Ibrahim Muaz has been appointed President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom’s spokesperson, according to the President’s Office.
Muaz was candidate Yameen’s official spokesperson during the Progressive Party of Maldives’ (PPM’s) presidential campaign.
He previously served as communication director at the Foreign Ministry during former President Dr Mohamed Waheed’s administration, before which he worked at Television Maldives (TVM) and other media outlets.
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(0)President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom appointed six new cabinet ministers today including Umar Naseer as Home Minister, Sheikh Mohamed Shaheem Ali Saeed as Islamic Minister, Dr Mohamed Muiz as Housing and Infrastructure Minister, Dr Mohamed Shainy as Fisheries and Agriculture Minister, Mohamed Saeed as Economic Development Minister and Thoriq Ibrahim as Environment and Energy Minister.
The oath of office for the ministers was administered by Supreme Court Justice Abdulla Areef.
While two of the five ministers appointed on Sunday night were members of the President’s Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM), the new ministers appointed today were nominated by coalition partners Jumhooree Party (JP), Adhaalath Party (AP) and Maldives Development Alliance (MDA). The PPM-led coalition also includes a number of smaller parties.
JP Leader Gasim Ibrahim and MDA Leader Ahmed Shiyam Mohamed attended the swearing-in ceremony at the President’s Office this afternoon.
Adhaalath Party members Shaheem and Muiz had served in the same posts in the cabinet of former President Dr Mohamed Waheed.
In addition to the ministerial appointments, former Youth Minister Mohamed Hussain Shareef ‘Mundhu’ was appointed minister of the President’s Office – a post abolished in 2008 – and former Economic Development Minister Ahmed Mohamed was appointed Commissioner General of Customs.
All cabinet ministers would require parliamentary approval for confirmation of their posts.
In his remarks after presenting letters of appointment, President Yameen congratulated the new ministers and noted that the government was formed out of a coalition.
The aim of the government should therefore be implementing the main components of the manifestos of the PPM-led coalition, he said.
This would bring contentment and prosperity to the people, protect Islam, maintain peace and stability, and overcome divisions, Yameen said.
The coalition government would be “a compassionate government” that “respects the individual rights of all citizens,” he added.
President Yameen said he wished to “speed up our efforts” to deliver on the campaign promises and asked the new ministers to “work tirelessly” and “make sacrifices if necessary” to serve the public and defend Islam.
“So I ask all of you to provide cooperation to me and my government to ensure the development the Maldivian people want,” he said.
The next five years would bring “unprecedented joy and peace” if the coalition government’s vision for the country was realised, Yameen said.
President Yameen said he hoped to present a timeline or roadmap for the first 100 days at the first cabinet meeting.
Home Minister Umar Naseer
Umar Naseer was dismissed from the PPM in April after refusing to apologise for allegations of vote rigging in the wake of his primary defeat to President Yameen.
Naseer had claimed that Yameen “rigged” the primary by ballot stuffing, falsifying the count and “pouring black money” to buy votes.
He further alleged that criminal gangs, convicts and drug smuggling “networks” were part of Yameen’s campaign team.
“Less than 24 hours after my brother Abdulla Yameen won the primary, the foremost person in the Maldives’ corruption network, Deputy Speaker of the People’s Majlis Ahmed Nazim joined the PPM,” Naseer had said.
After joining the campaign of JP Leader Gasim Ibrahim, Umar had said that Yameen was “the root of all the problems faced by our country today.”
“The 40,000 illegal immigrants who have entered the country are people brought in under his nose. People say that there is a connection between Yameen and the illicit drugs that are sold on the streets of Maldives,” Naseer alleged.
Following Gasim’s third-placed finish in the first round of the presidential election on November 9, Naseer declared that he would back the PPM candidate against former President Mohamed Nasheed.
(0)Dislikes(0)Jumhoree Party (JP) Leader and MP for Maamigili, Gasim Ibrahim, has been elected chair of the parliament’s Budget Review Committee for the fourth consecutive year.
