Health Minister Dr Ahmed Jamsheed resigned from the cabinet last week.
President’s Office Media Secretary Masood Imad told local media that Jamsheed resigned to assume a post at the World Health Organisation (WHO).
According to a statement by the President’s Office today, President Dr Mohamed Waheed “thanked him for his valuable services during his tenure as the Health Minister towards the development of the health sector.”
Minister of Gender, Family and Human Rights Dr Aamal Ali has been appointed the Acting Minister of Health.
Dr Jamsheed was appointed health minister on February 12, 2012 following the controversial transfer of presidential power five days earlier. He was serving as the Chief Operation Officer at the ADK private hospital after resigning from the director general post at the Centre for Community Health and Disease Control (CCHDC).
With Dr Jamsheed’s resignation, the posts of Attorney General, Home Minister, Foreign Minister and Health Minister are currently vacant with a week left for the expiration of the current presidential term.
Speaker of Parliament Abdulla Shahid has expressed regret over “false” allegations by MP Ibrahim Muttalib claiming that parliament was planning to establish a 100-strong military force armed by India for the speaker to assume the presidency on November 11 in the absence of a president-elect.
A press release by the parliament secretariat on Saturday (November 2) stated that Shahid “regretted” the Adhaalath Party MPs’ remarks, which could “incite fear among the public and sow discord.”
“The Speaker of the People’s Majlis said that he assures the Maldivian people at this opportunity that he would not do anything in violation of the constitution of the Republic of Maldives,” the statement read.
Parliament also announced plans to hire two deputies and four assistants to the sergeant at arms as well as 100 security officers to form a security unit that would take over from the MNDF.
The decision to set up the unit has since been slammed by the Defence Ministry, contending that overseeing security of parliament was among the security services’ constitutional duties.
The parliament’s press statement meanwhile noted that the post of sergeant at arms was among the Majlis officers listed in provision 11(a) of the parliamentary rules of procedure.
It added that Mohamed Haleem was appointed to the position following interviews conducted by the General Affairs Committee with interested candidates, after which it had proposed three names to the Majlis floor.
Haleem’s nomination was approved with 56 votes in favour out of the 57 MPs who participated in the vote, the statement noted, which included MPs from the government-aligned Progressive Party of Maldives, Jumhooree Party and the Maldivian Development Alliance.
The structure of parliament service employees to assist the sergeant at arms was determined by the General Affairs Committee, the statement added.
At the Adhaalath Party press conference, Muttalib claimed that the purpose of establishing the security unit was to prepare for an attack if the police and military refuse to cooperate with Speaker Shahid becoming caretaker president on November 11 if there was no president-elect.
The Fares-Maathoda MP also alleged that the Indian government and GMR could provide weapons to parliament, adding that the formation of “two governments” would inevitably lead to bloodshed.
“Shahid is preparing to get himself sworn into office on November 11. So they are establishing a military force of 100 armed officers. India is heavily involved in this plot. Otherwise we wouldn’t be concerned about this. Given the present actions of India, we cannot rule them out being involved in such a thing. So this is a Majlis orchestrated coup to facilitate that,” Muttalib was quoted as saying in local media.
The governments of India, Britain, Canada and Denmark would then recognise the new administration, Muttalib claimed, after which Indian troops would arrive to protect Shahid’s government amidst the resulting chaos.
The High Court has upheld a Criminal Court decision to extend the detention period of Maldivian Democratic Party member Ali Azim, whose parliamentary seat is being contested by the Supreme Court and the Majlis.
Azim was arrested on charges that he attempted to assault a Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) officer in control of the security of parliament. He has since been released to house arrest.
The High Court ruling on the appeal submitted by Azim stated that his arrest was lawful.
The High Court ruling stated that, on October 26, Azim went inside the parliament and attempted to assault an MNDF officer on duty, adding that it was the responsibility of the armed forces to stop anything that might be a threat to the security of MPs.
The High Court ruling also said that Azim was arrested by police outside the parliament in the presence of his lawyer and that police have completed all the procedure stated in article 48 of the constitution.
