The Maldives Transport and Contracting Company (MTCC) temporarily halted public ferry services last night (May 15) due to bad weather and rough seas, stranding over 200 people, reports local media.
Ferry service to Villingili Island was instead continued via speedboats.
Hulhumale’ ferry service was also temporarily discontinued, with boats instead docking at the airport island Hulhule.
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(0)A woman on Dhuvaafaru Island in Raa Atoll was saved from committing suicide by the police, reports local media.
Police received a report Monday (May 13) night that a 26 year-old woman was attempting to take her own life by swimming away from Dhuvaafaru. At approximately 11pm officers in uniform waded out into the sea to rescue the woman.
According to police, the woman was trying to commit suicide due to “family problems”.
She was put in the care of the island’s Family and Children’s Center following the incident, said police.
(0)Dislikes(0)Airports Council International (ACI), the global body representing the world’s airports, has advised its members to exercise caution before making any investment in the Maldives relating to Ibrahim Nasir International Airport (INIA).
In an email obtained by Minivan News dated May 8, ACI alerted its members that the Maldivian government is “in the process of transferring the Male’ airport to a wholly-owned subsidiary of MACL and may explore a sale of equity in this entity to another airport operator.”
“ACI members are advised to conduct due diligence while considering any investment in the Maldives, considering the latest developments, uncertainty of outcome of elections, the legal and financial risks of the current arbitration and the nascent legal framework,” the email states.
The cautionary note emphasises that ACI was “not taking sides with respect to the decisions made by the various parties”, and matter-of-factly outlines the government’s sudden termination of the concession agreement with the GMR-Malaysia Airports (GMR-MAHB) consortium to manage and upgrade Ibrahim Nasir International Airport (INIA).
The government declared the 25 year concession agreement ‘void ab initio’ in November 2012 and gave the foreign investors seven days to hand over the unfinished airport to the government-owned Maldives Airports Company Limited (MACL).
While subsequent arbitration proceedings saw the Singapore Supreme Court endorse the government’s right to expropriate the airport, ACI noted that “this was subject to [the government] offering sufficient compensation pursuant to the concession agreement”.
“However on December 8 MACL/Government of Maldives took over the possession and control of the airport without payment of compensation”, the email stated.
ACI informed its members that the takeover was the subject of arbitration proceedings expected to last 9-12 months, and further noted that as the government had guaranteed bank loans used by the developer, these were also the subject of separate proceedings.
With elections scheduled for September, ACI advised it was possible that “any leadership changes arising out of the elections [could] have a material impact of the future of the Male’ airport and the decision of expropriation.”
MACL and MIAL
On March 14, the government declared in a one-line statement that it was establishing by presidential decree a new 100 percent state-owned company, Male’ International Airport Limited (MIAL).
On March 31, President Dr Mohamed Waheed appointed MIAL’s board of directors, including tourism tycoon and Chairman of Universal Enterprises, Mohamed Umar Manik, as chairman, and Island Aviation Chairman Bandhu Ibrahim Saleem as managing director.
Other directors appointed included Thoriq Ibrahim of G. Noomaraahiya, Ahmed Munavvaru of Gaafu Dhaalu Madaveli Gahaa, Abdulla Yazeed of Dhaftharu, and Ibrahim Iyas of Dhaftharu.
The decision to form MIAL last month led GMR-MAHB’s lender Axis Bank to accuse the government of trying to turn MACL into a shell company, and warning it not to transfer MACL’s assets or function while arbitration was pending.
“Given that Axis Bank’s claim under the direct agreement is against MACL, you will understand that Axis Bank views with the greatest concern any attempt to dissipate the assets of MACL in favour of MIAL or any other third party,” wrote Axis Bank’s CEO Bimal Bhattacharyya in a letter copied to MACL and the Ministry of Finance, dated April 22.
“If MACL ceases to manage and operate Male’ airport, and MIAL instead performs that role, then MACL will lose almost all of MACL’s revenue stream, and become a shell,” writes Bhattacharyya in the letter, obtained by Minivan News.
The letter calls on the government to “confirm or deny” its intentions by April 25, and “undertake not to allow any assignment, transfer or disposition of any of MACL’s rights to manage and or operate Male airport to MIAL or any third party… or allow MIAL or any third party to perform any function of managing or operating Male’ airport which is presently performed by MACL” by April 27.
