Month: December 2013

Albino turtle stolen from Sri Lanka was to be used for “black magic on a Maldivian politician”

A Sri Lankan residing in Maldives offered more than US$ 26,000 to buy an albino turtle to use it in a black magic ritual on a Maldivian politician, popular Sri Lankan singer Amal Perera has told Sri Lankan Police.

The rare albino turtle had disappeared from the Kosgoda Sea Turtle Conservation Sanctuary on December 18. According to Sri Lankan media, the police questioned Perera for three hours after the sanctuary’s owner alleged Perera’s involvement in the turtle’s disappearance.

‘Ceylon Today‘ quotes Perera as saying: “I went to the Kosgoda Sea Turtle Conservation Sanctuary in July with a person called ‘Supun’ who had come to the country representing a Maldivian national.”

Amal denied any involvement in the turtle’s disappearance and said there was no exchange of money during the July visit.

Police are now looking for Supun who is believed to be in Sri Lanka at present. Sri Lankan Wildlife Resources Conservation Minister Vijith Vijithamuni Soyza told media last week that he believed the turtle could have been smuggled into the Maldives.

The belief and use of traditional “Fanditha” magic for various purposes – ranging from courting and divorce to sports and politics – is fairly common in the Maldivian culture. A surge in suspected use of Black magic for political reasons was witnessed  following the controversial power transfer in February 2011 and in the run up to presidential elections.

Maldives Police Service have investigated a number of cases including the case of a Black magic doll at a polling station and a cursed coconut in September 2013.

Likes(1)Dislikes(0)

President appoints new Financial Controller

President Abdulla Yameen has on Saturday appointed Khadheeja Hussain as the new Financial Controller.

The Financial Controller’s post is equivalent to that of a deputy minister. Khadheeja most recently held the position of Internal Auditor at the Parliament. Local media reports that she has years of experience in the financial sector.

Khadheeja was appointed to the post after the former Financial Controller Ahmed Mohamed – who has served in the post in the past three administrations under Presidents Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, Mohamed Nasheed and Mohamed Waheed Hassan – was removed from his post on November 19, two days after President Yameen was sworn in.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

Public Accounts Committee considers conducting “special audit” of state companies

Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee is to deliberate on conducting “special audits” of all state share-owned public companies. The committee has scheduled debates on the matter for Sunday.

According to the Committee’s Chair Abdulla Jabir, the objectives are to have all state companies operating under the same umbrella group and to find means of liquidating companies that fail to make profit.

“We proposed the audit to bring down costs and strengthen the management of public companies. Members of the committee believe that the audit should study company performances in the past five years,” Jabir is quoted as saying in local media.

“We will be looking into whether there is a feasible way of conducting a “special audit” of such companies. Today, state companies need to be restructured and rebranded. We want to liquidate all companies that do not make any profit, and to place all other companies under a holding company that will then be established,” he continued.

Public Accounts Committee has further decided to summon Auditor General Niyaz Ibrahim and Attorney General Mohamed Anil to Sunday’s meeting.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

National debt set to rise to MVR92,196 per head warns MMA

The Maldives Monetary Authority – the country’s central bank and banking regulator – has published its professional opinion on the 2014 budget, painting a dark outlook and proposing urgent measures to prevent the economy from plunging further into debt.

The document was prepared upon an official request from the People’s Majlis, which is set to consider the spending plans when they emerge from committee on Saturday (December 21).

In the document, the MMA warned that the national debt is estimated to rise from MVR27.7 billion in 2013 to MVR31.5 billion in 2014 – equating to MVR92,196 per head.

Forecast GDP growth rate for 2014 is 4.5% – lower than the average of past ten years.

Inflation can be sustained at 4%, but this will depend on changes in the world market, stated the authority

Despite pledges to reduce state expenditure, the government returned a record MVR17.5 billion budget for consideration by the Majlis this month.

Subsequent recommendations in committee have seen the likely figure to rise to MVR18 billion.