Additionally, the High Court also noted that article 74 of the constitution states the Supreme Court has to determine if there is any dispute over the legitimacy of a parliamentarian and that, on October 24 at 6:30pm, the Supreme Court had ruled that Azim was disqualified from his seat and could no longer be considered a member of the Majlis.
The tourism industry’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth in 2012 declined by 0.1 percent following 15.8 percent growth in 2010 and 9.2 percent in 2011, the Finance Ministry revealed in a “Fiscal and Economic Outlook: 2012 to 2016” statement included in the 2014 budget (Dhivehi) submitted to parliament last week.
“The main reason for this was the political turmoil the country faced in February 2012 and the decline in the number of days tourists spent in the country,” the statement explained.
“The most important statistic used to measure productivity in the tourism sector is the total number of nights tourists spend in the country. As the most number of tourists to the country now come from China, we note that the low number of nights on average that a Chinese tourist spends in the Maldives has an adverse effect on the tourism sector’s GDP.”
However, despite negative growth in 2012, the tourism industry is expected to have grown by 5.5 percent in 2013, with a 5.2 percent growth rate forecast for 2014.
The Maldivian economy is largely dependent on tourism, which accounted for 28 percent of GDP on average in the past five years, and generated 38 percent of government revenue in 2012.
Tourism growth
According to the annual tourism yearbook published by the Tourism Ministry, the average occupancy rate of all tourist establishments in 2012 was 2.5 percent below the previous year – at 70.6 percent.
“The major decline in occupancy rate was recorded from the resort/hotel sector, while the occupancy rate of guest houses and safari vessels remained constant at 23.4% in 2012,” the yearbook stated.
The average duration of stay fell from 8.6 days in 2009 to 6.7 days in 2012.
Moreover, following 20.7 percent growth in tourist arrivals in 2010 and 17.6 percent in 2011, the growth rate slowed to 2.9 percent in 2012, well below the annual average of 7.7 percent growth rate from 2008 to 2012.
The yearbook revealed that the overall positive was largely a result of the “outstanding performance” of the industry prior to the transfer of power in February.
“Fiscal discipline”
The outlook statement meanwhile observed that most economic and monetary problems facing the Maldives were “directly or indirectly related to the state’s ‘fiscal discipline.'”
The Finance Ministry noted that a fiscal responsibility law ratified in May stipulates that government debt must be brought below 60 percent of GDP within the next three years.
While public debt in 2012 stood at 78.6 percent of GDP in 2012, the outlook statement revealed that it had fallen to 72.6 percent this year.
However, the figure is expected to grow to 81 percent of GDP in 2014.
A budget surplus in the coming years would be necessary to reach the legally mandated target, the finance ministry stated.
Fiscal deficit (as a percentage of GDP)
While the estimated fiscal deficit in the 2013 budget was MVR1.4 billion (US$90 million) or 3.6 percent of GDP, the deficit at the end of the year would stand at MVR1.7 billion (US$110 million) or 4.7 percent of GDP, the statement noted.
The main reason for the higher than expected deficit spending was failure to implement proposed revenue raising measures intended to generate MVR1.8 billion (US$116.7 million) in new income.
The measures included hiking the Tourism Goods and Services Tax (T-GST) to 15 percent, raising the airport service charge to US$30, leasing 14 islands for resort development, raising tariffs on oil, introducing GST for telecom services, and “selectively” reversing import duty reductions.
In April, parliament rejected government-sponsored legislation to raise the departure tax on outgoing passengers, prompting Finance Minister Abdulla Jihad to seek parliamentary approval to divert MVR 650 million (US$42 million) allocated for infrastructure projects in the budget to cover recurrent expenditure.
Meanwhile, Jihad reportedly told parliament’s Finance Committee last week that no foreign bank was willing to lend to the Maldives anymore because of instability.
When the new revenue did not materialise, Jihad said the finance ministry approached foreign banks to sell treasury bills, but was turned down. Some banks refused to roll-over previously sold T-bills, he added.
