Month: January 2014

MDP suspends MPs Zahir and Abdul Raheem

The opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) has suspended MPs Zahir Adam and Abdulla Abdul Raheem’s from the party until the end of the parliamentary elections, scheduled for March.

The party’s disciplinary committee decided to suspend the two MPs for contravening a three-whip line on December 30 and voting for President Abdulla Yameen’s cabinet.

Zahir and Abdul Raheem have been ordered to apologise to the party membership before January 30, and will not be allowed to contest any internal party elections – including primaries – for the next three years.

The two MPs did not stand in the MDP’s ongoing parliamentary primaries.

Chair of the disciplinary committee and MP Hamid Abdul Ghafoor said Zahir and Abdul Raheem’s membership had been suspended to ensure the two MPs do not contest March’s parliamentary elections as independents while retaining MDP membership.

Speaking to Sun Online, Zahir said he did not accept the MDP’s disciplinary actions.

“I won this seat as an independent. I do not think there is any action that can be taken against me for any decision I make while in this seat,” he said.

In addition to Zahir and Abdul Raheem, MPs Mohamed Rasheed (Matrix Mode), Ahmed Rasheed, Abdulla Jabir, Ali Riza, and Ahmed Easa voted against the party’s whip line on December 30.

Mohamed Rasheed and Ahmed Rasheed have left the party and joined the Progressive Party of the Maldives (PPM) and Jumhooree Party (JP) respectively. If the two MPs intend to join MDP again, they must apologise to the party’s membership and 50 members each.

Jabir, Riza, and Easa stood uncontested for reselection, and had already been placed on the party ticket when they voted against the whip.

The MDP has stripped Jabir of his position as deputy leader of the parliamentary group, ordered him to issue an apology by January 30, and decided to hold a referendum in his Kaashidhoo constituency to determine whether the MDP membership approve of granting Jabir the party ticket.

Speaking to local media, Jabir has said he will stand for the referendum and said he had informed the party of his decision to vote for Yameen’s cabinet.

“The MDP had officially accepted the government. [We have to] keep the national interest in mind. I will not leave MDP. I will stay with the party,” he told Haveeru.

Riza has been reprimanded and asked to issue an apology by January 30.

Meanwhile, the party has decided not to take any action against Easa, stating that his actions on December 30 only constituted a first offense.

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Finance Ministry imposes cost cutting measures

The Ministry of Finance and Treasury last week instructed all government offices to enforce cost cutting measures in a bid to reduce recurrent expenditures and manage government cash flow.

A circular issued by Finance Minister Abdulla Jihad instructed offices to limit overtime pay to no more than five percent of the office’s annual budget.

Other cost cutting measures included targeting subsidies, limiting allowances to 35 percent of an employees’ salary, and not covering phone expenses of senior officials – with the exception of cabinet ministers.

Moreover, offices were instructed not to hire speedboats for official travel in areas with a ferry service.

Finance Minister Jihad told local media this week that the government has also decided to reduce the MVR80 million (US$5 million) allocated in this year’s budget for civil servant’s salary bonus to MVR40 million (US$2.5 million).

Jihad said recurrent expenditure was too high for the government to “make ends meet.”

In December, parliament passed a record MVR17.5 billion (US$1.16 billion) budget for 2014, prompting President Abdulla Yameen to call upon the legislature to approve revenue raising measures proposed by the government.

On Sunday, parliament accepted with a 38-vote majority three bills submitted by the government to raise additional revenue.

The bills included an amendment to raise the Tourism Goods and Services Tax (T-GST) from eight to 12 percent as well as two amendments to the Tourism Act in order to reintroduce the discontinued flat US$8 bed tax and to require resort lease extension payments to be paid as a lump sum.

An 11-member subcommittee chaired by business tycoon Gasim Ibrahim – leader of the government-aligned Jumhooree Party – is currently in the process of reviewing the government-sponsored legislation.

The committee met representatives of the Maldives Association of Travel Agencies and Tour Operators (MATATO) and the Maldives Association of Tourism Industry (MATI) today to discuss the impact of the tax hikes on the sector.

Following the Majlis’s failure to extend the tourism bed tax before the end of last year, Jihad told local media that the resulting shortfall in revenue would be MVR100 million a month.

In an interview with Minivan News last week, Tourism Minister Ahmed Adeeb criticised parliament for going into recess without passing bills designed to generate income.