Reducing government expenditure

Rising government expenditure was cited as the biggest challenge for the country right now. The agency advised the government to reduce recurrent expenditure to MVR10.2billion from its current level or MVR12billion, offering the following recommendations to do so:

  • Ensuring government subsidies are carefully targeted to the rightful persons.
  • Downsizing the state apparatus to one that’s appropriate for the Maldives’ size and income – including downsizing of parliament, councils, and independent institutions.
  • Finding ways of reducing recurrent expenditure and improving governance – suggesting the combination of local, parliamentary, and presidential elections was suggested.
  • Stop spending on government-run companies from the budget,  or dissolve such companies.
  • Don t proceed with projects (e.g. in contractor finance basis) unless funds have been secured or guaranteed.
  • Reduce debt, turn existing short-term debts in to long-term ones – for instance, by selling long-term foreign bonds at a small interest rate rather than depending on the domestic market for financing debt.
  • Prepare to implement the Fiscal Responsibility Act in 2014.

Finding better ways of financing the deficit

The document stated that the government had been financing the budget deficit mainly by taking short-term loans, selling treasury bills and treasury bonds, and by the MMA itself printing money. Instead of managing this deficit through a market mechanism, the government has resorted to dealing with it mainly through printing cash.

Overdrawing from the state’s Public Bank Account (PBA) to accommodate government spending has significantly increased the flow of the rufiyaa in the economy. The authority stated that this has reduced the foreign exchange reserves to dangerous levels – just two months of imports by the end of October 2013.

It was also noted that the increased flow makes it difficult to stabilise the foreign exchange rate.

According to the authority the PBA overdraft facility was misused by the government, using it to finance long term budget deficit even though it was intended to manage cash flow within a short period of time (a few weeks).

The amount overdrawn from PBA started increasing in October 2012 and reached MVR2.5 billion by 9 December 2013.

The MMA advised the state to pay all due treasury bills, treasury bonds and PBA overdrawing debts to the authority, whilst also noting that the MVR945 million required to pay for this had not been included in the proposed budget.

New revenue raising measures and legal changes

One of the key points highlighted throughout the document was the importance of implementing the new revenue raising measures – most of which is hoped to come from advance payments from resort lease extensions – which account for 23% of the total revenue in the budget.

If these measures are not implemented, the budget cannot cater for the recurrent expenditure and the estimated budget deficit for 2014 will increase from MVR886.6 million to 4.4 billion (11% of GDP), the MMA warned.

The MMA requested the state to proceed with amending the laws necessary for implementing new revenue increasing measures as soon as possible, and asked to find ways to generate an income from various industries instead of depending only on tourism for revenue.

Another notable recommendation was the reduction of the number of foreigners working in the country in order to create a more favorable balance of payments situation.

Read the full document (dhivehi) here.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

Rare albino turtle stolen from Sri Lanka may be in Maldives

A rare albino turtle stolen in Sri Lanka could have been smuggled in to Maldives, Sri Lankan media has reported.

The five year old turtle, weighing 9.5 kg, 60cm in length and 35cm in width was reportedly stolen from a private turtle conservation center in Kosgoda. It was reported as missing on Sunday night, and is said to be worth USD250,000 – 300,000.

Sri Lankan news website “Hiru News” quoted Wildlife Resources Conservation Minister Vijith Vijithamuni Soyza as saying that he believed the stolen turtle could have been smuggled into the Maldives.

Owner of the conservation center Chandrasiri Aabru suspects involvement of a Sri Lankan vocalist Amal Perera. According to Chandrasiri, Amal had shown an interest in buying it, visiting the turtle with a Maldivian friend to whom he requested it to be sold.

Sri Lankan police have summoned and questioned Amal on this matter. The Wildlife Conservation Department says Interpol help will be sought if it was in fact smuggled out of the country.