“Please understand that Axis Bank views any dissipation of MACL’s assets with grave concern, and will take the necessary legal action to prevent such a dissipation”, the bank advised.
MIAL’s appointed CEO Bandhu Saleem confirmed to Minivan News that the government did intend MIAL to manage the airport, but said the process of transferring that responsibility over from MACL had run into “hurdles” relating to its current legal issues.
“The board has been appointed, but I have not yet taken on the role,” he said, noting that the new company was waiting on government clearances and had yet to be officially created.
“Until the arbitration is complete, I think it will be very difficult to start a new company,” he added.
Axis Bank loans and compensation claim
A legal submission detailing the Axis Bank dispute, also obtained by Minivan News, notes MACL’s failure to notify Axis Bank of its intention to terminate the concession agreement within 60 days, as required in the bank’s direct agreement.
An included copy of the November 24, 2010 agreement, in which the Ministry of Finance guarantees the loans to GMR-MAHB, is signed and stamped by both then-MACL Chairman Ibrahim Saleem and Finance Minister Ali Hashim on behalf of the government.
The document shows that Axis Bank is seeking the repayment of US$160 million by the government of Maldives due to MACL’s breaching its obligations under the agreement.
At the same time, the governor of the Maldives’ central banking authority recently warned parliament that the Maldives’ gross state reserves had fallen to little more than US$300 million, after the government was compelled to repay a series of US$50 million loans the State Bank of India declined to roll over at the start of 2013.
Repayment of the Axis Bank loan could place the Maldives in a position where it has less than a month of imports in reserve – a potential crisis for an island nation 100 percent dependent on imports for basic subsistence.
The government meanwhile contends that it is not subject to termination and associated clauses relating to a contract it has deemed ‘void from the outset’.
“Under the terms of the direct agreement, these loans would be repayable if the concession was terminated early, as defined in the direct agreement. The government contends, however, that if the concession agreement is void ab inito, then these terms do not apply,” reads a special audit commissioned by the Auditor General.
“Under the terms of the direct agreement, these loans would be repayable if the concession was terminated early, as defined in the direct agreement. The government contends, however, that if the concession agreement is void ab inito, then these terms do not apply.”
Present situation
With arbitration pending and efforts to create a new management company having apparently stalled for the time being, the outlook for the airport remains uncertain.
Much will be dictated by the election in September. Former President Mohamed Nasheed has said he will invite GMR-MAHB to return should his party resume government, while the Progressive Party of the Maldives (PPM) has declared one of GMR-MAHB’s most voracious opponents, ex- Home Minister Dr Mohamed Jameel, as the party’s Vice-Presidential candidate.
The government’s special audit of the project shows the upgrade and construction of the new terminal was 25 percent complete as of October 31, 2013.
“In the meantime, all work on the ground on the improvement to the airport has ceased. Sensitive elements of the new structures that had been planned by [GMR-MAHB] are incomplete and exposed to the weather and at risk of damage – possibly closing off the option of re-using these elements to reduce the cost of any future development of the airport,” the report noted.
Former Transport Minister Dr Ahmed Shamheed, who was dismissed by the government in November 2012, warned in January 2013 the airport needed urgent work to reach acceptable standards, that was outside local capabilities.
“To get the airport to the right level, they will need to bring in outside help,” he told Minivan News at the time.
“The airport is in very bad shape right now and work is needed on the runway, all of which cannot be done without finance.”
Ibrahim Nasir International Airport was meanwhile dubbed the ‘Indian Ocean’s Leading Airport 2013′ at the Indian Ocean World Travel Awards on May 12.
(0)Dislikes(0)Additional reporting by Neil Merrett.
Police arrested eight individuals in the island of Maradhoo in Addu City yesterday (May 15) following clashes with Special Operations (SO) officers near a campaign office of the government-aligned Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM).
Police said in a statement that SO officers were dispatched upon receiving information that two rival groups were preparing for a gang fight.
“When police went to the scene at around 3:15pm [yesterday] and attempted to search the people there [for weapons], a group of people in the area threw rocks, inflicted varying degrees of injury to police officers and caused unrest,” the press release stated.
The eight men arrested during the disturbance for allegedly obstructing police duties included a 19 year-old, two 20 year-olds, a 21 year-old, a 22 year-old and two 27 year-olds, police said.
