Month: December 2013

Government reneges on cash handouts for pensions, offers insurance scheme instead

The government will provide the previously pledged old-age pension of MVR5000 per month (US$325) through an insurance scheme rather than in cash handouts, Finance Minister Abdulla Jihad has told the People’s Majlis Budget Committee.

However, individuals over 65 will continue to receive the current monthly pension of MVR2300 ($149) next year, a Finance Ministry official told Minivan News.

In addition to raising the pension from MVR2300 to MVR5000, President Abdulla Yameen had made last minute promises including “unlimited” health care under the state’s health insurance scheme Aasandha, designating a general practitioner to each family, creating 94,000 new jobs, providing MVR10,000 (US$650) for fishermen regardless of fish yield, and MVR8000 (US$518) for farmers.

Speaking at a Budget Committee meeting, Jihad said: “I do not think the current budget includes elderly benefits. The president has decided to do that through an insurance mechanism.”

In November, Fisheries Minister Dr Mohamed Shainee said the government will not be handing out cash to fishermen, but would introduce an insurance scheme whereby fishermen will be asked to pay a monthly premium of MVR500 (US$ 32) during the fishing season to gain MVR10,000 (US$ 650) during the off-season.

“There is a lot of support for the policy from fishermen. This will incentivise the fishermen. They catch more than MVR10,000 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 local media.

The government will need to start a roster of fishermen, and divert funds from the MVR100 million (US$6.5 million) fuel subsidy to set up the insurance scheme, he added.

The insurance scheme offers come amidst a looming financial crisis. The World Bank has warned the country’s economy is at risk due excessive state expenditure. Further, the government is pursuing untenable financing measures that pose “macro-risks” including possible devaluation of the rufiyaa, the World Bank said.

At present, public debt stands at an “unsustainable” 81 percent of GDP, but is projected to reach 96 percent by 2015, the World Bank said.

Despite promising to curb state expenditure on assuming office, Yameen has only made modest cuts such as halving the presidential salary and reducing the salaries of state and deputy ministers.

Further, the government on Tuesday proposed a record MVR 17.5 billion (US$ 1.1 billion) budget with a projected deficit of 2.2 percent. Over 70 percent of the budget accounts for recurrent expenditure.

Of the MVR 17.5 billion, only MVR 500 million (US$ 32 million) will be spent on new development projects while MVR 400 million (US$ 26 million) will be spent on fulfilling Yameen’s presidential pledges, Jihad told the budget committee.

The government plans to plug the deficit by borrowing from commercial banks. The government has proposed obtaining a US$25 million from the State Bank of India to finance the projected deficit of MVR886,622,881 (US$ 57,201,476).

The parliament’s Finance Committee last week recommended the Majlis approve a US$29.4 million loan from the Bank of Ceylon for budget support for the current year.

The loan which carries a grace period of one year is to be paid back in monthly installments of US$ 490,000 at an interest rate of 8 percent.

Quoting the saying “beggars cannot be choosers,” Jihad said the Maldives has no choice but to borrow from commercial banks at high interest rates.

“We could go to Bank of New York, but they will not lend to us. The best bet now is Bank of Ceylon,” he said.

“The risk factor is high in the Maldives so some parties are increasing the interest rates. So if we have political stability in the Maldives, it is possible [the interest rate] may decrease. It will not happen all of a sudden but it will get better when that risk decreases in the future,” he added.

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Gayoom commends Yameen’s efforts to improve strained Indo-Maldives relations

Leader of the the Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) and former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom has commended President Abdulla Yameen’s efforts to improve strained bilateral relations with India.

Speaking to local news agency Haveeru, Gayoom said the president’s official visit to India from 23-25 December will be a successful one and that he hopes India will make some “good arrangements” regarding issues of concern for Maldivians. He noted that he himself has talked on such issues with Indian officials he met, and that Maldivians need to lend a “friendly hand” to India.

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s invitation for the visit came in reply to a letter reassuring the strengthening of relations with India under the new administration.

Meanwhile, Minister of Defense and National Security Colonel (ret.) Mohamed Nazim along with a senior military delegation is on an official visit to India, responding to an invitation from his Indian counterpart Mr A.K. Anthony.

According to the Ministry, Nazim will discuss Indian assistance in developing the Maldives National Defense Force (MNDF), the Senahiya Military Hospital, and for “boosting up” investments started with India’s help.

