Day: November 28, 2013

Government eyes alternative fish export markets, Maldives fish to be labelled ‘halal’

The government has said that the Maldives will look to alternative fish export markets, including the middle-eastern and the Malaysian market, after withdrawing its application for European Union (EU) duty-free status of imported fish from the country.

Earlier this November, the EU declined to extend the duty-free status on Maldivian fish exports under its Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) program – a non-reciprocal trade agreement extended to developing countries – as the government had not ratified all 27 required international conventions.

During a press conference held by three cabinet ministers on Thursday afternoon, Foreign Minister Dhunya Maumoon told the press that the decision to withdraw the application for extension under the ‘GSP+’ program was because the government was informed by the EU’s Brussels mission that the application would possibly be rejected.

“The matter with EU’s relief of duty to Maldivian fisheries exports relate to our reservations towards freedom of religion and other conventions.  These reservations were taken because it contradicts the fundamentals of Islam and our constitution,” Dhunya explained.

“If we get rejected that means the Maldives is getting a bad label. Such a rejection would be informed to all European nations in the EU. So to avoid the dire circumstances of that, which would affect the country’s reputation, we have decided to withdraw our application,” she added.

EU officials earlier confirmed to Minivan News that the transitional period of trade concessions for the Maldives was due to expire as the Maldives from 2011 was not longer considered a developing country.

The Maldives applied for an extension under the ‘GSP+’ program, a unilateral trade concession given to a limited number of countries on the basis of good implementation of human rights and labour conventions, officials said.

Officials stated that the Maldives did not qualify due to the country’s reservations to ICCPR on religious freedom and CEDAW concerning women’s rights.

Under the Maldivian constitution all citizens are required to be Sunni Muslim and the practice of other religions is criminalised. Customs authorities forbid the import of religious items and scan the baggage of tourists arriving at the airport.

Foreign Minister Dhunya however described the withdrawal as a silver lining, elaborating on the fact that the country’s fisheries export should not be dependant upon just one single market.

“I make it clear that we are not running out of friends in the international community,” Dhunya said.

Counter Measures

In a bid to counter a the impact of the decision the government announced the formation of a Fisheries Promotion Board (FPB) that will work on promoting Maldivian fisheries products to none-EU markets.

“I believe, if we can promote our products through the Fisheries Promotion Board, we can overcome the difficulties we would face from this change of arrangements” said the new Minister of Fisheries and Agriculture Dr Mohamed Shainee.

Secondly, the government announced that the Maldives’ fish products will be certified as a ‘Halal product’ in the future. Minister Shainee said that the government had been analysing other possible markets including middle-eastern markets and the Malaysian market.

“There are many markets around the world for us to export fisheries products. However, one of the main difficulties in penetrating such markets earlier was that we did not have a Halal certification on our products,” Shainee said.

“Today President Yameen has decided to give the legal mandate on issuing Halal certification to the Ministry of Islamic Affairs,” said Minister Shainee.

Minister Shainee also said that, although the Maldives will not be entitled to the GSP+ incentives, the fish exports to Europe will not come to a halt.

Rather, he described it as a change in the price of fish rather than an obstruction to exporting of Maldivian fisheries products.

“It is just that we will from now onwards be selling fish in a very competitive market,” Shainee said.

When inquired about involving foreign investors in developing the Maldivian Fisheries industry, Shainee said that the government did not wish to involve foreign investors as the fisheries sector formed part of Maldives’ primary industries and privatizing such could have detrimental effects on the economy.

The minister however said that that the government envisions diversification of the fisheries industry and the introduction of new forms of fishing that would further boost the industry.

“We want to diversify the market. There are varieties of sub-industries that we can develop including Mari-culture. However the government has not yet decided whether to seek foreign investments yet to develop those sub-industries,” Shainee said.

Meanwhile, the Economic Minister Mohamed Saeed said that apart from friendly Islamic countries and Malaysia, the government has held extensive talks with Russia and China regarding a possible entry into their markets.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

Parliament privileges committee seeks Majlis intervention in MP Hamid appeal case

The Majlis Parliamentary Privileges Committee has unanimously decided parliament should intervene in the appeal case of member Hamed Abdul Ghafoor, who was sentenced to six months for failure to attend Criminal Court hearings.

“The committee was of the opinion that the Criminal Court had acted outside of the boundaries of the law by summoning MP Hamid to court on a day when the parliament as well as committee sittings were scheduled,” said Deputy Chair of the Committee and Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) MP Imthiyaz ‘Inthi’ Fahmy.

