Month: December 2013

Repeated delays in trial of second Afrasheem murder suspect

At the request of the Prosecutor General’s Office (PGO), the Criminal Court has delayed the trial of Ali Shan, the second suspect charged with the murder of MP Dr Afrasheem Ali.

The last hearing was held in May this year. The Criminal Court had given Shan the opportunity to appoint a lawyer. Shan has pleaded innocent.

Progressive Party of Maldives MP Dr Afrasheem Ali was stabbed to death on the night of October 1, 2012, on the staircase of his home.

A PGO official said the office was waiting for a verdict in the case against the chief suspect in the murder Hussain Humam before proceeding with the case against Shan.

The Criminal Court has concluded hearings into Human’s trial.

Police have forwarded cases of four additional individuals to the PGO for their alleged involvement in Afrasheem’s murder – taking the total number of suspects facing charges over the attack to seven.

Azleef Rauf, Shaahin Mohamed, Adam Salaah, a minor named ‘Nangi’ and Abdulla ‘Jaa’ Javid – son-in-law of opposition Maldivian Democratic Party Chair ‘Reeko’ Moosa Manik – stand accused of aiding and abetting the murder,

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Total of 892 MDP candidates to compete in local council elections

Speaking to media today, Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) Chairperson Moosa ‘Reeko’ Manik said the forms for all 892 candidates that won MDP tickets for the upcoming local council elections scheduled for  January 18, 2014 have been handed over to the Elections Commission.

Moosa said in constituencies without an MDP candidate, the party will endorse independent candidates. He said the details of this will be revealed soon.

Meanwhile the ruling Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) has previously announced it will be contesting a total of 627 seats in this election.

The PPM and the ruling “Unity Coalition” members will work jointly in these elections to gain maximum seats. The Jumhooree Party, the second biggest in the coalition, will be contesting for more than 340 seats.

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President forms anti-trafficking steering committee

President Abdulla Yameen has formed an “Anti-Trafficking Steering Committee” as required by the new Anti Human Trafficking Act.

The members of the committee are;

1. Abdulla Saeed, Supreme Court Judge
2. Jeehan Mahmood, Member of Human Rights Commission
3. Mariyam Zoona, Deputy Director at the Ministry of Youth and Sports
4. Aisha Naeem, State Attorney at the Attorney General’s Office
5. Mahmood Saleem, Assistant Public Prosecutor Grade 3 at the Prosecutor General’s Office
6. Mohamed Shifan, Deputy Chief Immigration Officer at the Department of Immigration and Emigration
7. Khadeeja Najeeha, Assistant Director at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
8. Hassan Habeeb, Assistant Commissioner of Police
9. Mohamed Maseeh, Chief Superintendent at the Maldives Customs Service
10. Aishath Nafaa Ahmed, Assistant Director at the Ministry of Youth and Sports
11. Sheikh Hussain Rasheed Yoosuf, Inspector General of Correction Service at the Ministry of Home Affairs
12. Ali Waheed, Deputy Minister of Islamic Affairs
13. Muruthallah Moosa from the Advocating the Rights of Children (a local NGO)

A member from the People’s Majlis will also sit in this committee. As per article 62 of the Act, this committee will be responsible for overseeing the implementation of the Act, and advising the president on matters related to it’s implementation, and coordinating programs related to countering human trafficking.

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Presidential residence expenditure to increase next year

Despite President Abdulla Yameen’s decision to live in his own residence, the allocated budget for the official presidential residence “Muleeaage’” will be MVR 19.1 million next year, a MVR2 million increase from this year.

The chair of Parliament’s Budget Review Committee Gasim Ibrahim expressed the need to have the required budget allocation in case President Yameen decides to move to a state funded residence, CNM reports.

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Audit of Waste Management Company uncovers embezzlement, “wasteful” expenditure

An audit of the government owned Waste Management Company has uncovered severe mismanagement and embezzlement.

Former President Mohamed Nasheed had established the company by presidential decree on 15 December 2008 with assets worth MVR 1.5 billion (US$ 97 million).

However, “Since its inception, the company has done nothing to achieve its aims,” Auditor General Niyaz Ibrahim has said in a new report.