Moreover, banks only agreed to buy T-bills at an 11 percent interest rate, Jihad said, which would not be sustainable for the government.
While MVR500 million (US$32 million) a month was needed to pay salaries and allowances for state employees, government income in some months was just MVR300 million (US$19 million), Jihad noted, leaving no option but to turn to the central bank.
Deficit and debt
The total public and publicly guaranteed external debt in 2012 stood at MVR11 billion (US$713 million) and was estimated to have reached MVR11.6 billion (US$752 million) this year, the outlook statement revealed.
A total of MVR2 billion (US$129 million) from foreign loans was disbursed in 2013 for development projects, with 7.44 percent from multilateral financial institutions, 34.5 percent from bilateral partners, and 51.8 percent from commercial banks.
The MVR839 million (US$54 million) estimated as budget support in 2013 meanwhile included US$25 million from a stand-by credit facility provided by India in 2011 and a US$29.4 million loan from the Bank of Ceylon.
External and domestic debt
The external public debt is projected to increase to MVR12.5 billion (US$810.6 million) next year, the finance ministry noted.
Domestic debt in 2012 was MVR13.8 billion (US$895 million) and MVR16 billion (US$1 billion) in 2013. This figure is projected to rise by 15 percent to MVR18.5 billion (US$1.19 billion) next year.
The state’s total debt in 2013 is therefore estimated to be MVR27.7 billion (US$1.79 billion) – expected to rise to MVR31 billion (US$2 billion) in 2014.
The government spent MVR2.7 billion (US$175 million) in 2012 and MVR3.5 billion (US$227 million) in 2013 for loan repayment and interest payments to service foreign and domestic debts.
Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) council member and prominent lawyer Mohamed ‘Wadde’ Waheed has filed a case at the Supreme Court requesting the court disqualify Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) Leader and MP Ahmed Thasmeen Ali from parliament.
Wadde yesterday told local media that Thasmeen took a MVR2.9million (US$188,067) loan from Parliament Deputy Speaker Ahmed Nazim and did not pay the money back in accordance with a Civil Court ruling.
Nazim filed a case at the Civil Court in 2011 to recover MVR1.9million (US$124,513) unpaid out of the MVR2.9 Million (US$188,067) Thasmeen took from him as a loan.
Article 73(c) of the constitution states: “A person shall be disqualified from election as, a member of the People’s Majlis, or a member of the People’s Majlis immediately becomes disqualified, if he has a decreed debt which is not being paid as provided in the judgment.”
Wadde said that, although Thasmeen had now paid all the money, he did not pay according to the Civil Court ruling, which required the repayment of MVR320,000 (US$20,779) each month for six consecutive months to clear the debt.
The Civil Court ruling came in April 2011, with Thasmeen unsuccessfully appealing the case at the High Court the same month.
In June 2012, Nazim filed another case at the Civil Court because Thasmeen was not paying as per the Civil Court resulting in the court issuing a warrant freezing all the bank accounts of Thasmeen and ordering the Immigration Department to hold Thasmeen’s passport.
Lawyer Wadde was chosen to contest the Kaashidhoo parliamentary by-election for the PPM in March 2012, before the party decided to support now-MDP MP Abdulla Jabir – then a member of the Jumhooree Party – prompting public criticism from Wadde.
The lawyer was also at odds with his party’s senior leadership last month after filing a case in the Supreme Court challenging opposition MDP candidate and former President Mohamed Nasheed’s candidacy.
In October Wadde also submitted a case to the Supreme Court seeking a ruling against the motion passed by parliament to appoint Speaker Abdulla Shahid as interim head of state in the instance that an elected president cannot be installed by the constitutionally mandated date, November 11.
The same day, Wadde also submitted another case to the court asking it to rule that the MDP MP Ahmed Hamza’s appointment to the judicial watchdog – the Judicial Services Commission (JSC) – was conducted in breach of the constitution.
Last night, the MDP issued a statement condemning the filing of the case against Thasmeen, alleging that the PPM was trying to undermine the constitution through the Supreme Court.