“Therefore this action by Criminal Court was clearly against the Privileges Act, thus a violation of privileges of both an MP and the parliament as a whole. On this grounds the committee has sent the report to Majlis Speaker to which the Speaker.”

Hamed was handed the custodial sentence during a month-long period of refuge sought within the grounds of parliament, which ended following the conclusion of the presidential election on November 16.

Hamed was originally asked to appear in court regarding an alleged refusal to produce a urine sample when asked by police following his arrest on suspicion of drug and alcohol possession last year.

He was arrested on the island of Hondaidhoo along with a number of senior MDP party members last year.

The MP himself, however, maintains that his stay in the parliamentary grounds was intended to highlight the importance of MP privileges.

“My holding up in the Majlis was in defense of parliamentary privileges, which was not reported in the media. We have found out members privileges are not understood,” Hamed told Minivan News today.

The Henveiru South representative suggested that Criminal Court Judge Abdulla Mohamed scheduled a hearing to clash with the parliamentary schedule as the case against him was failing.

He has subsequently been placed under house arrest, with the newly appointed Home Minister Umar Naseer telling local media that the state did not have the resources to transport the MP to and from Dhoonidhoo island prison in order for him to fulfil his parliamentary duties.

During his period of sanctuary, Hamed’s Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) amended the parliament’s standing orders to allow an MP convicted of criminal acts to continue to attend Majlis sittings.

Hamed, as well as the Speaker of the House Abdulla Shahid, have consistently maintained that the summons to appear clashed with the MP’s parliamentary duties, contravening the Parliamentary Privileges Act.

“He has been issued court summons in violation of the Privileges Act. He has been issued a sentence because he took the privileges he is legally afforded as an MP,” Shahid told Minivan News earlier this month.

“I have written about this matter to the Prosecutor General [PG]. The Prosecutor General agrees with me. He has written a letter to the Supreme Court. He feels that the judiciary in this case has gone out of its way to punish Hamid.”

The PG Ahmed Muiz has since resigned as the Majlis prepared no-confidence proceedings against him – the President’s Office is currently accepting applications for his replacement.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

Fornicating couple sentenced to 18 months jail, 25 lashes for self-made sex video

The Criminal Court has sentenced two consenting adults to 18 months in jail and 25 lashes for videoing themselves engaging in extramarital sex.

Aseel Ismail and Mariyam Sana were arrested in April 2011 after a police raid found CDs and photos in which the couple appear to engage in extramarital sex.

Aseel is currently serving a seven year jail term for assault and Sana is facing trial for drug abuse and alcohol consumption.

The Criminal Court on Wednesday sentenced the two to six months in jail and 25 lashes for fornication and issued an additional one-year jail term for producing pornographic material.

Meanwhile, renowned Quran reciter Hussain Thaufeeq has been sentenced to six months banishment and 15 lashes for sexually abusing children. However the Criminal Court suspended the sentence for three years, on the grounds it was the Qari’s first offence.

Thaufeeq was arrested in August 2010 on multiple charges of child sexual molestation with “some cases going a long time back,” police said at the time.

Thaufeeq’s students had also submitted a petition to the Human Rights Commission of the Maldives (HRCM) asking the commission to investigate the matter

Thaufeeq hosted a daily Quran teaching program on Television Maldives (TVM) for school children every evening after Isha prayers. He also led Friday prayers and conducted sermons.

He is also being charged with possession of pornographic material. The trial is still pending at the Criminal Court.

Under the Child Sex Offenders (Special Provisions) Act of 2009, the penalty for child sex abuse is 10-14 years but can be extended to 15-18 years if the accused was in a position of trust with the children he allegedly abused.

However, it appears Thaufeeq has been charged under a different regulation criminalising fornication and sexual misconduct.

The Criminal Court was not responding to calls at the time of press.

In August this year, a 15-year-old girl who faced 100 lashes after she was raped by her stepfather had her sentence overturned following an international campaign.

The Juvenile Court in September sentenced a 17 year old boy to four months in prison after he kissed a 16 year old girl in a court waiting room. The girl was sentenced to four months house arrest.

Meanwhile, a series of sex tapes in which Supreme Court Judge Ali Hameed appears to be having sex with several unidentified foreign women were leaked in July, but the judicial oversight body voted not to take any disciplinary action citing lack of evidence. The Judicial Services Commission (JSC) continues with the investigation.

