Month: December 2013

Maldives and China sign 50 million yuan grant aid agreement

The Maldives and China have signed a grant aid agreement worth 50 million yuan (US$ 8.2 million) last week.

The Agreement on Economic and Technical Cooperation is “for the implementation of developmental projects and the advancement of public services,” the President’s Office has previously said.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs Dunya Maumoon signed the agreement on behalf of the Government of Maldives and Mr. Yu Hongyao signed on behalf of the Government of the People’s Republic of China.

China has also pledged assistance to restore Kaafu Atoll Island Dhiffushi Island School after a fire destroyed the school’s offices in November.

The grant aid comes at a time the Maldives is facing dire economic circumstances, with the government unable to afford its huge recurrent expenditure on a bloated civil service and is failing to pay millions of dollars owed to state-owned companies for services such as oil and electricity.

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EC extends local council application deadline

The Elections Commission (EC) has extended the application deadline for candidates who wish to contest in January’s local council elections.

Applications will now be accepted until 3:00 pm on December 10.

The deadline was extended to allow candidates to obtain criminal and debt records from the Maldives Police Services and Superior Courts.

The High Court, Criminal Court and Department of Judicial Administration have opened out of hours in order to serve the large number of requests for criminal and debt records.

The EC has said it expects over 4000 candidates to contest the 1118 seats in local council elections.

Political parties held primaries during the last week to determine candidates who will contest elections on their tickets.

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JSC transfers Judge Adbulla Mohamed from the Criminal Court to the Drug Court

The Judicial Service Commission (JSC) has today decided to transfer the Chief Judge of the Criminal Court Abdulla Mohamed to same position with the Drug Court.

In a tweet today Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) MP Ahmed Hamza, who is also the member representing the parliament in the JSC, confirmed the decision was made at today’s meeting.

Speaking to Minivan News today Hamza said that the decision was made to strengthen the courts by transferring experienced judges to different courts so that they could share their knowledge and experience with others.

He said about eight judges has been transferred to different courts.

A JSC spokesperson said that he was on vacation and did not have information about the matter.

Newspaper Haveeru reported that a member of the JSC told the paper that Abdulla Mohamed would start work in January next year.

The paper reported that the decision was made as part of a refreshment program.

In January 2012, Criminal Court Chief Judge Abdulla Mohamed was arrested by the MNDF in compliance with a police request. The judge’s whereabouts were not revealed until January 18, when the MNDF has acknowledged receipt but not replied to Supreme Court orders to release the judge.

Prosecutor General (PG) Ahmed Muizz soon joined the High Court and Supreme Courts in condemning the MNDF’s role in the arrest as unlawful, and requesting that the judge be released.

A series of protests were held by the then-opposition political parties calling for the release of the judge which ended with a police and military mutiny on February 2012 resulting in President Mohamed Nasheed’s ouster.

In 2005, then Attorney General Dr Hassan Saeed forwarded to the President’s Office concerns about the conduct of Abdulla Mohamed after he allegedly requested that an underage victim of sexual abuse re-enact hear abuse for the court.

In 2009 – following the election of the current government – those documents were sent to the JSC, which was asked to launch an investigation into the outstanding complaints as well as alleged obstruction of “high-profile corruption investigations”.

The JSC decided not to proceed with the investigation on July 30, 2009. However, in November last year, the JSC completed an investigation into a complaint of ethical misconduct against the judge.

The case was presented to the JSC in January 2010 by former President Nasheed’s member of the JSC, Aishath Velezinee, after Abdulla Mohamed appeared on private network DhiTV and expressed “biased political views”.

In October 2011, the ruling MDP appealed for assistance from the international community over the “increasingly blatant collusion between politicians loyal to the former autocratic President, Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, and senior members of the judiciary – most of whom were appointed by Gayoom during his thirty years of power.”

The MDP statement also referred to the corruption trial of Deputy Speaker of Parliament Ahmed Nazim, charged with multiple counts of defrauding the former Atolls Ministry, which remains “indefinitely delayed.”

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Finance Ministry’s MVR 300 million budget-support loan “illegal”

A report by the by the Auditor General has revealed that President Dr Mohamed Waheed’s administration violated finance laws in securing a domestic loan worth MVR300 million (US$ 19.45 million) from the Bank of Maldives (BML) as part of its budget-support program.

The report (dhivehi) – based on the audit published at the Auditor General’s (AG) website last Sunday – claimed then Finance Minister Abdulla Jihad had not obtained the required approval from the president and the parliament.

Jihad has hit back, claiming that the loan was taken to avoid financial disaster. He also suggested that the mandated processes for approving government loans had only been introduced to thwart the MDP government in 2010.

The audit was conducted following a request from the parliament’s Public Finance Committee, after opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) MP Ahmed Sameer filed the matter at the committee in July 2012.

Section 5 of the Public Finance Act 2006 (as amended in 2010) states that any loan or credit facility which either the government or a government-owned corporation wishes to obtain, can be taken only after presidential and parliamentary approval.