“This causes the budget to expand, but there’s no way for the government to earn enough to implement it. The T-GST matters even more to the state income. The state keeps expanding, the allowances and salaries keep increasing, but the income for all of this still depends on the 25,000 tourist beds. Unless we expand this, how can we increase what we earn? We can’t keep expanding the state, and then squeezing the existing tourism sector without expanding it,” Adeeb warned.

Recurrent expenditure

Shortly after assuming the presidency, Yameen announced that he would only draw half the presidential salary of MVR100,000 (US$6,500), and would reduce the number of political appointees at the President’s Office.

Submitting the 2014 annual budget to parliament last year, Jihad noted that recurrent expenditure (MVR12 billion) accounts for 73 percent of the total budget, with almost half spent on salaries and allowances for state employees in addition to administrative costs, interest payments and subsidies.

Jihad advised implementing a raft of austerity measures, contending that the “expensive” public management model adopted in the Maldives was inappropriate for a small island state.

Almost 50 percent of government income was spent on employees, Jihad observed, advising revision of the state pension system and reduction of the numbers of island and atoll councillors as well as members of independent institutions and boards of government-owned companies.

In its professional opinion on the 2013 budget, the Auditor General’s Office stated that a policy of population consolidation together with effective measures to reduce the public sector wage bill was necessary to rein in the continuing fiscal deficits.

When announcing his resignation at a press conference earlier this month, former Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA) Governor Dr Fazeel Najeeb contended that the structure of government was outsized for the Maldives and warned against printing money to cover the “far too hefty expenses of many state institutions.”

In November last year, Najeeb told parliament’s finance committee that the public bank account was overdrawn by MVR1.5 billion (US$97 million) as a result of having to finance government expenditure.

“When we have to accommodate every request by the government we are forced to act completely against the MMA law,” he said, referring to printing money.

Jihad explained to MPs on the committee that the government was forced to approach the MMA because foreign banks were refusing to buy or rollover treasury bills.

While MVR500 million (US$32 million) a month was needed to pay salaries and allowances for state employees, government income in some months was just MVR300 million (US$19 million), Jihad noted, leaving no option but turning to the central bank.

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MDP councils must cooperate with government developments: President’s Office

The President’s Office Spokesperson Ibrahim Muaz Ali has called on the opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) majority councils to cooperate with the government’s development plans.

Speaking to local media on Monday, Muaz said the MDP majority councils should focus on working with the government to bring development to the citizens.

According to a Minivan News analysis of the local council election results, the MDP has gained a majority in 79 councils and won 457 seats. The ruling coalition which include the Progressive Party of the Maldives (PPM), the Jumhooree Party (JP) and the Maldives Development Alliance (MDA) control 57 councils and won a combined total of 465 seats.

Muaz specifically called on the MDP led Malé City and Addu City Councils to extend cooperation to the government at a time when President Abdulla Yameen’s administration is initiating major development projects.

“The government will of course always respect the decision of the citizens. However, those people who got elected to councils must bear in mind that today the people desire to overcome political turmoil and focus on bringing development to their cities and islands,” Muaz said.

The Elections Commission (EC) completed announcing the preliminary results of the local councils yesterday.

PPM’s view

PPM’s Local Council Election Coordinator Mohamed Ashmali expressed confidence that the local councils, regardless of party affiliation, would work together in the interests of developing their areas.

“I would like to believe that we will see cooperation from the councils. We saw that even in parliament, MDP provided cooperation in passing some bills key to the government and I believe we will see such cooperation even from the councils,” Ashmali stated.

“The councils must communicate with and work together with whichever government is in power in order to do what they must for their constituencies. There are people who are very close to us in other senses in various parties. Political affiliation is a completely different matter anyway,” he said.

“I think the Maldivian people are still a bit new to the party system, but we are seeing a gradual improvement.”

Ashmali said that as the coalition had worked together in the local council elections, it is important to compare results between the MDP and then the coalition as a single unit, instead of separate parties.

“According to our review of the tentative results, coalition partners mainly got the island and atoll councils. In Addu City, it is true we were not able to conduct sufficient work. The turnout there was also relatively quite low – approximately 60 percent. However, compared to previous years, I believe that having gotten three seats in the Malé City council is quite a good achievement,” he stated.

“I did even suggest to Fuwad Thowfeek [Elections Commission President] that the EC places a ballot box for residents of the island, and a single separate box for voters in an island who originate from other constituencies. This would have assisted in getting the preliminary results out much faster. By just counting the boxes specific to each constituency, citizens and parties would have learnt sooner which seats had been won or lost. This is the information which the parties would most pressingly need after an election,” he added.