The 22-member committee comprises of the combined Finance Committee and Economic Affairs Committee.
The business tycoon and former JP presidential candidate was chosen with 12 votes in favour. Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party MP Dr Abdulla Mausoom was elected deputy chair with the same number of votes.
The committee is tasked with reviewing the budget and presenting a report to the People’s Majlis floor by December 1.
(0)Dislikes(0)A roadmap for the first 100 days of the new administration is being drawn up to implement the Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) manifesto and fulfil campaign pledges, President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom has said.
Speaking to press after an impromptu PPM council meeting yesterday (November 18), President Yameen explained that the roadmap would “outline what will begin to be implemented by the 30th or 45th day.”
“Committees have been formed and work has started on implementing what we promised for youth and fishermen in our manifesto,” he said.
The PPM’s campaign pledges include raising the old age pension to MVR5,000 a month, designating a General Practitioner to each family, providing subsidies for fishermen and farmers, and creating more than 90,000 jobs.
At the ongoing budget debate in parliament, opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) MPs have been calling on the government to incorporate its policies in next year’s budget and fulfil its campaign promises, pledging their assistance and cooperation.
Both opposition and government-aligned MPs agreed that the government should be offered the opportunity to revise the budget based on the PPM manifesto. A budget of MVR16.4 billion (US$1 billion) was submitted by the outgoing administration on October 30.
President Yameen meanwhile told reporters that he has asked Finance Minister Abdulla Jihad to revise recurrent expenditure as “more than a billion could be saved.”
Funds could be reduced from budget items in recurrent expenditures, he said.
Recurrent expenditure of MVR12 billion (US$778 million) – wages, subsidies and administrative costs – accounts for 73 percent of government spending in the proposed budget.
“We will bring big changes to the budget. The budget has to be changed to one that addresses what our parties pledged to do for the public,” he said, referring to the pledges by other parties in the PPM-led coalition.
Other parties in the coalition government include the Jumhooree Party led by business tycoon Gasim Ibrahim, the Maldives Development Alliance led by tourism magnate Ahmed ‘Sun Travel’ Shiyam, the religious conservative Adhaalath Party, former President Mohamed Waheed’s Gaumee Ihthihad Party and a number of smaller parties.
The new administration was also in the process of “restructuring” the President’s Office, Yameen said, and all political appointees at the office were dismissed on Sunday (November 17).
Government ministries would follow “the example the President’s Office is showing” to reduce the number of political appointees and posts, he said.
Cabinet ministers would not formulate new policies but focus on implementing the manifesto, he added.
President Yameen also met former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom at the President’s Office yesterday.
In a statement following the meeting, Yameen said the PPM leader assured the new administration of political support and assistance through the People’s Majlis.
He expressed confidence in implementing the party’s manifesto with the cooperation of coalition partners as well as the opposition in parliament.
The focus of the new administration was on reducing costs and increasing government income, President Yameen said.
“The aim of our efforts will be to provide at the earliest possible opportunity all the services we assured for the public,” he said.
(0)Dislikes(0)President Abdulla Yameen has dismissed the CEO of Maldives Ports Limited (MPL), Mohamed Latheef, and the Financial Controller, Mohamed Ahmed, reports local media.
According to reports, reasons for the dismissals were not given, and replacements have yet to be nominated.
The Commissioner General of Customs, Mohamed Aswan, and Managing Director of the State Trading Organisation (STO) have also been dismissed.
According to local media, replacements have not yet been appointed.
While Latheef was appointed MPL CEO by former President Dr Mohamed Waheed, Aswan and Ahmed Mohamed were appointed during the tenure of former President Mohamed Nasheed.
Speaking to press yesterday, President Yameen said he was awaiting nominations from coalition partners to appoint cabinet ministers, senior officials and board members to state-owned enterprises.