The audit report stated that despite the legal requirement, Jihad – recently reappointed to the same position by the recently elected President Abdulla Yameen – had signed the letter of sanction on May 28, 2012, one day before the request for approval of the loan was sent to President Waheed.

According to the report, Jihad signed the final loan agreement with BML a day later on May 29, 2012.

A measure taken to prevent a financial disaster

In his defense, the Finance Minister has told local media that the loan was taken out of necessity, to prevent the state from financial disaster.

Jihad claimed that during May 2012, the government faced enormous difficulties following a decline in cash flow. By the end of the month in question, the government had almost exhausted its finances, said Jihad.

Furthermore, the minister claimed that he had consulted with President Waheed and decided to take the loan, but that the parliament had gone to recess.

“At that critical time, we had no other option. That was a measure that had to be taken in order to keep the state running. Hadn’t we done that, the state employees would not have been paid the month’s wages. We ought to consider the situation at the time. At that time we weren’t even able to obtain a loan from the Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA),” Jihad told Haveeru.

Blasting the current requirement of parliamentary approval before taking loans, Jihad claimed that no other modern democratic states followed such a practice. Because of the requirement, the government had lost several loans and had become a disgrace in front of most of the international financial organisations, Jihad added.

He also admitted that the amendment brought to the Public Finance Act in 2010 during the administration of former President Mohamed Nasheed was intended to disrupt the government’s functioning.

President Nasheed at the time had no choice but to ratify the amendment as his party was outnumbered when the vote was taken in parliament. The then-opposition now comprises most of the current governing coalition.

Jihad also criticized the AG’s report itself: “I am the Minister. But when the report was compiled, [Auditor General] had asked nothing from me. Of what had happened? So how can this report be accurate?”

Shortcomings

The report also revealed that although the government had formally sought parliamentary approval of the loan on June 13, 2012, by this date the Finance Ministry had already withdrawn the first tranche – MVR200 million (US$ 12.97 million) out of the MVR300 million.

The government withdrew the remainder on June 20, 2012, the report stated.

Furthermore, the report claimed that in the letter sent to the president by Jihad, approval was sought for the loan with a request that it be made part of the US$65 million (MVR 1 billion) overseas loan that gained parliamentary approval as part of the 2012 national budget.

The report claimed that the conditions for the domestic loan from BML, and that of the proposed US$65 million overseas loan differed significantly.

Among the significant differences highlighted in the report, parliament had approved the US$65 million overseas loan with an interest rate of 2 percent while the BML loan had an interest rate of 9 percent subject to annual reviews.

Furthermore, repayment of the US$65 million loan was to commence within 10 years, while the BML loan required the repayment within just two years.

“Therefore, the loan of MVR300 million taken from the Bank of Maldives in the year 2012 had been taken without the approval of the parliament and the president, disregarding the decisions made by the legislature and the Public Finance Act,” concluded the report.

The Auditor General furthermore requested the authorities to take action against those found responsible for the misconduct.

The current government meanwhile has sought for the approval of a US$29 million (MVR 447 million) budget-support loan that is to be taken from the Bank of Ceylon, for the 2014 state budget.

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Police charges Ahmed Niyaz with Laamu Gan murder case

Police have asked the Prosecutor General’s office to charge Ahmed Niyaz, 28 of Gan in Laamu Atoll, with the murder case of Mohamed Hassan of the same island.

Hassan was killed while he was sleeping on March 12, 2013.

According to police, at around 11:25pm Niyaz hit Mohamed Hassan in the head whilst he was sleeping. He died the following day after failing to survive the injuries received.

Police said the case was investigated by police Serious and Organized Crime department and sent to the PG’s office on November 26.

Niyaz is still in police custody.

Furthermore, the police said Niyaz had previous records of assault, battery and robbery.

On March 13, Hassan, aged 51, died in the ICU of Indira Gandi memorial Hospital (IGMH) with injuries to the right side of his head which caused serious injuries to his skull.

His condition was critical and doctors did not allow him to be transferred abroad for further treatment.

The Laamu Gan Regional Hospital Manager told local media at the time that that the victim’s nose and ears were bleeding continuously when he was admitted to hospital

Sources from the island told Minivan News that the victim was having an affair with a woman living in the house he was sleeping in.

The source said one of the woman’s sons was arrested in connection with the case.

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Adhaalath Party “is still with the coalition”

The religious conservative Adhaalath Party has issued a statement reaffirming its support for the governing coalition.

President Abdulla Yameen formed a coalition government in November after securing a second round victory with the support of the Jumhooree Party (JP), the Dhivehi Qaumee Party (DQP) and the Adhaalath Party.

According to local media, Yameen’s Progressive Party of the Maldives (PPM) had promised a 33 percent stake in government and a 35 percent share in upcoming local council and parliamentary elections to the Jumhooree Party. The JP’s decision to support the Yameen after its candidate’s defeat in the first round of the election proved decisive.

However, while PPM and JP appear to be contesting elections as a team, the Adhaalath Party had previously announced it will field candidates for both elections separately. Speaking to the press in November, Adhaalath said it will contest 104 of the 1118 local council seats and 32 of the 84 parliamentary seats.