According to a 2007 UN study, one in three women in the Maldives experience physical and /or sexual violence at some point in their lives. Further, one in eight women reported they had experienced childhood sexual abuse, the study said.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

Half the population under 25, statistics reveal

Half the 330,652-strong population of the Maldives are below the age of 25, according to the 2013 yearbook published by the Department of National Planning.

However despite the huge youth demographic, the statistics suggest the education system is failing young people, with just 19 percent of students going on to higher secondary education.

Moreover while just 7 percent of the country’s 408 schools are located in Male, a third of all students in the Maldives attend these institutions. Of their teachers, 32 percent are foreigners, while 14 percent have had no training.

The civil service meanwhile remains the country’s largest employer at 17,657 staff (5.34 percent of the population), but also highlights the country’s considerable wealth disparity. 47 percent of civil servants are paid less that MVR 5000 (US$330) a month, while just one percent are paid more than MVR 10,000 (US$660).

Statistics meanwhile show that while the government received MVR 9.8 billion (US$635.5 million) in revenue and grants, total expenditure was MVR 14.2 billion (US$921 million) – 74 percent of this on recurrent expenditure, and representing a total shortfall of US$285.5 million.

Approximately MVR 970 million (US$62.9 million) was spent on social protection programs such as pensions. Of this money, 782 million (US$50.7 million) was spent on the Aasandha universal healthcare scheme.

While the country’s exports were valued at MVR 2.5 billion (US$155.6 million), imports were MVR 23.9 billion (US$1.54 billion). Meanwhile, almost all of the MVR 14.5 billion (US$940 million) worth of loans and advances issued by banks to the private sector were for tourism and resort development. Annual inflation sat at 10.9 percent,

Tourism capacity at the end of 2012 was 25,571 beds, with an average occupancy rate of 70.6 percent and average tourist stay of 6.7 nights.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

Local fish exporters reduce price paid for catch

Local fish exporters have this week announced that they will be reducing the price paid to fisherman following a drop in global fish prices.

Horizon Fisheries, Koodoo Fisheries Maldives Ltd (KFML), Felivaru Fisheries and MIFCO have all reduced fish buying prices, telling local media that the price would increase along with global market prices.

Global fish prices are reported by local media to have dropped from US$2500 to US$1850, with Maldivian fishermen now receiving MVR18 per kg of fresh fish with ice, and MVR16 per kg without.

Ibrahim Manik of the Fisherman’s Union has suggested that leading government figures are amongst the country’s largest fish exporters.

“The senior officials of the PPM administration are fish exporters. Gasim’s Jumhooree Party and Yameen’s PPM’s [Progressive Party of Maldives] Zameer are fish exporters. As they make profits fishermen are facing a lot of damages.”

In the wake of the reduced prices, however, the government’s KFML announced it would be reducing ice and fuel charges in order to lessen the effects of the reduced fish prices.

The company reduced the selling price of diesel from MVR 17.25 to MVR 17, and the price of a ton of ice from MVR1050 to MVR 850, Sun Online revealed. The company also announced it would be reducing maintenance fees as well as attempting to penetrate new markets.

The newly appointed Minister of Fisheries Dr Mohamed Shainee told local television last week that he hoped the ruling Progressive Party of Maldives manifesto pledge to ensure all fishermen receive a basic income of MVR10,000 could be introduced next year.

“There is a lot of support for the policy from fishermen. This will incentivize the fishermen. They catch more than MVR 10,000 on good fishing days. But if the weather is bad or if the catch is low, there is a degree of despair. We are providing an incentive to overcome this despair to get ready for the next fishing season,” Shainee told Sun TV.

He revealed that the government would finance the scheme through the collection of MVR500 from each fisherman during the good months of fishing each year. It was also noted that the government planned to allocate MVR45 million from the MVR100 million allocated to subsidies fuel charges for fishing boats and hopes to designate a budget of MVR 90 million for the scheme.

While tourism is the Maldives’ largest economic sector, indirectly responsible for up to 70 percent of GDP and up to 90 percent of foreign exchange, fisheries is the country’s largest employer at over 40 percent.

The total fish catch has been declining each year since 2006 reaching 83.1 thousand metric tonnes in 2011, leading to fears about the impact of climate change and overfishing by better equipped fishing fleets on the borders of the Maldives’ Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).

The European Union earlier this month declined to extend the duty-free status of imported fish from the Maldives, following the country’s failure to comply with international conventions concerning freedom of religion.

The Maldives exports 40 percent of its US$100 million fishing industry to the EU, its single largest export partner by value.