The PPM-led coalition that won the presidential election includes the Jumhooree Party (JP) led by business tycoon Gasim Ibrahim, the Maldives Development Alliance led by tourism magnate Ahmed ‘Sun Travel’ Shiyam, the religious conservative Adhaalath Party, former President Mohamed Waheed’s Gaumee Ihthihad Party and a number of smaller parties.
Of the five cabinet ministers appointed so far, Transport Minister Ameen Ibrahim was from the JP.
Yameen meanwhile told reporters that coalition partners should propose “capable and educated persons” who could “produce results.”
“Our party has first shown such persons in the cabinet. So I urge coalition leaders to show such capable, talented and experienced persons of a calibre the public can accept for their slots [in the government],” he said.
(0)Dislikes(0)Hugo Swire is Minister of State for the UK’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO). Swire was previously Minister of State in the Northern Ireland office 2010-2012, before moving to the FCO with responsibility for Latin America, Cuba, Australasia, Commonwealth countries and now Sri Lanka and the Maldives.
JJ Robinson: Following the recent election are there any concerns about a potential authoritarian reversal in the Maldives, given that many of the same cabinet have been reappointed, including senior figures during Gayoom’s regime, and that the new Foreign Minister is the daughter of the former 30 year autocrat?
Hugo Swire: They’ve only made five appointments so it’s early days. In a small community you have the political class is a small pool to choose from, so you would expect to continuity to some extent.
Regarding the new government, we’ve issued our congratulations. It’s clear how we felt about the delayed elections – we felt that was wrong and we made our views very clear. But at the end of the day what we wanted were clear, transparent and fair elections. I’ve spoken to a number of people and election observers, and they say unanimously these elections may have been delayed, but they were transparent and fair.
It’s not for us to tell a sovereign government how to put together their cabinet. I had lunch with the new foreign minister and I find her very agreeable and very positive, and I’m sure she’s someone we will work together with very closely. I also met the acting Foreign Secretary; we are getting to know them and talked about areas of mutual concern. A good start – I’m the first minister to be in the Maldives following the recent general election, and I’m proud the UK was here first.
JJ: Some observers, while praising the conduct of the polls, have also privately questioned their fairness given the high level of Supreme Court involvement in deciding when they went ahead, the veto that was exercised over the polls on multiple occasions by candidates due to the Supreme Court’s judgement, obstruction on one occasion by the police, and finally the delay by a week which saw the winning coalition negotiation reached. Given that the polls were credible, to what extent to you consider them to have been fair?
HS: At the end of the day we saw a very high turnout – one which many countries such as the UK would be very proud to achieve, which shows that this is a maturing democracy where people engaged in the system. They’ve come up with a solution, there have been no complaints to us or the international community about the transparency or fairness of the elections, and there were a huge number of observers here.
We thought the elections should not have been delayed and we made our position very clear as I’ve said. At the end of the day I like to look forward, and we’re got these local council elections that have just been announced today that are now going to be in January, and also the Majlis elections in May.
Of course I think there are some issues with the Supreme Court’s decision requiring every candidate to sign every bit of paper, and I think that becomes very difficult with local council elections. There are issues like that which should probably be looked at
The Elections Commission has its work cut out for in over the next six months. They did a great job, incidentally.
JJ: You yourself speaking recently in the UK parliament on this topic referred to the conduct of the Supreme Court, in particular the UN Human Rights Commissioner’s statement on the behaviour of the Supreme Court and the judiciary.
What is the prospect now for judicial reform in the Maldives? Is there a need for that reform, and lastly how do you think the international community would react if, for example, the Nasheed trial was now reopened?
HS: In terms of judicial reform there is an issue with the training of judges here, of which there are about 170 around the country. Then you have the Supreme Court itself, and I know this has been an issue during the elections as to the power of the Supreme Court versus Parliament. This is something I’ve discussed with parliamentarians and others, and something that clearly needs to be resolved. I think the Commonwealth, and the UK independently, are in a good position to bring some of our expertise if asked to do so.
But at the end of the day you are dealing with a sovereign country so we’re not going to insist on anything.