No manifesto

MDP Spokesperson Hamid Abdul Ghafoor confirmed that the party’s approach would be to focus on holding the government accountable and to remain a responsible opposition.

“The councils will display a healthy mix of being a responsible opposition and holding the government accountable,” Hamid said.

“The issue that may arise is that while government asks for cooperation, they don’t even have a manifesto to show. This will cause local councils to ask them what it is that they want cooperation for. That it is unclear what exactly the government plans to do,” he continued.

“The thing, however, is that the culture of the past system is still prevailing in the government’s approach. They tend to treat local councils in the manner they approached the former island chief systems, and tend to ignore the fact that councillors are elected and not appointed like island chiefs, and the fact that councillors have a legal mandate and rights,” Hamid said.

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Death penalty implementation “not advisable” without cabinet, parliament approval: AG

Implementation of the death penalty “is not advisable” without cabinet and parliamentary approval, Attorney General Mohamed Anil has told local media.

Last week, Minister of Home Affairs Umar Naseer ordered the Maldives Correctional Services to prepare for the implementation of the death penalty through lethal injection, despite the lack of laws administering capital punishment.

Naseer said he had sought advice from Anil before signing the order, but Anil refused to comment on the matter.

Instead, he said Naseer’s order had not been discussed in the cabinet. Anil has called for an advisory mechanism within the cabinet stating that the president of a Muslim country bears a personal responsibility in the implementation of death sentences.

“It is crucial that there is an established mechanism through which the cabinet of ministers has a role, and the president gets the opportunity to make an informed decision about the matter. However, the order recently released by the Home Minister was not conducted through such a process,” Anil said.

The best method to implement death penalty is through legislation passed by the parliament, he added.

Although the current legislative framework does not mandate legislation for the implementation of death penalty, Anil said broad and in-depth discussions needed to take place before the change in policy.

Since 1954, Maldives has had a moratorium on the death penalty, with the president commuting death sentences to life imprisonment.

“When we are bringing about such a huge change in policy, there are discussions that we must undertake within the cabinet, as well as with the Parliament. I do not believe it is the best thing to do to implement such a sentence at this moment without first going through these motions,” he said.

Former Attorney General Azima Shakoor had drafted a bill on the administration of the death penalty, but the government does not have a time frame to submit the bill to parliament, Anil said.

Once the parliament passes the bill, the death penalty can be implemented in retrospect, he added.

High crime rates in recent years has lead to widespread public support for the death sentence, Anil claimed.

“The rate of crime is rapidly increasing in the Maldives. This includes crimes of a heavily serious nature. Things are escalating to the point where individuals do not even hesitate when committing crimes,” he said.

“Therefore, I believe that the best medium through which we can get the general public’s view on the matter is through the parliament. It is imperative that the parliament holds a debate and comes to a decision on the matter.”

Anil also highlighted the importance of a responsible justice system, pointing out that implementation of such a sentence is in nature an irreversible act.

Minister of Home Affairs Umar Naseer said he wished to refrain from commenting on the matter at this stage.

Naseer’s order followed the passing of the death sentence on Hussain Humam Ahmed on charges of murdering the moderate religious scholar and MP Dr Afrasheem Ali in October 2012.

President Abdulla Yameen told local media on Friday that Naseer had released the order under his mandate, but without prior discussion with the cabinet. The cabinet would hold in depth discussions about the matter before coming to a final discussion, he added.

Meanwhile, Amnesty International has called on the Maldives to halt any plans to end the current moratorium on the death penalty, calling such moves “a retrogade step and a serious setback for human rights in the country”.

In May 2013, the UN country team also called for the abolition of death penalty in the Maldives, stating “in view of the country’s more than 50 year moratorium, the UN calls upon the Maldives to take the opportunity to reaffirm its commitment to its international human rights obligations, and abolish the death penalty”.

The last execution in the Maldives was the death of  Hakim Didi in 1954 who was sentenced to death for practicing black magic.

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Corporate code amended to increase female board members

The Capital Development Market Authority has today announced amendments to the Corporate Governance Code, mandating all publicly listed companies to have at least two female board members.

Local media has reported that just three of the seven companies currently listed on the Maldives Stock Exchange have any female board member, with just two of these having the required number.

The governance code had also been amended to include a Comply or Explain clause which requires all boards to have one third female board members

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Indian visa restrictions lifted

Indian High Commissioner Rajeev Shahare has announced that all visa restrictions on Maldivians travelling to India have been lifted.