Catching, killing, importing and the sale of turtles and turtle products have been banned in the Maldives since mid-nineties. However, the implementation of these bans is weak.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

HRCM congratulates parliament for passing Anti-torture bill, calls for president to ratify

The Human Rights Commission of Maldives (HRCM) has congratulated the parliament for passing the Anti-torture Act [Dhivehi] which criminalises torture.

The act guarantees freedom from torture as a fundamental right of every individual even in circumstances of war or imminent war.

The HRCM has now called upon  President Abdulla Yameen to ratify it. The commission noted that the bill was passed including 17 of the 21 recommendations it had made.

Meeting with Yameen today, members of the commission received assurances of governmental support for their work after sharing details of the challenges they currently face.

The commission’s recently released benchmark guidelines for the protection of migrant workers was warmly received by state departments.

The Anti-Torture Act declares freedom from torture as a fundamental right, penalises torture, ensures respect for human rights of criminal suspects, and prohibits torture in state custody, detention in undisclosed locations, and solitary confinement.

According to the bill, any confession gained through the use of torture should be deemed invalid by the courts.

The new law defines torture as any action committed by a state official, or committed with the orders, consent or knowledge of a state official to cause physical or psychological pain to obtain information or a confession or to inflict punishment or to threaten or humiliate an individual.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

Ismail Zihan surrenders himself to police

Police have said that Ismail Zihan, 21, of Medo in Galolhu – one of two persons searched for by the police for their alleged involvement in a local network that was seized earlier this month – has surrendered himself to the police yesterday (18 December).

In a statement issued today, the police said that he turned himself in yesterday afternoon at about 4pm.

The police said that Faisal Ibrahim, 23 of Anooma in Mahchangolhi – the second person police are looking for – has not been found and that search is still ongoing.

On December 5, police searched the premises of Henveiru Fahaageaage after obtaining a search warrant, finding drugs and money inside the house.

Police said that persons believed to be involved in the network were apprehended inside the house during the operation.

According to police, a total four persons have been arrested in connection with the case including a Pakistani and a Sri Lankan national.

Police appealed the public to share any information they have regarding the whereabouts of Faisal Ibrahim, and asked people to contact the police hotline 3322111 or police emergency 119 or police Drug Enforcement Department at 9792498.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

World’s largest floating book fair docks in Malé

Additional reporting by Daniel Bosley

The Logos Hope – dubbed the “world’s largest floating book fair” – operated by the German Christian charitable organization GBA Ships is currently visiting the Maldives as part of the vessel’s tour around the world.

According to the Logos Hope website, the original Logos had visited the country forty years ago – in 1973.

“Many in the Maldives still remember stepping on board Logos as children in 1973 or the visit of Doulos in 1998,” read a statement released on the group’s website.

“It is very special that we can return after many years with a bigger ship,” Logos Hope Director Lloyd Nicholas was quoted as saying.

“It’s a newer ship but still with the same purpose, same good books and with a desire to serve in the countries Logos Hope visits.” He added.

Beginning life as a car ferry in 1973, the vessel spent its first 30 operating ferry services around northern Europe and Scandinvia, before being bought and refurbished by GBA Ships in 2003 .

After the completion of renovations in 2009, the Logos Hope has travelled the globe – taking in the Caribbean, the Middle East and South East Asia – promoting GBA’s goal of spreading education and quality literature.

GBA – Gute Bücher für Alle or ‘Good Books for All’ – claims to have welcomed over 42 million people in 150 countries aboard its numerous vessels since 1970, making 1400 ports of call, and offering training to around 10,000 young people.

An official reception was held yesterday to open the book fair which was attended by Minister of Youth & Sports, Mohamed Maleeh Jamal, as well as other senior government officials

A large number of Maldivians were seen boarding the ship and buying books as well as enjoying the cheap coffee available at the ship’s International Cafe’ – staffed by the Logos Hope’s all-volunteer crew.