In terms of your remarks about Nasheed, we’ve made it very clear that we think this is a government that has a mandate to govern in coalition and should be a government that reaches out to all. After all, an awful lot of people voted for Nasheed, and if they want to have a harmonious government going forward in the spirit they all signed up to in their speeches over the last 24 hours, we think it would be most unwise to start dividing society again by pursuing any kind of retribution or recrimination as a result of these elections. So we’re pretty clear on that front.
JJ: You mention the Commonwealth’s engagement. When the Maldives was placed on the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group (CMAG)’s agenda (it has since been taken off), the outgoing President Mohamed Waheed declared this was something “of no concern”. Former President Gayoom has also publicly called for the Maldives to leave the Commonwealth. Do you think this is something that would damage the Maldives, or do you think the Maldives should make up its mind as to whether [being in the Commonwealth] is in its sovereign interest?
HS: I think both. I think it is absolutely the up to the Maldives to make up its mind on the subject, after all it is as you say a sovereign government and the Commonwealth is a coalition of the willing, a club of like-minded people who share common approaches and ideals; it’s not a compulsory club. But is it in the Maldives’ best interests to be in the Commonwealth? Most certainly it is.
The Commonwealth stretches across the world, it is 53 countries, trade is anything up to 50 percent cheaper to conduct inside the Commonwealth. It is a good family of nations and we’ve all signed up to the Commonwealth charter which is very strong on universal human rights. It’s a great club to be a member of and I think the Maldives should be proud of being a Commonwealth member, and I think they have a part to play.
JJ: The Maldives’ economic situation is pretty dire, and one of the ongoing challenges has been because of the democratic uncertainty up until the election, a lot of the donor aid was reticent. Do you see the Maldives receiving more bilateral aid now it has a clear democratic mandate, and what kind of aid do you think the UK might be in a position to provide?
HS: Putting together a coalition government when you’ve inherited a difficult economic legacy is something which is pretty familiar to us, because it’s something we did in May 2010. So I can empathise.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) came up with five major things some time ago, and I’m not sure if they’ve been enacted in the way they might have been, such as cutting the size of the state and finding other ways to get more taxation.
I think the government has done a lot in terms of taxation and there is a wider tax base than there was before, but I think there are clearly other things they could do. The two main industries are fishing and tourism – there are up to 1500 British tourists in the Maldives at any one time so we’re a major player here. I was talking today about it – they are looking at other ways of expanding on the tourism theme, and other ways of doing it.
Clearly the economy here is dependent on just a few things. One of things [the new government] is going to look at is whether there are hydrocarbons here – drilling. I understand there was some offshore exploration some years ago. That would be a game-changer if they found oil.
In terms of international aid that is something that would be looked at by my colleagues, if the Maldives meets the criteria. But I think there are huge opportunities here that are unexploited, and the government needs to show some determination to get the budget under control and grow the economy: reducing the public sector, growing the private sector and increasing the tax take, and attracting inward investment.
It comes back to the same argument. In order to attract inward investment, you have to have a certainty and clarity for people investing, and that means judicial independence, transparency of government and lack of corruption. That’s how you attract inward investment, that’s how the UK does it, that’s the road any country seeking to attract serious investment needs to go down.
JJ: Final questioned – you mentioned oil drilling, which is one of the things the new President and his coalition partner have suggested. That would seem to move the Maldives away from this eco-friendly, carbon-neutral image that the Nasheed government sought to promote. How do you think a move towards drilling would affect the Maldives, and would it impact things like climate change donors?
HS: We do this in the UK – we consider ourselves quite a green government. We have green taxes and we promote renewable energy, biomass, offshore and onshore wind, and yet we have drilling in the North Sea. So I dont think the two are confused or conflated.
Obviously in terms of the economy, as I said, if they find oil here that is a game-changer. We did have a long discussion at lunch about alternative energy, offshore windfarms and solar, and other such ways the Maldives could meet its targets. It’s enormously important – rising sea levels represent a real threat, and after the tsunami’s various populations were relocated. Of course if you’re living here climate change is a real problem for you. But I don’t think oil drilling necessarily can be anything other than beneficial, if done in a sensitive way.