PPM MP Ahmed Nihan tweeted shortly after the arrests that clashes occurred with police following a complaint of loud music from the party’s youth office.
He today told Minivan News that although the PPM was in the process of collecting information on the incident, the party would not rule out the possibility that gang violence was behind yesterday’s clashes, playing down the possibility of political motivation behind the police action.
Nihan claimed that street fights between rival gangs from different neighbourhoods were common in Addu City, while also being symptomatic of growing “friction” between different political supporters ahead of this year’s presidential election.
“We can only rely on police accounts of the matter so far that this was a group of people fighting each other,” he said.
The clashes occurred in an area recently established by the PPM for young supporters, a policy that Nihan explained was designed to encourage youth engagement with its election campaign.
“We never thought anything like this would happen though,” he said. “We believe that the rule of law must be upheld regardless of political colour.”
Nihan said older supporters had noted a “scattered group” of young people around the area where clashes later occurred.
PPM officials told Minivan News that a party supporters and another eyewitness had alleged police had attempted to raid the campaign area to perform a search, resulting in confrontations with some PPM members present in the area.
MP Nihan told Minivan News yesterday that party supporters and other witnesses had alleged that officers had arbitrarily detained party members.
“There is some confusion as to what has gone on, even in the party. Sources tell me many people were taken into custody for no reason,” he said at the time.
The PPM today also slammed supporters of the opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) over what it claimed were attempts to accuse the Maldives Police Service of using excessive force against members of the government-aligned party.
Special Operations (SO)
Former President Mohamed Nasheed also took to twitter to condemn “the actions of a few policemen who’ve arrested members of pol parties, used excessive force, violated the sanctity of their premises.”
Nasheed resigned on February 7, 2012 in the wake of a mutiny by SO officers, who have since been accused of using excessive force against demonstrators.
The police press release meanwhile stated that a group of people attempted to block the link road and had thrown rocks at police vehicles following the arrests.
Police also denied allegations in social media of brutality against women and children by SO officers.
Addu City Mayor Abdulla Sodiq said yesterday that he was aware of “confrontations” between police officers and a group of young people in Maradhoo, though he was awaiting exact details on the matter.
Sodig said that Maradhoo was traditionally a close knit community, with residents often standing by each other.
Newspaper Haveeru reported eyewitnesses as claiming that police beat people who chased them after rocks were thrown.
A resident of the house where the PPM office is located told the newspaper that police entered both the office and adjoining house, used pepper spray and threw people to the ground before taking them into custody.
He claimed that the situation turned violent when police asked a young man to lower his boxer shorts while searching him.
“He refused, started yelling and people gathered. Then verbal attacks were exchanged between the people and police and they started throwing rocks,” he was quoted as saying.
Community website Addu Online meanwhile reported that a crowd gathered in the area in the wake of the arrest to protest police brutality.
The demonstration was reportedly dispersed when SO officers returned to the area.
Local media reported later in the day that rocks were thrown at two police officers near the Hithadhoo regional hospital. The pair were however not hit by the projectiles.
Police also arrested an individual in Addu City last week for allegedly threatening to kill an officer.
Mayor Sodig told Minivan News earlier this month that 50 people were arrested in advance of a visit by President Mohamed Waheed on May 8, “and about 90 percent of those taken in were MDP [Maldivian Democratic Party] supporters”.
Police however denied making the arrests.
As part of an ongoing police operation in Addu to “keep the peace”, “lots of people were taken into custody and were released after their information was collected”, a police media official who spoke with Minivan News initially stated.
The official then refuted the statement, claiming that only one person was arrested in Addu City on May 7.
Mayor Sodig explained that the city council had requested the police “provide extra strength to increase numbers to about 30 per station.”
“The special operations team [responded by] sending their ‘star force’, but they don’t have their commander here. He’s not in control of this group or operations. Instead they are directly overseen by Male’ command,” said Sodig.
“That’s the reason why we don’t want them to continue,” he declared.
The task force consisting of 50 special operations police was started in January 17, 2013 and was supposed to end April 17, according to Sodig. However, the entire special operations force has remained in Addu City, targeting those allegedly involved in drug and gang issues.
(0)Dislikes(0)Former President Mohamed Nasheed announced the Maldivian Democratic Party’s (MDP) willingness to discuss enacting an interim government with the Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM), which the party believes is essential for free and fair elections to occur.