Before January 2014 those exports are duty-free under the Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) program, a non-reciprocal trade agreement extended to developing countries.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

Criminal Court open on Saturday to dispense criminal records checks

The Criminal Court is to open during this weekend to provide criminal record checks for those seeking to contest in January’s local council elections.

The Criminal Court is facing an unusual amount of traffic for criminal record and debt record checks with an estimated 4000 candidates contesting the 1091 local council seats.

In 2011, candidates had to sign a declaration stating they had no record of criminal activity or decreed debt. However, several councillors were disqualified from their seats after election and the Elections Commission amended its regulations mandating candidates to submit criminal and debt records with their applications.

Applications are due on December 8 and elections are scheduled for January 18.

The Criminal Court will be open from 9:00 am – 5 pm on Saturday.

Debt and criminal records will be made available on the day of request from the Criminal Court, local media reports.

In addition to the Criminal Court, the Department of Judicial Administration, the Supreme Court and the Department of Penitentiary and Rehabilitation Services (DPRS) also provides records of criminal activity and debt.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

Cabinet approval scheduled for December 29

Parliamentary approval for President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom’s 15 ministers will be scheduled for December 29, People’s Majlis Speaker Abdulla Shahid has said.

Shahid appealed to the Majlis’ Government Oversight committee to conclude its report on the proposed cabinet by December 23 in order for the December 29 vote to proceed.

Chair of the Government Oversight Committee MP Ali Waheed said the committee has started the vetting process for ministers and will commence debate on the proposed cabinet on December 15.

Yameen’s 15 member cabinet includes seven incumbents. They are Finance Minister Abdulla Jihad, Minister of Health and Gender Dr Mariyam Shakeela, Minister of Defense and National Security Colonel (Rtd) Mohamed Nazim, Minister of Transport and Communication Ameen Ibrahim, Minister of Tourism Ahmed Adheeb, Minister of Housing and Infrastructure Dr Mohamed Muizzu, and Minister of Islamic Affairs Dr Mohamed Shaheem Ali Saeed.

The opposition Maldivian Democratic Party had tabled a no confidence motion against Defense Minister Nazim in the last days of Dr Mohamed Waheed’s presidency.

The new appointments are Umar Naseer as Minister of Home Affairs, Dr Aishath Shiham as Minister of Education, Dunya Maumoon as Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dr Mohamed Shainee as Minister of Fisheries and Agriculture, Mohamed Saeed as Minister of Economic Development, Mohamed Maleeh Jamal as Minister of Youth and Sports and Thoriq Ibrahim as Minister of Environment and Energy.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

President appoints Shamshul Falah to JSC

President Abdulla Yameen has appointed Shamshul Falah as the president’s representative at the Judicial Services Commission (JSC) today.

Shamshul Falah served as the Secretary of Legal Affairs at the President’s Office under former President Dr Mohamed Waheed Hassan.

Falah’s appointment is the third new appointment to the JSC this month. President Yameen appointed Attorney General Mohamed Anil to the judicial oversight body earlier this week.

On November 10, former president Dr Mohamed Waheed administered the oath of office to opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) MP Ahmed Hamza who will act as the parliament’s representative.

The seat occupied by the President of the Civil Service Commission on the 10 member JSC remains vacant amidst a dispute between the Supreme Court and People’s Majlis regarding the dismissal of former CSC head Mohamed Fahmy Hassan.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

Maldives elections veered into the realm of farce: New York Times

At a certain point this fall, the presidential elections in the Maldives stopped looking like the hiccups of a young democracy and veered into the realm of farce, writes Ellen Barry for the New York Times.

Mohamed Nasheed was the leader after a first-round election back in September, but the country’s Supreme Court begged to differ. The court, which was allied with one of his rivals, voided the September election before it could reach a second round, citing irregularities in voter rolls.

The court scuttled another vote planned for October, ordering the police to surround the election commission. In November, after Mr. Nasheed had trounced his rivals again, the court derailed a second-round vote with another last-minute delay.

Something about it felt familiar. I had just arrived in South Asia after five years in the former Soviet Union, where I saw one leader after another dispensing with truly competitive politics.

Elections kept happening, but there was only a glaze of competition; for the most part, the opposition candidates were docile, handpicked characters, because no one else was allowed to run. On the rare occasions when actual rivals were able to take part, as in recent elections in Ukraine and Georgia, the candidates who lost found themselves in court or in prison. The experiment in democracy, born in the euphoria of the 1990s, seemed to be ending.

In South Asia, that experiment is much closer to its beginning.

Read more

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)