savage stressed that the EU would continue to provide “assistance and support” to the country, according to the President’s Office website.

President Waheed was also yesterday presented with the credentials of the new Ambassador of Thailand for the Maldives, Poldej Worachat.

Likes

(0)Dislikes

(0)

“Time for everyone to tighten their belts”: Finance Minister Jihad

Minister of Finance and Treasury Abdulla Jihad has said the state must brace to enact austerity measures in the long-term if authorities are to address the country’s fiscal deficit – with further budget cuts anticipated in all government departments over the next 12 months.

Jihad has told Minivan News that previous commitments by government institutions to cut their budgets by 15 percent would need to be followed by further reductions to state and civil service spending in next year’s budget, regardless of financial assistance secured from China and India.

The minister’s comments were made as Parliament’s Finance Committee – reconvening for the first time since July – agreed this week to provide an additional MVR 12 million (US$780,000) in budget to the Auditor General’s (AG’s) Office, according to local media.

Auditor General Niyaz Ibrahim said that under the existing state budget, an agreement was reached that an additional MVR 58.8 million (US$3.8 million) would be provided to the AG’s Office, though it was decided to request a smaller proportion of these funds, the Sun Online news service reported.

People’s Aliance (PA) party MP and Finance Committee Chair Ahmed Nazim was not responding to calls from Minivan News at the time of press.

However, Jihad claimed that the decision to provide the extended budget was a “concern” considering the state was not getting enough direct revenue at present to justify its spending.

“We need to be fair when it comes to the budget, everyone should have to follow the same rules,” he claimed. “Otherwise this would mean that I could only reduce the budget of the Finance Ministry in future. It is time that everyone should tighten their belts.”

According to Jihad, provisions for the extension of funds to the AG’s Office had been included in the state budget, but he claimed that the country needed to work together in reducing state spending where possible.

Regarding claims that further cuts to the state budget wuld be required during the next 12 months, Chairman of the Civil Service Commission (CSC) Mohamed Fahmy Hassan said that it had “managed” with the 15 percent cuts already made to its expenditure.

Fahmy added that as no request had so far been made by the government to reduce the size and budget of civil society organisations, it did not have concerns about potential job cuts.

“Our mandate is to provide human resources to the government. As long as there is no effect on the salaries or number of civil servants, we will not seek to intervene in the policy of government,” he said.

With state income lower and expenditure higher than predicted, this year’s budget deficit had been forecast to reach MVR9.1billion (US$590 million), equivalent to around 28 percent of nominal GDP.

Financial assistance

In the last few months, authorities in India and China had both pledged to provide financing to the Maldives. Finance Minister Jihad said that of these funds, US$25 million being provided by India would be put into “budget support” to try and address state spending. A large amount of the funding meanwhile from China, which would total US$500 million, was expected to be put towards development projects such as housing construction, the Finance Ministry added.

The Indian government had announced that it would be granting the Maldives an additional as part of the US$100 million standby credit facility agreed last year under the previous government.

China has also pledged funding to the government of President Dr Mohamed Waheed Hassan following an official state visit to the country.

The loans, equal to nearly one quarter of the Maldives’ GDP, are said to include $150 million (MVR2.3billion) for housing and infrastructure, with another $350million (MVR5.4billion) from the Export-Import Bank of China, reported Reuters.

Jihad has maintained that the state still needs to reassess where further spending cuts can be made going forward.

Just last month, the Finance Ministry forwarded proposals it claimed would cut MVR2.2billion (US$143million) form the national budget.

The austerity measures include raising Tourism Goods and Services Tax (TGST) to 15 percent, terminating electricity subsidies in Male’, increasing import duties on alcohol and imposing a 3 percent duty on oil, “reforming” the Aasandha health insurance scheme, and reducing the budget of every Ministry and independent institution by 15 percent – among other measures.

The original budget for 2012 envisioned that revenue would rise to MVR11.4billion (US$740million) with expenditure anticipated to be MVR14.5 billion (US$941million). This would have resulted in a budget deficit of around MVR3billion (US$194million), representing 10 percent of GDP.

However, several resort managers voiced concern at the time that the proposed revenue amendments would serve only to affect the financial viability of the country’s tourism industry, while providing little improvement in service or support in return.

Likes

(0)Dislikes

(0)