Defense cooperation between both countries was highlighted during the meeing. Four Indian military ships have visited and conducted joint military exercises in the Maldives within the past three months, whilst Indian newspaper “The Hindu” reports that India will gift a second Advanced Lightweight Helicopter (ALH) during Nazim’s current visit.

The two defense ministers discussed increasing cooperation between the armed forces of both countries and  advancing medical facilities and expertise in the MNDF through training medical specialists and assigning Indian Armed Forces medical specialists. Indian defense minister 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.

Under Dr Mohamed Waheed’s administration – in which President Yameen’s PPM was a coalition member – bilateral relations with India were heavily damaged, particularly following the premature cancellation of Indian Infrastructure company GMR’s $511 million airport project in 2012.

A number of issues that might have affected the relations were highlighted by India, among them exploitation of Indian workers, discrimination, reopening of cases relating to sentenced Indian prisoners, visa fees charged from Indians, and the issue of dependent visa for old parents of Indian employees.

India later imposed restrictions in issuing medical visas for Maldivians, an issue Gayoom hopes will be resolved with the President’s first official trip overseas.

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Cabinet split into economic and social councils

President Abdulla Yameen has divided his cabinet ministers into two sub groups – categorized as the Social Council and the Economic Council, the President’s Office has today revealed.

The Social Council is compiled of the Minister of Islamic Affairs Sheikh Mohamed Shaheem Ali Saeed, the Minister of Education Aishath Shiham, Minister of Environment Thoriq Ibrahim, and the Minister of Gender and Health Mariyam Shakeela.

According to council member Shaheem, it will be headed by Vice President Mohamed Jameel Ahmed.

While this still leaves eleven other cabinet members, the compilation of the Economic Council has not been announced yet.

President’s Office Spokesperson Ibrahim Muaz Ali was not responding to calls at the time of press.

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Government continues plans for first 100 days

Twenty-six days into the administration of President Abdulla Yameen, state institutions have been unveiling plans to commence or to resume projects within a 100 day period of the government’s November 17 inauguration.

A number of ‘roadmaps’ have emerged in the transport, health, and immigration. Similar lists of projects have also been devised for customs, the police, and the military.

Transport and communication

On December 8, the Transport and Communication Ministry revealed that it would finish drafting plans and begin the groundwork within a 100 days to develop the Ibrahim Nasir International Airport (INIA) to be able to cater to 5 million passengers.

Plans were also made to introduce the nighttime landing of flights in Thimarafushi and Fuvahmulah airports within this period.

In the field of land transportation, the ministry pledged to improve local ports, connect islands via seaplane transport and to improve ferry services between atolls.

There are further plans to establish a broadband internet policy and to provide fast-speed internet to all inhabited islands. Besides this, the plan also includes the introducing number portability between the two telecom service providers currently available in the country.

Transport Minister Ameen Ibrahim said that the government’s object was to make the Maldives the most advanced among the SAARC countries in the field of communication.

The government has also announced its intention to build a bridge between Hulhule’ – the airport island- and capital Male’, and have requested proposals from interested companies.

Health

Just a week after the new administration was established, Vice President Dr Mohamed Jameel Ahmed announced that the government had begun to solve issues in providing health services to the people.

Visiting the sole state-owned hospital – IGMH – in capital city Malé on November 24, Jameel announced that the government would begin fulfilling its health policies “as soon as we get the budget for it”, adding that this would include revamping the Aasandha insurance scheme and training nurses and doctors.

Early in December, prior to the appointment of a health minister, President’s Office Minister Abdulla Ameen announced that chemotherapy treatment for cancer patients would be introduced within the first one hundred days.

Stating that the lack of the service forced many Maldivians to live abroad for medical purposes, Ameen said that the introduction of chemotherapy facilities in the country was crucial. He added that screening to diagnose cervical cancer would also be introduced -both under a government insurance scheme.

Echoing Ameen’s assurances of fast development to IGMH, Health Minister Mariyam Shakeela said at a press conference held today that the government was drafting a policy to “bring major development to IGMH in a very short period of time to an extent never before seen”.

She said that this included a complete renewal of the management figures at the hospital.

The minister further revealed that the government had decided to transfer specialist doctors to the atolls for a period of time which would be allocated by the ministry.

Shakeela stated that funds for development are included in the budget, and that the government is also seeking aid from international donors for some of the projects. She hoped that such developments would  lead to “decreasing the burden on Aasandha”.

Shakeela promised that the full 100 day programme would be revealed next week.