(0)Dislikes(0)Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) MP Hamid Abdul Gafoor has called on Members of Parliament to intervene in a High Court appeal to overturn a Criminal Court six month jail term issued in absentia.
Criminal Court Chief Justice Abdulla Mohamed handed Hamid a six month sentence for disobedience to order after the MP refused to attend a separate trial over refusal to provide urine.
Hamid contends the Criminal Court’ summons were unlawful as hearings for the urine trial were scheduled during Majlis work hours in violation of the Parliamentary Privileges and Powers Act. He then sought refuge inside the Parliament House when the Criminal Court ordered the police to arrest him and present him at court.
“The Criminal Court first issued court summons in contravention to the Parliamentary Privileges Act and then sentenced me in absentia for making use of my parliamentary privileges,” Hamid said.
Hamid filed an appeal at the High Court to overturn the Criminal Court’s sentence but the case was dismissed today when Hamid’s lawyers failed to attend the hearing over an administrative error. Lawyers will resubmit the case tomorrow, he said.
Claiming the Criminal Court sentence endangers all MPs, Hamid said: “I call on all Members of Parliament to intervene in this case. This is not about refusal to provide urine. This sentence has clearly violated parliamentary privileges.”
Today is Hamid’s 28th day inside the Parliament House.
In a letter to the Speaker Abdulla Shahid, Prosecutor General Ahmed Muizz said Judge Abdulla has acted against the norms in Hamid’s case.
Hence, People’s Majlis Speaker Abdulla Shahid has written to Chief Justice Ahmed Faiz to overturn the sentence contending the ruling violates the privileges afforded to MPs in the Parliamentary Powers and Privileges Act.
MP Riyaz Rasheed raised a point of order during today’s Majlis sitting to debate the state budget over Hamid’s “unlawful” presence in the Majlis.
In response, Shahid said he has asked the Chief Justice to advise him on the issue and stated: “As the Majlis Speaker I must uphold the laws you, honorable MPs, have passed when rulings against an MP is issued in violation of the privileges afforded to an MP in the Parliamentary Privileges Act and when such rulings are being implemented.”
Hamid has said the Criminal Court was on a “personalized hunt” for him and added: “I believe the objective of these show trials with manufactured narratives of drinking is a smear campaign targeted at reducing the number of my party Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) MPs.”
The Inter Parliamentary Union has expressed concern over “the frequent intimidation, harassment and attack of MPs as they go about their work.”
A total of eight MDP MPs currently face criminal charges whilst MDP MP Ali Azim and MDP aligned Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) MP Mohamed Nashiz were disqualified from their seats by the Supreme Court in a controversial ruling over decreed debt in October.
(0)Dislikes(0)MP for Baa Kendhoo Ahmed Thasmeen Ali has resigned as the leader of the Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) today.
The former running mate of both former Presidents Maumoon Abdul Gayoom and Dr Mohamed Waheed in 2008 and 2013, respectively, backed the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) candidate Mohamed Nasheed in this year’s presidential election.
Following his resignation, Thasmen told local media that he believes the development that the public wishes for could only be brought by the MDP.
A DRP council meeting was scheduled for later today to appoint an interim leader. The party’s charter or regulations stipulates that a new leader must be elected within 60 days.
Local media reported that MP ‘Colonel’ Mohamed Nasheed has been nominated as the interim leader.
(0)Dislikes(0)State Trading Organisation (STO) Managing Director Shahid Ali has been dismissed from the post and replaced by Adam Azim, formerly the government-owned company’s General Manager.
Shahid confirmed his dismissal by the incoming administration of President Abdulla Yameen to local media and made parting remarks to his staff today.
The new MD is the brother of President Yameen’s newly reappointed Defence Minister Colonel (Retired) Mohamed Nazim.
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