The MDP has desired the establishment of an interim government since the controversial transfer of power of February 7, 2012 and is open to holding discussions with the PPM to establish a transitional government prior to September’s Presidential elections, Nasheed stated during a press conference held at the Mookai Hotel in Male’ today (May 16).
“If PPM wants to bring in an interim government, we are ready to hold discussions. MDP wants an interim government. We at MDP have always wanted an interim government. But we need support from other parties to do that in parliament. If PPM is so inclined, we are ready to hold discussions with PPM to achieve this,” Nasheed said.
“For free and fair elections [to take place], we are encouraged that PPM has pledged to stop Waheed from campaigning on state funds,” he added.
The MDP is continuing its call for the Commission of National Inquiry (CoNI) recommendations to be implemented, with the supervision of the international community. Nasheed stated he was disappointed CoNI recommendations have yet to be enacted – especially regarding holding to account those who mutinied against the government and committed various brutal acts, including destroying the MDP’s headquarters.
Nasheed said that the MDP did not believe free and fair elections were possible with Police Commissioner Abdulla Riyaz and Defence Minister Colonel (Rtd) Mohamed Nazim in their current positions, and has asked they be “transferred” from their current posts.
He distinguished between ‘rank and file’ Police Service and Maldives National Defence Force (MDNF) and their leadership. Nasheed said action should be taken against the highest ranking officers for their role on February 7.
MDP Spokesperson Mohamed Zuhair told Minivan News today that local media reports of Nasheed calling for Riyaz and Nazim to be “forcibly removed” are inaccurate, however the former President has called for their removal and transfer “as far away from their current positions as possible”.
“They are already enacting measures of intimidation under the guise of ‘coordination’ by requesting political parties give the name of a person to work with the police. The Elections Commission should be enacting such a policy, not the police. It’s very strange and highly suspicious,” said Zuhair.
Should PPM be of the same view that an interim government is necessary for credible elections to be held, MDP would work through the parliament to discuss with PPM, Zuhair explained.
“PPM’s President and former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom has said their party would ‘go it alone’ and not form a coalition, because that would not allow policies to be implemented effectively. Then the natural next step [for the PPM] would be to gain parliamentary support from the only player able to give support, MDP,” said Zuhair.
PPM Spokesperson and MP Ahmed Nihan today rejected the likelihood of the government-aligned party working with the opposition MDP to remove President Waheed from office ahead of elections in September.
“I do not believe this is a possibility. If it was possible, we would have done this already I believe,” he said.
Nihan claimed that the PPM’s main concern at present was for free and fair elections to take place. However, he added that with the Commonwealth-backed CoNI concluding that President Waheed’s coalition government – which includes the PPM – had come to power legitimately, it would not back the MDP’s calls for the present administration to be removed.
Nihan added that, while continuing to support the present coalition government, many PPM supporters believed that the party presently represented one of only two political ideologies in the country. These philosophies he said were those of PPM founder former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, and former President Nasheed and the MDP.
Nihan claimed that the majority of the country’s smaller parties, including those choosing to side with President Waheed in a pre-election coalition, were all rooted to former President Gayoom and his “political wisdom”.
“Strange bedfellows”
Nasheed also addressed the recent addition of the Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) to the President Mohamed Hassan Manik’s coalition – which includes his Gaumee Ittihad Party (GIP) and the Adhaalath Party (AP) – and it’s incompatibility with a democratic presidential system of governance.
Nasheed expressed his happiness about Gayoom’s statement that coalitions do not work because they are not in line with a presidential governing system and are instead more reflective of a parliamentary system.
“I am very happy that President Gayoom – [who is] no doubt is the most experienced political leader [in the nation] – has been very clear about how inefficient for democratic policies the formation of coalitions are in a presidential system,” said Nasheed.
Nasheed noted that the Adhaalath Party and Sheiks’ extremist views will pose difficulties for the GIP-led coalition. Although the DRP are billing themselves as a moderate party, they will not establish the national ‘bastion of tolerance’ they claim to be purporting, Nasheed said.
The former President believes the coalition is a “hodgepodge” mix of ideologies, not politics and these “strange bedfellows” cannot achieve anything.
DRP disintegration
Nasheed stated that the alliance between GIP and DRP is only agreement between the two individual and not reflective of grassroots DRP supporters. He believes that DRP leader Thasmeen Ali and Waheed had no other choice and formed the coalition out of sheer necessity.