Immigration

Immigration Controller Hassan Ali announced on December 5 that the institution’s biggest focus in the first 100 days of Yameen’s government would be to control the issue of illegal immigrants.

The plan itself includes work to offer illegal immigrants a chance to change employees, and increasing the number of illegal immigrants who will be deported in 2014.

The immigration controller also revealed plans to establish an online system of obtaining work visas from Kulhudhuhfushi, establishing a single office to deal with all migrant related work, and a mechanism where e-passports can be issued from two areas of the country.

Customs, Police and Military

The Maldives Police Services has also created a roadmap of goals they will work to achieve in the first 100 days of the Yameen administration.

On December 9, police revealed that the foremost goal in this roadmap is to complete investigation of 80 per cent of ongoing cases – the total amount of which was not specified – and to forward them to the Prosecutor General’s office.

Other goals include completion of investigation into small and petty crimes within a 30 day period, pre-emptive identification and intervention in cases of intention to commit crimes, and the setting up of additional security cameras in Male’ and Addu City.

Police will also be working to eradicate sexual abuse of children, and to establish what they have termed ‘be ready camps’ to achieve this goal in two atolls.

Facilitating youth employment by helping to get sea vessel driving licences, increasing women’s employment in the policing field to 50 percent, and the establishment of a juvenile detention centre is also included among the listed aims.

The roadmap also includes internal work like the establishment of a new system to address complaints against police officers, the creation of a police clinic for health support to officers and their families, and the compilation of a four-year strategic plan on professional development of the force.

Police, together with customs, have also initiated programs to tackle the illegal import and abuse of narcotics and serious and organised crimes.

Customs – which has also revealed a roadmap for the same period – have on December 12, expressed concern that budget limitations may prove to be an obstacle in the realisation of their goals.

Commissioner General of Customs Ahmed Mohamed stated that the budget cuts would affect the institution’s reaching of its objectives, including the provision of more convenient online services.

Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF)’s 100 day strategic plan includes the submission of various amendments to relevant laws – including the Armed Forces Act and Narional Security Act – to the parliament, and the establishment of a ‘justice system’ within the force.

The plan further consists of a variety of other projects, including the addition of a helicopter and landing crafts to its fleet, and the establishment of fire stations in the islands of Kahdhoo and Naifaru.

The military intend to lay the foundation for a new eight story building where the current Coast Guard offices are, to conduct additional international training for officers – especially with the Indian Army, to provide medical care at low fees for general citizens at the Senahiya military hospital, and the establishment of a day care centre for the use of officers and families.

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Finance Minister joins ruling Progressive Party of Maldives

Recently reappointed Finance Minister Abdulla Jihad has joined President Abdulla Yameen’s Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM), becoming the second cabinet member to join the party this week.

Defence Minister Mohamed Nazim – also reappointed to his position after Yameen’s recent inauguration – announced his decision to join the PPM yesterday, commenting on social media that he had opted to join what he viewed as the most democratic party in the country.

Jihad told local media that his decision had come after a request made by former President  and Leader of the PPM Maumoon Abdul Gayoom.

He also revealed that the finance minister position in the cabinet had been reserved for a PPM member. The PPM is currently the second largest political party in the Maldives, both in terms of party members and MPs.

“My decision was based on President Maumoon’s request. I have always been of PPM’s ideologies and philosophies,” Jihad told Sun Online.

Gayoom himself released a tweet yesterday thanking Jihad for his decision: “U will be a great asset to us”.

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President Yameen invited to visit Sri Lanka by Rajapaksa

President Abdulla Yameen has been invited to visit Sri Lanka by President Mahinda Rajapaksa.

The letter of invitation was given to Yameen today when Sri Lankan High Commissioner Dickson Sarathchandra Dela paid a call to the President’s Office today.

“The High Commissioner also praised the smooth and peaceful manner in which the presidential election was held in the Maldives,” the President’s Office reported.

Meanwhile, local media today reported that Maldivian tourists visiting Sri Lanks had increased by 83 percent in the 12 months leading to October this year. Sun Online reported that 46,805 Maldivians had visited Sri Lanks in the first 10 months of 2013.

After discussing the increasing bilateral relations in the fields of health, education, and security at the President’s Office today, Sarathchandra expressed Sri Lanka’s eagerness to work with the new Government of Maldives.

Yameen’s first official visit as president will be to India on December 22.