The company’s sole expenditure in the period 2009- 2011 was on wages, the report notes, adding “state expenditure on the Waste Management Corporation Ltd did not bring any benefit and was completely wasteful.”

With the election of island and atoll councils, the Finance Ministry had recommended the company be dissolved in 2011 as the Local Government Act charged local government with waste management. However, the President’s Office advised against the dissolution, the report said.

In 2010, a European Union and World Bank funded “South Ari-Atoll Regional Waste Management” Project to establish a waste management systems in Alif Dhaal Atoll Bodukaashihuraa was transferred from the Ministry of Housing and Environment to the Waste Management Company on President Nasheed’s orders.

But to this day, the Waste Management Company has not done any work on the project, the report found.

Further, an unnamed board member had embezzled MVR610,000 (US$ 39,354) by doctoring cheques, the report said. The board member was the sole employee in charge of the company’s finances.

The Auditor General’s Office was unable to carry out a full financial audit because the company had failed to submit its annual financial report, the report said.

Moreover, the company had failed to keep proper documentation of its expenditure and revenue or minutes of its board meetings or an asset register.

Expenditure on travel abroad was not documented, while employees were not registered with the pensions scheme as mandated by the Pensions Act, the report said.

Niyaz has recommended criminal charges be filed against all parties who participated in, were accomplice to,and/or were negligent in the embezzlement and wastage of state funds.

He has further called on the government to decide on the company’s future as soon as possible.

Governance NGO Transparency Maldives released a report last week revealed that 83 percent of people surveyed felt corruption had increased or stayed the same during the past two years.

Speaking at the event to launch the Global Corruption Barometer (GCB) report, President of the Anti-Corruption Commission Hussain Luthfy urged more transparency within government companies in order to foster an atmosphere in which corruption can be addressed proactively.

He suggested that government owned companies often pass resolutions to obstruct the ACC’s investigations.

Transparency Maldives, the local chapter of Transparency International (TI) describes the GCB as one of the tools it uses to better understand corruption.

The group’s most widely used indicator – the Corruption Perceptions Index  – was released last week. For the second consecutive year the Maldives was not ranked after TI was unable to gather the necessary data.

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MNDF gifted helicopter as ties with India continue to grow

The Government of India has gifted the Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) an advanced light helicopter, with local media media declaring a “new chapter” in Indo-Maldivian defence ties.

The Hindu reported Nazim as stating that the gift was “paving the way for further strengthening of ties between both countries.”

The helicopter was officially handed over by Indian Southern Naval Command officer Vice Admiral Satish Soni to the MNDF’s Brigadier General Ali Zuhair – the second such award after a similar gift in 2010.

The Maldives’ Minister of Defence Mohamed Nazim – currently on an official visit to the Maldives northern neighbour – officially unveiled the colours of the aircraft. The helicopter will reportedly be manned by an Indian flight crew for search and rescue operations, and surveillance within the Maldives EEZ.

The Times of India reported Satish as praising the Maldives contribution to security in the Indian Ocean region, citing the MNDF’s frequent assistance in anti-piracy operations.

Nazim’s trip precedes that of newly elected President Abdulla Yameen, who is scheduled to visit India on his first official state visit on December 22.

Yameen’s attempts to enhance bilateral ties after a fraught period in the pair’s diplomatic history were recently lauded by former President – Yameen’s half-brother and party leader – Maumoon Abdul Gayoom.

Indian media has suggested that Yameen’s visit will see the re-opening of a standby credit facility which had seemingly been frozen during the relationship’s nadir in 2012.

The most recent installment of India’s pledged budget support stalled just stays before a concerted – and often xenophobic – campaign against the development of Malé’s international airport culminated in the eviction of Indian company GMR.

The following month, the Indian High Commission in Malé publicly aired a list of consular grievances including persistent discrimination against Indian expatriate workers, a failure to reciprocate generous visa processes for Indians in the the Maldives, and threats made against diplomatic personnel.

Largesse from other regional powers has also come in the form of Chinese development aid, with 50 million yuan (US$ 8.2 million) promised for development projects within weeks of Yameen’s November 16 election victory.

The MNDF’s official website has reported that the award of the helicopter was part of its roadmap for the first 100 days of the Yameen administration. Other aims include the establishment of a justice system within the – recently fratricidal – organisation, and the conducting of international training with its Indian counterparts.