The party called upon the PPM to stop all of its works against the spirit of democracy.
The MDP said the PPM was using the Supreme Court to defeat political opponents because is understood that it had been defeated in the political field.
The Supreme Court ruled on October 24 that both MDP MP Ali Azim DRP MP Mohamed Nashiz be stripped of their parliamentary seats over decreed debt. The ruling was subsequently rejected by the Parliamentary Privileges Committee, with scuffles ensuing between the military and MPs at the subsequent Majlis session.
The current MDP and DRP alignment constitutes a simple majority in parliament.
The party also said that the citizens would not allow the PPM to use courts under the influence of former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom to deprive the MDP of its majority in parliament.
The Ministry of Defense and National Security has slammed the People’s Majlis decision to establish an independent security unit to oversee the safety of MPs and Majlis premises.
In a statement issued on Saturday, the Defense Ministry said Article 105 (a) and (b) of the constitution mandated the security forces to oversee security of the People’s Majlis offices, facilities and protection of all members, and hence the Maldives National Defense Forces (MNDF) is currently in charge of the task.
“When the constitution has set out specific responsibilities and roles for the Maldives security forces, the Ministry of Defense and National Security, as the most important institution mandated to ensure security of the Maldives, does not believe that the People’s Majlis secretariat can hand over this task to any body that is not part of the security forces.
And this ministry does not believe that the protection of the People’s Majlis, and ensuring the security of the Majlis can be handed over [to another party] in violation of the constitution,” the Defense Ministry said.
The statement follows the Majlis Speaker Abdulla Shahid’s appointment of former MNDF officer Mohamed Haleem to the position of Sergeant at Arms and announcement to recruit an additional 104 security officers.
Majlis secretariat announced for a Sergeant at Arms after MNDF officers stormed the People’s Majlis to remove Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) MP Ali Azim from its premises. Shahid condemned the move stating that under parliamentary regulations, the MNDF are to operate under instructions from the Speaker inside the Majlis premises.
The MDP and DRP currently control a simple majority in parliament. The DRP decided to back the MDP after its candidate Mohamed Nasheed gained 45.45 percent of the vote in the annulled first round of presidential elections on September 7.
Defending the Majlis
MDP MP and Spokesperson Hamid Abdul Ghafoor is currently taking refuge inside the Majlis following several attempts by police to arrest him and present him at the Criminal Court for a trial on alleged refusal to provide a urine sample. Hamid said the Criminal Court had fast tracked his case unlawfully and without due process to “purge” MDP MPs from parliament.
Refusal to provide urine can result in a one year jail sentence. If Hamid is found guilty, he may lose his parliament seat.
The Criminal Court on October 31 sentenced Hamid to six months in jail for disobedience to orders when he refused to comply with several criminal court summons.
However, Hamid will still be able to attend Majlis hearings after amendments to the Parliamentary Procedures the day before his sentencing permitting MPs to attend Majlis even if convicted of criminal offenses.
Speaking to Minivan News today, Hamid said: “I think it is very normal for a parliament to have its own security within its premises.”
DRP MP Rozaina also supported the move, saying: “In the system we have now, where courts, police and MNDF are politicized by the people leading these institutions, the Majlis definitely needs its own.”
The Inter-Parliamentary Union is currently in the Maldives to “to help find ways to improve trust and confidence between State institutions.” The IPU has expressed concern “the frequent intimidation, harassment and attack of MPs as they go about their work.”
The MDP led parliament also voted out Attorney General Azima Shakoor and has submitted no confidence motions against Defense Minister Mohamed Nazim, Prosecutor General Ahmed Muizz and deputy speaker and PPM MP Mohamed Nazim.
Three MDP MPs are currently on trial, while police have asked the PG to prosecute four additional MDP MPs.
MP Ali Waheed is on trial for disobedience to order for crossing a police barricade, while Hamid and Abdulla Jabir are on trial for alleged alcohol and drug abuse.
Police are charging MPs Alhan Fahmy, Imthiyaz Fahmy, and Mohamed Rasheed with contempt of court for criticizing the Supreme Court, and MP Ibrahim Rasheed with assaulting a police officer.