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President cuts ministers’ pay as part of austerity drive

President Abdulla Yameen has informed state ministers that their pay will be cut in accordance with the government’s plans to reduce state expenditure.

Local media has reported that all deputy and state ministers will have their salaries reduced from  MVR35,000 to MVR30,000, and from MVR46,000 to MVR41,000, respectively, reports local media.

“President’s decision comes under the government’s policy to reduce expenses. He plans to do a lot more in this regard,” President’s Office Spokesman Ibrahim Muaz told local media.

The wage reductions represent an average cut of around 12.5 percent for these political appointees – a group whose pay Yameen had pledged to slash by 30-50 percent during the presidential election campaign.

Muaz was not responding to further queries at the time of press.

The President’s Office website currently lists the executive as having 46 deputy ministers, including Abdulla Waheed and Abdul Haleem Abdul Gafoor who were today appointed to the Transport and Finance Ministries, respectively.

The number of state ministers currently stands at 31, with three new ministers – Dr Hala Hameed (Ministry of Health), Hassan Shah (Ministry of Environment and Energy), and Mohamed Anees (Ministry of Transport) – appointed within the past 24 hours.

The potential savings could remove MVR385,000 (US$25,000) from the creaking state budget – submitted to the Majlis this week at a record MVR17.5 billion (US$ 1.1 billion), with a projected deficit of 2.2 percent of GDP.

The rise in total expenditure from MVR16.4 billion to MVR17.5 (US$ 1.1 billion) is mainly due to a MVR 1.1billion (US$72.6million) increase in recurrent expenditure, which continues to account for over 73 percent of the state budget.

In his inauguration speech, Yameen warned the country’s economy was in “a deep pit” and pledged to reduce state expenditure. Local media reports quote Yameen saying he would cut expenditure by amounts varying between MVR 1 billion and 4 billion.

Immediately after being sworn in on November 17, Yameen announced he and his vice president – Dr Mohamed Jameel Ahmed –  would be fulfilling his campaign promise of only taking half of the MVR100,000 (US$6500) salary afforded to the head of state.

“The reason behind this is that Dr Jameel and I both live a simple life. No matter what has been said about us we are not wealthy. We want to be an example to others and lead by example,” Yameen said.

During the election campaign, Yameen also promised reduce the salaries of independent institutions – a step he described as pivotal for the country to avoid a sovereign default.

Following this week’s announcement of next year’s proposed budget, local media reported independent institutions as telling the Majlis budget review committee that the projected cuts would leave it unable to pay salaries.

The reduction in minister’s pay closely follows the release of a World Bank report noting that the Maldives was “spending beyond its means”.

According to the report, an already excessive wage bill ballooned by 55 percent in 2013 due to the Supreme Court ordered back payment of salary cuts, and salary increases for the police and military.

The Maldives has one of the highest percentages of government employees to population of any country in the world, at around 11 percent. During his election campaign, Yameen promised to further increase the salaries of civil servants.

In order to finance the deficit, the World Bank report suggested that the Ministry of Finance and Treasury was undertaking measures that “pose macro risks” and have led to “significant accumulation of debt in a short period of time.”

At present, public debt stands at an “unsustainable” 81 percent of GDP, the report stated. The World Bank projects the debt will rise further to about 96 percent by 2015.

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

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JSC to disregard chief justice’s objection to transferring judges

The Judicial Service Commission (JSC) – the state watch-dog of the judiciary – has today (December 12) decided to disregard the letter sent to the commission by the Chief Justice Ahmed Faiz Hussain objecting to its decision to transfer judges between Superior Courts.

The letter, sent by Chief Justice Faiz on Tuesday to JSC Chair and fellow Supreme Court Justice Adam Mohamed, stated that the commission’s decision to shuffle superior court judges was not valid as the commission did not have the necessary legal authority.

JSC member MP Ahmed Hamza – the parliament’s representative to the commission – told local media today that the commission members had discussed the letter sent by the chief justice, but the majority held the view that the objections towards the decision lacked any legal grounds.

“Even under the constitution and the JSC Act, the commission is vested with the power to transfer the judges,” Hamza told local newspaper Haveeru.

Speaking to Minivan News, JSC Member Sheikh Shuaib Abdul Rahman confirmed that such the decision.

However, the Secretary General of JSC Abu Bakuru told Minivan News that “although the matter had been discussed by the commission members, the JSC has not yet formally made the decision”.

Chief Justice Faiz in his letter to JSC claimed that, although Article 159(a) gives the JSC the authority to appoint, promote or transfer judges other than those from the Supreme Court, it “must not be interpreted as an absolute right”.