Meeting with Indian Defence Minister A.K. Anthony last week, Nazim discussed increasing cooperation between the armed forces of both countries and  advancing medical facilities and expertise in the MNDF through training medical specialists.

Anthony announced that all MNDF personnel will now be eligible for treatment in Armed Forces medical institutions in India for major surgeries and for treatment of major and serious illnesses.

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MMA chief slates government’s revenue raising measures

The Governor of the Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA) Fazeel Najeeb has criticised the proposed 2014 state budget for containing tenuous revenue-raising measures, expressing concern that the MMA may have to print money should the government fail to realise expected revenue.

The Ministry of Finance and Treasury has proposed a record MVR 17.5 billion (US$ 1.1 billion) budget for 2014 with a projected deficit of 2.2 percent of GDP. The government expects MVR8.5 billion (US$ 552 million) from taxation and a further MVR3.5 billion (US$ 224 million) from new revenue raising measures.

These measures include hiking Tourism Goods and Services Tax (T-GST) from 8 to 12 percent, revising import duties, a continuation of the tourism bed tax, raising airport departure charge for foreign passengers from US$18 to US$25, leasing 12 islands for resort development, introducing GST for telecommunication services and charging resort operators in advance for resort lease extensions.

The Majlis must amend existing legislation to realize the additional MVR 3.5 billion.

Najeeb told the People’s Majlis Budget Committee last night the government must not proceed with new development projects unless and until the revenue is realized.

“If not, ultimately the government will come to the MMA to find the cash to proceed with those projects. And then again we have more rufiyaa in the economy to chase after the few dollars,” Najeeb said.

Najeeb noted the proposed measures relied heavily on taxing the tourism sector and said adding new taxes to a nascent tax system introduced in 2010 may create problems. He further said that making resort owners pay lease extension fees upfront was robbing the state of future revenue for a “temporary benefit.”

The government had also proposed revising import duties and increasing departure charges to finance the 2013 budget, Najeeb said. However, the Majlis had failed to approve them, resulting in the MMA having to print the money, he added.

According to MMA figures, the central bank has printed over MVR1.7 billion (US$ 109,677,419) this year alone. Najeeb claimed the MMA had been forced to print the money so that the government could pay overdue bills.

The World Bank has criticized the measure in a new report and said monetisation poses “macro-risks” including the devaluation of the rufiyaa.

The report also notes that the government is increasingly relying on short-term commercial borrowing in the form of selling treasury bills (T-bills) to the banking, private sector, and high net worth individuals at steep interest rates.

Speaking on the matter, Najeeb said the Maldives was accumulating debt “without stop” due to short term T-bill sales. He suggested capping T-bill sales and obtaining Majlis approval to sell T-bills beyond the capped amount.

According to the MMA’s figures, the government has accumulated MVR8.5 billion in T-bill debt at the end of November.

Najeeb said the short-term debt had become a “burden” on the state and suggested negotiations with creditors to change short-term debt to long-term debt. Noting that the economic growth is not keeping pace with state expenditure, Najeeb stressed the need for economic diversification and reduction of the government size.

President Abdulla Yameen had pledged to reduce state expenditure on assuming office but has so far only made modest cuts limited to halving the presidential salary and reducing salaries of state and deputy ministers.

Foreign reserves are critically low at US$341.8 million, or approximately 2.5 months of imports, while public debt stands at 81 percent of GDP, the World Bank has said. Debt is projected to rise further to about 96 percent by 2015.

“This debt path is unsustainable and suggests there is little room for additional borrowing,” the World Bank has warned.

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Maldives pays final respects to Nelson Mandela

Minister at the President’s Office Hussain Shareef has paid final respects to former South African President Nelson Mandela on behalf of the Maldivian people.

The former president lay in state in Pretoria for three days, before being flown to his home town of Qunu for burial. A reported 100,000 people journeyed to see the president as he lay in the Union Buildings of the country’s administrative capital.

Shareef offered condolences to Mandela’s family on behalf of President Abdulla Yameen and Vice President Dr Mohamed Jameel Ahmed – both of whom had signed the Maldives’ own book of condolences for the leader Yameen described as“the greatest statesman the world has seen”.