The MDP notes corruption charges against several government aligned MPs have been dropped since the controversial transfer of power in February 2012.
The Managing Director of the State Trading Organisation (STO) has assured that the country’s looming oil payment crisis will be resolved tomorrow after the central banking authority committed to financing overdue payments.
“MMA [Maldives Monetary Authority] has given certain commitments – we still need to arrange everything – tomorrow we are going to work on it,” Shahid Ali told Minivan News today.
Shahid told MPs last week that the STO would run out of oil as early as November 10 if it did not pay some of its US$20million oil debt.
“The exact amounts have not been agreed upon,” Shahid explained today (October 3). “Tomorrow we need to make at least some payments.”
During an emergency meeting of the Majlis Finance Committee last week – with both MMA Governor Dr Fazeel Najeeb and Finance Minister Abdulla Jihad in attendance – Shahid told MPs that government-owned companies owed the STO more than MVR600 million.
Jihad informed the committee that he had asked the MMA to provide MVR50 million to the STO but was told that the central bank could only arrange for MVR20 million as the public bank account was overdrawn.
The MMA governor said the state did not have the financial resources to provide the requested amount, adding that the central bank would be forced to print money to meet the government’s requirements.
In the event that the country runs out of oil on November 10, Jihad then said he would resign from his post.
“I am asking the MMA for cooperation to provide the funds. This is a basic necessity. Otherwise there is a fear that we could completely run out of oil. Funds have to be arranged for citizens’ basic needs even if the public bank account is overdrawn,” he said.
Minivan News was unable to reach Dr Najeeb at the time of press.
When asked if the MMA was printing money in order to finance the oil payments, Shahid simply repeated that the authority had “given certain commitments”.
The MMA’s quarterly figures show that the Maldives’ petroleum imports amounted to US$248.4 million in the first half of 2013 – representing 29 percent of the cost of all goods brought into the country.
Najeeb also told the Majlis Public Accounts Committee last week that state reserves were insufficient to balance the country’s growing deficit.
Local media reported Najeeb as warning that the state was on the verge of being forced to print money.
“Parliament must also consider ways to reduce the structure of the State. I think this is very serious. Or else, the value of our money will keep dropping,” the Governor was quoted as saying.
The MMA’s most recent Quarterly Economic Bulletin revealed that government finances had “further deteriorated in the first six months of 2013” due to a sizeable shortfall in expected revenue coupled with a marked increase in recurrent expenditure.
After measures to raise 15 percent of total revenue budgeted for 2013 – MVR1.8 billion (US$116.7 million ) – failed to materialise, Finance Minister Abdulla Jihad was forced to seek parliamentary approval to divert MVR 650 million (US$42 million) allocated for infrastructure projects in the budget to cover recurrent expenditure.
In recent months, the government has become increasingly reliant on the issuance of short term treasury bills in order to plug gaps in the current budget.
Whilst introducing a proposed MVR16.4 billion (US$1 billion) budget for next year to the Majlis last week, the Finance Minister urged the government to pursue austerity measures.
Police have arrested two persons with stolen items from the island of Mulak in Meemu Atoll.
According to police, the case was reported on the morning of October 31.
Police said officers searched the house the suspects were living in after obtaining a search warrant from the court, discovering stolen money, gold and 11 bullet sized rubber packets containing illegal drugs.
The two arrested were taken to the magistrate court in Mulee Island to decide on their detention period and the court have granted police a 15-day period to keep them in pre-trial detention.
Mulak police station is further investigating the case.
Police have said last Friday (1 October) they have arrested a man who attempted to smuggle 23 mobile phones into Maafushi prison after swimming to the island.
According to police, the man is 28 years old and has previous records of assault, theft, obstruction of police duty and drug related offenses.
Police said the man was first captured by Department of Penitentiary and Rehabilitation Service prison officers and was later handed over to police.
When his body was searched police found 23 mobile phones, five charges and one headset, the police said.
Maafushi Police Station is now investigating the case.
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