Faiz also contended that the Judges’ Act mandated that any transfer of a judge from his appointed court can only be carried out following deliberation with the Judicial Council – the seven-member bench of the Supreme Court .

List of Transferees

The JSC had earlier decided to shuffle nine judges from the superior courts based in the capital Male’, including the Chief Judge of Criminal Court Abdulla Mohamed who was to be transferred to the Drug Court.

Judge Abdulla Mohamed has previously been under investigation from the JSC, for allegations of ethical misconduct and obstruction of corruption investigations among others.

Apart from Judge Abdulla Mohamed, the JSC had also planned to transfer Criminal Court Judge Muhuthaaz Fahmy and the Acting Chief Judge of Juvenile Court Mohamed Naeem to the Drug Court.

Meanwhile, Drug Court Judges Mohamed Easa Fulhu and Zubair Mohamed and the Family Court Judge Ibrahim Ali were to be transferred to the Criminal Court.

The JSC also decided to transfer Family Court Judge Hassan Shafeeu to the Civil Court and Criminal Court Judge Abdul Baaree Yoosuf – currently serving an indefinite suspension by the JSC following a case of sexually assaulting a female state prosecutor – was set to be transferred to the Juvenile Court.

Article 159(a) of the Maldives Constitution states that, “The Judicial Services Commission is entrusted with the responsibility and power to appoint, promote and transfer Judges other the Chief Justice and Judges of the Supreme Court, and to make recommendations to the President on the appointment of the Chief Justice and Judges of the Supreme Court”.

Meanwhile Section 49 of the Judges’ Act 2010 refers to temporary transfer of judges from one court to another and states, “Temporary appointment of a Judge to preside over cases in a court will be decided upon by the Judicial Services Commission under the advice of the Judicial Council”.

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Police officers “negligent” in Raajje TV arson attack: PIC

The Maldives Police Services was negligent in protecting opposition-aligned broadcaster Raajje TV from an arson attack that destroyed the station’s headquarters on October 7, the Police Integrity Commission (PIC) has said.

In a report released today, the PIC has recommended that the Prosecutor General file criminal charges against two unnamed officers – the Inspector of Police and the Shift In Charge (Shift IC) – who were on duty at the Galholhu Police Station on the night of the attack.

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) had issued a statement on the day of attack condemning the police’s failure to protect the station.

“This criminal act is a direct blow to freedom of information and we deplore the attitude of the police, who failed to do what was necessary to prevent the attack although the head of TV station requested protection a few hours before it took place,” RSF said.

Raajje TV had received credible information of an impending attack, and sent a letter asking for police protection, the report noted.

Senior police officers, on the orders of then Commissioner of Police Abdulla Riyaz, instructed the inspector of police in charge of the Galholhu Police Station to maintain a presence at the Raajje TV offices.

Further, upon realising there weren’t enough police officers to maintain static duty, a superior instructed the inspector of police to get additional officers from the operational duty department to carry out the task.

The inspector of police delegated the task to the shift IC, and falsely informed his superiors that police officers were on static duty at Raajje TV headquarters without checking to see if his orders were actually followed through, the report said.

Moreover, the Inspector of Police had not even asked the CCTV Command Center to aim the CCTV cameras at the Raajje TV building despite knowing the Maldives Police Services did not have enough officers to patrol the area that night.

The shift IC had “not done anything to find additional police officers to oversee security at Raajje TV,” the report stated. Moreover, the Shift IC had not informed any police officers patrolling Malé City that night of the possible attack on Raajje TV.

The PIC undertook the investigation on the Maldives Media Council’s request.

Meanwhile, the police say they have arrested eight adults and one minor for suspected involvement in the attack. Mohamed Meeaadh, 35 years, was arrested on December 2 after a manhunt.

The police have urged the public to forward any information regarding the attack and have pledged to provide protection to informers.

CCTV footage of the attack shows six masked men armed with machetes and iron rods breaking through a reinforced steel grill and a second wooden door before dousing the station’s control room and lobby with petrol. The ensuing fire destroyed the station’s offices, control room, computer system, and broadcasting and transmission equipment.

The station returned to air the same day with donated equipment.

Further footage shows an additional six masked men breaking and entering the building located next to the BKT Builing where Raajje TV’s offices are located. Raajje TV has said it believes the six men were attempting to find the station’s second studios.

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