Yameen ordered the Maldives national flag to be flown at half-mast the weekend following Mandela’s passing.

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Week in review: December 8 – 14

This week saw the repeatedly delayed budget introduced to the People’s Majlis. Coming in at MVR17.5billion rufiya, the budget – purportedly revised to incorporate President Yameen’s austerity measures – eclipses all previous spending programmes.

A report from the World Bank made clear the tough task the new government faces in nursing the economy towards good health. The report stated that the Maldives continues to spend “beyond its means”.

Noted areas of excess include a high civil service wage bill, with the World Bank suggesting that the government’s short term financing measures risked further damaging the economy.

The exploitation of the country’s persistent shortage of dollars by criminal elements was exposed this week as police reported the activity of thieves masquerading as legitimate exchangers of currency.

When accused of illegally obtaining a budget support loan, recently reappointed Finance Minister pleaded desperation. Abdulla Jihad argued that he had sidestepped the onerous approval procedure to avoid a financial catastrophe in May 2012.

Yameen took fitful steps towards fulfilling his campaign’s austerity pledges this week, ordering the reduction of salary for two grades of state minister – though the cut was only around 12.5 percent instead of the 30-50 mooted before the election.

Similarly, the new government appeared to have reneged on its pledge to provide cash-handouts to old-age pensioners – opting for an insurance scheme instead.

Government performance

Former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, however, appeared pleased with his half-brother’s performance thus far, praising his handling of Indo-Maldivian relations while the Defence Minister discussed enhanced military cooperation with Indian counterparts.

The indistinct ‘National Movement’ this week suggested ulterior motives in the bureaucratic thwarting of its plan to celebrate the eviction of Indian infrastructure giant GMR, whose deal to develop the international airport was prematurely terminated twelve months ago.

Elsewhere, the coalition member Adhaalath Party, quashed rumours that it had parted ways with Yameen’s government this week, despite previous reports that it intended to campaign independently in the upcoming local and parliamentary elections.

The ‘roadmaps’ for the first one hundred days of the government continued to be drawn this week, with comprehensive lists now produced in the areas of  transport, health, and immigration.

Whilst the Transport Ministry has promised finished plans for the redevelopment of Ibrahim Nasir International Airport, the health minister talked of significant changes to the IGMH public hospital.

The police service also joined in the policy pledging, with its own promises to improve its service and to build public trust in the institution. The Police Integrity Commission this week suggested that the prosecutor general assist in this task by prosecuting two officers it had found to have been negligent during the arson attack which destroyed Raajje TV in October.

The vacancy at the head of the PG’s Office did not stop the filing of charges in the 8 year old ‘Namoona Dhoni’ case. Pro-democracy activists – prevented from reaching Malé for a national demonstration – now face fresh charges of disobeying lawful orders.

Trust between the Supreme Court and the judicial watchdog appeared scant this week as the Chief Justice baulked at the JSC’s re-shuffling of a number of senior judges. Members of the JSC were later reported to have rejected Chief Justice Faiz’s legal objections.

Corruption and human rights

Confidence in the transparency of the public in public institutions also appeared to be on the wane this week, as Transparency Maldives’ Global Corruption Barometer (GCB) survey revealed that 83 percent of its sample felt corruption to have increased or stayed the same over the past two years.

Despite only appearing mid-table in the list of organisations perceived as being corrupt, the MNDF reacted disproportionately to the local media’s reporting of the survey, labelling CNM’s article on the survey “highly irresponsible journalism”.

The Anti Corruption Commission announced the discovery of graft in the capital’s largest housing programme. The highest number of bribes reported in the GCB was in the area of land services.

International human rights day was observed by the government and civil society in the same week the president ratified the country’s first anti-human trafficking bill. Whilst welcoming the new law, both the Human Rights Commission and the immigration department suggested that institutional strengthening would need to accompany a successful anti-trafficking policy.

Finally, this week saw the release of a United Nations Population Fund report, calling on the state to review existing practices related to sexual behaviour within the judicial process, law enforcement, education and health sectors.

The report stated reproductive health services ought to be expanded to non-married couples as evidence makes clear that the assumption sex does not, or should not, occur outside of marriage is increasingly out of step with social realities.

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