According to the Adhaalath Party, it’s statement comes in response to rumors the party had left the coalition.

“The Adhaalath party fully supports the government. The party is still with the coalition,” the statement read

Moreover, the party said it is currently working with the coalition to field candidates for the upcoming elections.

“The Adhaalth Party wishes to work with the coalition in the local council and parliamentary elections. The party is doing lots of work in this regard,” read the statement.

Meanwhile, former President Mohamed Nasheed of the opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) has repeatedly said a coalition government will not work in the Maldives’ presidential system of government.

Nasheed came to power in 2008, defeating 30-year authoritarian leader Maumoon Abdul Gayoom with the backing of a coalition of parties including the JP, the DQP and the Adhaalath Party.

However, within a month, the JP left the Nasheed administration. The coalition fell apart and the parties fielded separate seats for parliamentary elections in May 2009 resulting in a majority for Gayoom’s party at the time – the Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party.

In February 2012, the JP, DQP and Adhaalath Party joined Gayoom’s newly established PPM in ousting Nasheed.

Speaking to the media on November 30, Nasheed said: “We have received 105,000 votes [in the second round of presidential polls] because we say we do not want to divide the cabinet, because we say we do not want to divide up the government.”

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Police bust major drug trafficking network

The Maldives Police Services have busted a major drug trafficking network, arresting two Maldivian men with large amounts of illicit drugs and cash, local media has reported.

Under a court warrant, the police’s Drug Enforcement Department raided Henveiru Fahaage in Malé City and apprehended a network of drug-traffickers.

The police told local media it is raiding additional places reported to have links with the network and have arrested several expatriates.

Further information on the amount of drugs confiscated and the number of arrests will be revealed at a later date, the police said.

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Police warns of people fraudulently collecting funds for dollars exchange

The police have urged caution after reports that groups have been collecting Maldivian rufiyaa from people, promising to exchange it before fleeing with the money.

In a statement the police revealed that last lots of such cases filed in recent days.

Police said that common targets are people walking alone on the streets who are then approached regarding exchangin ruffiyaa for dollars.

Police also said that in some cases these people arrive on motorbikes and take their victims on the bike to silent areas of Malé.

Another tactic used has been to attempt to gain the trust of their victim by giving them a mobile number which, when checked by police often turn out to be sim cards taken in the name of expats.

Investigations in to this type of cases show the offenders to be well presented – most of the time tucks their shirt under their pants and a pen in their pocket – giving the appearance of someone who normally does money exchange, the police said.

The police appealed people not to trust unknown individuals when dealing with money and also to identify people using an official document.

An online businessman who spoke to Minivan News on condition of anonymity said that people do not go to the Bank of Maldives to get dollars because it is a difficult procedure.

“Each bank account registered at BML gets USD100 per day,’’ he said. ‘’But the thing is, to get that US$100 you have to join the queue at midnight and wait till the bank opens next morning.’’

He said that is the reason why people resort to easy methods such as buying dollars on the black market.

A BML media official told Minivan News that the bank has been giving out dollars to the customers as much as possible.

“If the person has a bank account and dollars in it we will release the dollars and there will be no limit,’’ he said. ‘’It also depends on which branch of BML the person is going to.’’

President Abdulla Yameen in his inauguration speech has warned the Maldivian economy is in “a deep pit” and has pledged to reduce state expenditure.

Meanwhile, the MMA has printed over MVR 1 billion (US$ 64,516,129) in the past year alone, MMA statistics show.

Governor of the Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA) Dr Fazeel Najeeb  in August warned that “excessive” government expenditure was directly responsible for the pressure on the rufiyaa.

Speaking during a function to celebrate the third anniversary of the Maldives Inland Revenue Authority (MIRA), Dr Najeeb said: “The value of rufiyaa is dropping because government accounts do not have the money, because it is a necessity to print large quantities of money.”

Najeeb said that a long-term economic stability plan would be needed in the country as part of attempts to increase foreign investment, reduce inflation, and curb printing of the Maldivian rufiyaa in order to calm an increase in prices.

“The plan shall include new foreign investments, aim to reduce inflation, decrease the printing of money and cease it altogether. This will decrease the pressure on the rufiyaa”.

The state budget for 2014 remains stalled in the People’s Majlis with Finance Minister Abdulla Jihad as yet failing to submit revisions.

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Alliance Francais De Malé launches French film festival

The Alliance Francais De Malé (AFM) will begin a week of French film tomorrow, with a screening of the 2010 film ‘The Tree’ at the CHSE on Lily Magu in Malé.

Monday’s screening begins a week of modern French cinema, with screenings of ‘The Snows of Kilimanjaro’ – at the National Art Gallery, ‘The Minister’ – CHSE,  and ‘The Painting’ – the National Library.

Entrance is free for AFM member, and MVR50 for non-members.

The AFM is also seeking further applicants in its international photography contest. Participants are required to submit two photographs on the theme “On joue sur la Terre!” (“Playing onEarth!”).

Participants will get the opportunity to win a trip to Paris and potentially see their work exhibited in a Parisian art gallery. Entrance is free to Maldivians aged over 18 years.
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