Local media reported Shahare as saying that Maldivians could now get a 90-day visa for medical visits to India.

“This is a very very privileged aspect of visa, we have not granted to any other country. Other nationals are required to have a cooling-off period of two months. Maldivians will not have, because this is a very privileged, special relationship that we have between India and Maldives,” he said.

Coming at the end of a week-long celebration of Indian-Maldivian ties, the move represents a further thawing of relations that had become strained under the previous administration.

Visa regulations were tightened just weeks after the premature termination of a US$500 million airport development deal with Indian infrastructure giant GMR. Indian authorities at the time claimed the decision to have been intended to draw attention to the Maldives’ treatment of expatriate workers.

In an interview with Haveeru yesterday, Attorney General Mohamed Anil suggested the government had a strong case in the arbitration proceedings that have followed GMR’s expulsion.

Following an official state visit to Indian earlier this month, President Abdulla Yameen and Indian leaders were reported to have discussed the potential of reaching an out of court settlement.

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Ferry tales – Managing the Hulhumalé commute

It was 23:30, a large number of people were gathered outside Hulhumalé ferry terminal in Malé, the kind of crowd that usually gathers around a crime scene. But no crime was committed there – no police lines visible.

The people were gathering there to board the ferry to Hulhumalé – an extension of Malé City separated by sea, one of the greater Malé islands. Ferry service staff in blue uniforms were guarding the entrance to three tightly packed terminal waiting areas, as those outside anxiously awaited news of an extra ferry that might shorten the otherwise two-hour wait.

Adam Humam, a tour guide who lives in Hulhumalé hears nothing but complains about the ferry service:

“Look at this ferry, this thing is like a sauna most of the time. One will need to take a shower after traveling on this. Just look at how they have arranged the seats, we have to sit so tightly packed” Humam said, leaning away from the chair to avoid bumping into the next passenger.

The ferry concerned was an average wooden Dhoni, furnished with ten rows of plastic chairs screwed to the floor. The gangway led to two rows of motorbikes at the rear of the boat. Most windows on both sides were shut by the people adjacent, to shelter from occasional splashes of water. A few travellers stood at the back of the ferry – unable to find a seat. The smell was a mix of sea, old wood, and bodily odors.

With few exceptions, almost everyone who were interviewed about the 20 minute ferry service was unhappy with the service. The conditions of the ferry, the terminal and timings – it was all unsatisfactory for most questioned. Just a few long- time residents of Hulhumalé recalled the ferry services having improved significantly in the past decade.

Hulhumalé – a reclaimed landmass measuring 2 square kilometers off the north-east coast of Malé City – is home to an estimated 20,000 people. First settled in May 2004 with just one thousand people, the population of Hulhumalé is expected to double to 60,000 by 2020. The ferry service, operated by the Maldives Transport and Contracting Company (MTCC), is clearly finding it hard to cater to Hulhumalé’s population boom.

The MTCC has often said the ferry operation is not profitable at current rates, though Malé City Mayor Maizan Ali ‘Alibe’ Manik says that company can manage by investing in lands provided for them to subsidise the service. The Housing Development Corporation (HDC) – the government owned corporation mandated with the development and management of Hulhumalé – remains uninvolved in the MTCC’s operations. The transport authority, however, does have a mandate to monitor and regulate all ferry services in the country.

How is the service?

“What can I say? My wife and I moved to Hulhumalé three years back, and riding this ferry to and fro every day has been nothing but a pain. I developed a pilonidal sinus, and the doctor says it is sitting for such a long time and the terrible vibrations these boats give” said a young man in his late twenties.

Another couple who moved to Hulhumalé very recently had a different complaint, fearing the procedure of getting their motor bike on to the ferry – riding over a metal sheet placed against the ferry – could damage it over time.

Leevan Shareef, a vocal critic of the Hulhumalé ferry service on Twitter, sometimes has to spend two hours commuting between Hulhumalé and Malé. The MTCC does not increase ferry services during busy days – such as when political rallies are held in Malé – or on Friday evening, when a lot of people visit Hulhumalé, he complained.

“We complain to the ferry crew or staff at the counter, they will always say the issue will be brought to the attention of superiors. But there is no news of these superiors ever,” he said.

Mahdi Shahid, Deputy Principal of Lalé Youth International School, was among the first people to use the ferry service. His view was that the ferries have improved in the past ten years.