Minivan News observed that all purchases made from the ship were checked by customs official present, before being taken out of the ship. According to an official on the Vessel, all purchases above MVR6,000 (US$389.10) were subject to custom duties.

Some book shelves on board had been sealed off, making their content unavailable to Maldivian visitors. GBA normally makes Christian literature available to shoppers, however, materials deemed “offensive to Islam” are prohibited in the Maldives.

According to the organisation’s website, Logos Hope’s book fair will be open to the public until the evening of Friday, December 20. The ship is docked in Malé’s commercial harbour area.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

Opposition MP files four misconduct cases against Judge Abdulla Mohamed

Opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) MP Hamid Abdul Ghafoor has filed four cases of judicial-misconduct against the former Chief Judge of Criminal Court Abdulla Mohamed at the Judicial Service Commission (JSC).

The MDP in a statement (dhivehi) published on its official website claimed that the four cases filed against the judge had been based upon his misconduct during Hamid’s recent criminal trial.

Last October, Judge Abdulla Mohamed handed Hamid a six-month imprisonment sentence for his failure to comply with court summons in a case in which he faced charges of refusing to cooperate with the police.

However, Hamid’s conviction was quashed on appeal by the High Court, which held that the Criminal Court had not followed the established procedures in attempting to summon the MP to the court.

The High Court, in overturning the case, also reiterated that the Parliamentary Privileges Act at the time of Criminal Court’s issuance of the guilty verdict did not allow an MP to be summoned to court while parliament was in session.

In late November, the Supreme Court annulled several articles of the Privileges Act, including the clause that required all MPs – regardless of criminal conviction – to be present during votes. The Supreme Court’s move had prompted Hamid’s relocation from house arrest to Maafushi jail.

In the misconduct cases filed at the JSC – the state’s judicial watchdog responsible for disciplining judges – the Henveiru-South constituency MP accused Abdulla Mohamed of displaying outright rudeness towards him, stereotyping him as a criminal, publicly defaming him, and attempting to “politically” destroy him.

The MDP’s statement meanwhile added that Hamid intends to file more cases concerning the judges alleged misdemeanors,  including the fact that he had refused to provide a copy of the arrest warrant issued against Hamid.

Ghafoor was quoted in the statement claiming that he had only been able to receive the arrest warrant three day after the expiry of the warrant.

He also accused of the Judge of assisting the police to publicly broadcast his photograph in the media and implying him as a hard-lined criminal on the loose.

Controversies surrounding Judge Abdulla Mohamed

Shortly after the case, the JSC announced the transfer of Judge Abdulla from his position as Chief Judge of Criminal Court to the Chief Judge of the Drug Court as part of the commission’s shuffling of nine superior court judges.

In January 2012 Judge Abdulla was taken into military detention during the final days of former President Mohamed Nasheed’s administration after then-Home Minister Hassan Afeef had accused him of “taking the entire criminal justice system in his fist”.

Nasheed’s administration listed 14 cases of judicial misconduct concerning the judge that included obstruction of police duty – including withholding warrants for up to four days, ordering police to conduct unlawful investigations, disregarding precedents set forth by higher courts, deliberately holding up cases involving then-opposition figures, and barring media from corruption trials.

He was also accused by the Nasheed government of releasing of suspects detained for serious crimes “without a single hearing” and maintaining “suspicious ties” with family members of convicts sentenced for dangerous crimes.

The controversial judge was also thrust into the media limelight after he released a murder suspect “in the name of holding the health minister accountable”. The suspect later went on to kill a witness to the case.

The JSC earlier in November 2011 found Judge Abdulla guilty of violating the Judges Code of Ethics by making a politically biased statement in an interview he gave to private broadcaster DhiTV.

However, the JSC’s attempt to take action against him ended in vain after the Civil Court overruled the decision – later supported by the High Court.

Minivan News was unable to get a confirmation from the JSC regarding Hamid’s case – Secretary General Abu Bakuru was not responding to calls at time of press.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)