He also stated that the recent coalition has not produced a “third ideology” and that only two ideologies exist in the Maldives.
During door to door campaigning, the MDP has noticed that DRP grassroots support is disintegrating. They are either merging with PPM or joining MDP, according to MDP Press Director Mohamed Zuhair.
Additionally, Zuhair discussed the distinction President Nasheed made between other parties and MDP. He highlighted that MDP policies are formulated by consulting every household to asses the Maldivian people’s needs. This is followed by holding consultative seminars, with the feedback passed to the party’s ‘organs’ for discussion, then to policy committees, with the process culminating in an announcement.
“None of the other parties have this method,” said Zuhair.
“So far three policies have been announced, and the fourth – agrobusiness – will be announced tomorrow,” he continued.
“MDP is focusing on policy issues, having to ‘go out on the road’ and stage protests to ensure free and fair elections will change the entire dynamics of the campaign. We are hoping it doesn’t come to that,” said Zuhair.
(0)Dislikes(0)The Ministry of Transport and Communications has decided to negotiate with seaplane operators Trans Maldivian Airways (TMA) and Maldivian Air Taxi (MAT) to reduce the cost of flights to the atolls, which the ministry believes is “unreasonably high”, reports local media.
The companies submitted a joint proposal in response to the planned Maldivian government initiative to expand seaplane services to the islands to improve the country’s transportation network.
Director General of Regional Airports at the Transport Ministry Saamee Ageel told local media today that the prices quoted by TMA and MAT were “unreasonably high”. The companies proposed being exempt from all aviation surcharges and would charge US$95 (MVR 1,464.90) per trip, per person.
The joint proposal also requested the government compensate the companies if the seaplanes travel with less than 12 passengers on any trip, according to Ageel.
“If that is the case, the government would have to pay about MVR 800,000 (US$51,880.67) per month. These are unreasonably high prices for the government. The government is trying to do this in a sustainable way,” Ageel said.
The Government of Maldives signed an agreement with MAT on September 18, 2012, for the company to provide seaplane services to the islands. Ageel said that agreement has since been terminated.
Currently MAT and TMA make scheduled flights to tourist resorts only.
US-based private equity fund Blackstone bought a controlling stake in both the Maldives’ seaplane operators, Trans Maldivian Airways (TMA) and Maldivian Air Taxi (MAT), in February 2013.
Blackstone, with annual revenue of US$3.119 billion and total assets of US$18.845 billion, bought the seaplane operators for an undisclosed sum.
Senior Managing Director and Chief Investment Officer at Blackstone’s Private Equity unit based in New York, Prakash Melwani, said the investment “will enable us to build a strong partnership with the Maldives.”
(0)Dislikes(0)“Maldives President Mohamed Waheed has unexpectedly thrown his hat in the ring for the September 2013 elections, upsetting what was supposed to be a two-cornered contest between the country’s best-known democrat and its infamous strongman,” writes R Radhakrishnan, in an open editorial for the Hindu newspaper.
“Until last week, it appeared that the race for the Maldivian Presidency would be between two candidates — the charismatic former President Mohamed Nasheed and Yameen Abdullah, the brother of former dictator and Nasheed’s tormentor Maumoon Abdul Gayoom.
Nasheed’s Maldivian Democratic Party is the country’s biggest in terms of membership (45,666, according to the election commission; an additional 1,323 were not included, says MDP). The Progressive Party of the Maldives, which Gayoom founded in 2011, is the second-largest party, with 22,383 members.
The only purpose of the others in the fray seemed to be to ensure that neither of the two main candidates would get the 51 per cent votes in the scheduled September 7 election and that there would be a run-off.
No one seriously thought that President Mohamed Waheed would emerge as a candidate himself. His Gaumee Ithihad Party (GIP) was too small — with a membership of barely 4,000 — and he did not have the commanding stage presence of either Nasheed or Gayoom; and it appeared no other small party wanted to back him for President. (A GIP functionary claimed that after a membership drive, the members have shot up to 12,000).
All that is history. Dr. Waheed is now seriously in the reckoning. Playing a deft hand, Dr. Waheed — Vice-President in the previous Nasheed government — has managed to rope in parties that do not want to be in an alliance with either Gayoom’s PPM or Nasheed’s MDP.
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