“Looking back, I would say it has actually improved a lot. Back then the ferry docked at the far north of the island, there were no trees, there was nothing over there. And we had to walk all the way from there to the school. It was a very small ferry then, but now the ferries are bigger and they travel more frequently,” Shahid explained.

“I think the current service would be okay, if the population wasn’t increasing so rapidly. but with the current population growth I think there should be an increase in number of ferries now. What I’m looking for is getting on the ferry and leaving without having to wait there for so long,” he added.

Currently the ferries operate between 05:30am and 02:30am, with eighty-two rounds between the two islands every day except for Fridays when ferries services are interrupted briefly for prayers.

Not profitable

Though the MTCC was unwilling to discuss the ferry service with the media, some ferry crew and staff noted that there were many challenges facing the company.

One such issue was that of Malé harbor, which they noted did not allow several ferries to operate simultaneously. “Sometimes we have to wait five minutes outside the harbor entrance, waiting for other ferries including those leaving for Hulhulé [the airport island] to leave,” said one crew member.

Four months ago, ferryboat owners – who lease their boats to the MTCC – went on strike after a failure to receive payments. The MTCC blamed this on delays in receiving payments from various government projects undertaken in various parts of the country. The company has often reiterated that its operations are not profitable at current rates. Ferry rates have risen at least twice since operations began in 2004, though other attempts to increase prices have been met with protests from Hulhumalé residents, usually ending with interventions from the city council and HDC.

In 2012, transport services in the Malé region contributed to thirteen percent of the MTCC’s operating profits, however the net loss in this sector has been gradually increasing over the past five years. The loss for transport services in the Male’ region in 2012 was reported to be MVR15.69 million (US$1 million).

Finding a solution

While accepting there are challenges in providing this service, Malé City Mayor “Maizan” Ali Manik (Alibe) said that a lack of profitability should not result in a bad service or higher fares.

“They always say they are operating ferries at loss. Yes, but services should be provided even at loss. All services provided by the state cannot be for profit,” Alibe said.

The MTCC could turn this around if they would invest in lands provided to them to subsidise these services, said the mayor. The ferry terminal land in both Malé and nearby Villingili islands were given to MTCC free of charge, and the plot for Hulhumalé terminal was given at ‘a very small rate’ according to HDC. The rent for businesses at ferry terminals – including the popular Sea House Cafe’ – goes to the MTCC.

“They can develop these land make profit in many ways” Alibe said, assuring that the city council was ready to help the MTCC in any such ventures.

Alibe stated his belief that the ferry service is gradually improving, and that some of the ferries were now of a high standard. However, if the MTCC is unable to fulfil its promises to improve the services by themselves, a second party might have be brought in, said the mayor.

The Housing Development Corporation

The MTCC has been providing public ferry and bus services for the Hulhumalé community since its inception, under an understanding with the HDC, which is currently in the process of formulating a formal agreement between the two companies. The services were provided for nearly ten years without any formal agreement.

Highlighting the HDC’s role in the ferry service, Deputy Managing Director Mohamed Shahid said the corporation does not get involved in business operations of some services such as the ferry operation in Hulhuamalé.

“We share [with MTCC] information regarding the population here and we try to provide adequate facilities for [serving] that [population]… we know that due to resources limitations there are some issues in both ferry and bus service,” he said.

According to Shahid, a set of standards and timings for operating bus and ferry services have been prepared and shared with the MTCC. The regulatory authority for travel operations of all ferry services, however, is the Transport Authority which has developed its own guidelines.

HDC Deputy Director Abdulla Fayaz said they were also looking into issues with ferry services, and communicating with the MTCC to resolve concerns raised by the public: “We do conduct surveys and maintain statistics regarding customers…this information is also shared with MTCC.”

Hope…

Despite the optimism expressed by both the HDC and the city council with regards to improving the quality of  services, many people who frequent these ferries remained sceptical.

The current government has joined the prior three administrations in pledging to connect Hulhumalé and Malé  with a bridge. The government is currently in the process of reviewing proposals to build this bridge. Until then, thousands of people continue to dream of a better ferry service.

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Philippines national sentenced to life for smuggling drugs into Maldives

The Criminal Court yesterday (January 26) ruled that Philippines national Jenerosa Pancho Mapula was guilty of smuggling 3Kgs of cocaine into the Maldives, fining her MVR100,000 and sentencing her to life imprisonment.

The Criminal Court ruling stated that on April 24, 2013, Jenerosa arrived in the Maldives at arout 8:50am and that police searched her luggage after receiving intelligence reports that she was carrying illegal narcotics.

The court said that the drugs were discovered inside a handbag in her luggage.

Jenerosa denied the charges, the court said, though according to witnesses produced in court the drugs were found inside her luggage,which was searched in her presence.

The ruling stated that Jenerosa had told the court that the drugs did not belong to her, though she was unable to convince the court of this.

According to the ruling, Jenerosa will have to pay the fine within one month.

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Precious mangrove under threat as government plans airport in Kulhudhuffushi

Environmental NGO Ecocare has expressed concern that government proposals for an airport on Kulhudhuffushi island will result in the destruction of environmentally sensitive wetland areas.

“Though the constitution it self calls for sustainable development, it is sad and absurd when politicians care less about the vulnerability of Maldives and of its ecological diversity,” read an Ecocare press release.

Minister of State for Transport and Communication Mohamed Ibrahim today admitted that, should the proposed plan go ahead, there are few options but to encroach upon the island’s only remaining mangrove.

“We don’t have the details, but the new government plans to build an airport. We have prepared concept and have shared with the atoll council and the island council, and we are awaiting their comments,” said Ibrahim.

Ecocare stated that official enquiries into the specifics of the development had yet to yield any responses.

The group pointed out that – following the complete reclamation of the island’s southern mangrove for the construction of housing -the northern mangrove had been designated to be an environmentally protected zone.

Marine biologist with local environmental consultancy Seamarc, Sylvia Jagerroos, has explained the importance of such wetlands, describing them as “one of the most threatened ecosystems on earth”.

“Mangrove support the seabed meaning they prevent erosion on beachline and also enhance protection of the island in case of storm and higher sea levels,” she said.

“They support a nursery for fish and marine fauna and aid and the reef and seagrass in the food chain. The mangrove mud flats are also very important in the turnover of minerals and recycling.

Ecocare have also raised fears that the government plans to abrogate its constitutional responsibility to protect the environment as long as the proposed plans are termed ‘development’.

“Ecocare does not believe that this is a development proposal – this is just to honour a campaign pledge…it seems that he [President Abdulla Yameen] has asked authorities to get all of these promises done in 25 months,” said Ecocare’s Maeed M. Zahir.

State minister, Ibrahim, also referred to President Yameen’s August campaign pledge, in which he had suggested that the recently developed Hanimaadhoo airport – within the same area – was not enough for Kulhudhuffushi’s development.

At just just 16.6 km – or a thirty minute dhoni ride – from the new airport, Ecocare’s statement declared: “we cannot find reason whatsoever for the construction of an Airport in the Island of HDh. Kulhudhuffushi”.

Ibrahim declined to comment on the need for an additional regional airport.

Island divided

Ecocare’s Zahir suggested that most of Kulhudhuffushi’s residents were against the development, arguing that support for the proposal came largely from “party cadres” of President Yameen’s Progressive Party of Maldives.

“[Ecocare] has been made aware that there is a growing population of younger more environmentally sound locals who are opposing the idea of an airport,” Ecocare stated.

In contrast, however, Kulhudhuffushi North MP Abdul Ghafoor Moosa explained that a strong desire for economic development, alongside the government’s failure to promote the environmental case for preserving the wetlands, had resulted in strong local support for the plan.

“There are many many people who want the airport…My [parliamentary] election is a month ahead – my priority is to all people. Some of the people, they want to have the airport, so how can I comment against the airport,” said the opposition MP.

Asked about the potential for reclamation of the mangrove, Ghafoor suggested that economic imperatives would outweigh environmental.

“People are looking for the jobs and people are looking for better options,” he said. “Their concern is the airport so I am am also willing to have the airport.”

Ecocare’s Zahir suggested, however, aviation regulations make the development of a second airport in the region untenable, arguing that local development would be better served by improvements to the ferry network.

Ghafoor argued that, without significant government efforts to maintain the area, the mangroves were currently acting as breeding grounds for mosquitoes – furthering local indifference to the wetlands’ fate.

“So far, the government hasn’t brought [environmental importance] to public notice – through this muddy land, a lot of mosquitoes are coming. The government is not providing control and these things so people are suffering – when there is low tide, there is a lot of smell, due to the heat and all.”

The Maldivian Democratic Party MP suggested that a newly developed airport may only require the reclamation of 10-15 percent of the mangrove.

“Without my people surviving, how can my concern be on the environment?”

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