Month: February 2014

Air Asia ex: low-cost carrier suspends Maldives operations due to “challenging” conditions

Air Asia X has announced it will be suspending all operations to and from the Maldives from March 1, citing “challenging business conditions” both in the country and in the wider region.

“Despite our efforts, external factors such as the depreciation of Asian currencies against the US dollar and the chronic lack of hotel room supply in Maldives resulted in cancellation of thousands of bookings by travel operators,” said Azran Osman-Rani, CEO of AirAsia X – the low-cost carrier of the AirAsia Group.

“As part of our strategy to operate more efficiently, the airline will deploy our aircraft to routes with the right level of demand to be financially viable.”

“We have been very grateful for the huge support rendered by Male Airport, Maldives Tourism and relevant authorities and would like to put on record our appreciation for all the cooperation that has been given to us,” concluded Azran.

Today’s decision comes just months after the brand expanded its services to the Maldives, with regular flights between Kuala Lumpur and Malé via Colombo announced last September. The airline has said that the Sri Lankan service will continue.

Air Asia has subsequently written to all of its customers offering the re-routing or refunding of pre-booked flights that will be affected.

The Maldives tourism industry currently contributes around 30 percent of the country’s GDP, with visitors to county passing the one million mark in 2013 – growing by 17 percent compared with the previous year.

Neither the Tourism Minister Ahmed Adeeb, the President of the Maldives Association of Travel Agents and Tour Operators Mohamed Khaleel, nor the Secretary General of the Maldives Association of Tourism Industries Ahmed Nazeer were answering calls at the time of press.

The most recent government figures – from July last year – show the operational bed capacity of the industry to have been just under 24,000 in the first seven months of the year, with an occupancy rate of 80 percent.

The Maldivian Rufiyaa currently follows a pegged exchange rate with the US Dollar, with a 20 percent band on either side of a central rate of 12.85 rufiyaa to the dollar. After the managed float was introduced in 2011, the official rate quickly rose to the maximum rate of 15.42 rufiyaa to the dollar where it has remained.

Soon after the Maldivian Monetary Authority (MMA) figures showed the government had printed over MVR1 billion (US$ 64,516,129) in the past year, MMA Governor Dr Fazeel Najeed tendered his resignation.

Before departing last month, Najeeb called upon the state to reduce expenditure and to stop printing rufiyaa, which he argued was exacerbating the country’s perennial dollar shortage.

President Abdulla Yameen’s new government has looked toward the tourism industry for new sources of revenue to finance this year’s budget.

The People’s Majlis last week agreed to hike Tourism Goods and Services Tax (T-GST) from eight to 12 percent in November, approved the immediate reintroduction of the discontinued US$8 bed tax, and will now require resort lease extension payments to be made within two years.

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Tourist arrivals rose 17 percent in 2013

Tourist arrivals to the Maldives rose 17 percent in 2013 compared to the previous year, according to the latest Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA) monthly economic review.

“This was mainly due to the large increase in tourist arrivals from China, coupled with a slight growth in arrivals from Europe. Reflecting this, the total bednights and occupancy rate also recorded an increase during the year,” the MMA’s review stated.

The review did note, however, that the average duration of stay declined in 2013 compared with the year before.

Statistics from the tourism ministry show that 331,719 Chinese tourists visited the Maldives last year, which was a 44.5 percent increase from the previous year.

Chinese tourists accounted for 29.5 percent of all tourist arrivals in 2013.

The central bank also noted that real GDP (Gross Domestic Product) was expected to “accelerate to 4.5 percent in 2014, driven mainly by the tourism sector.”

In November 2013, the finance ministry revealed that the tourism industry’s GDP growth in 2012 declined by 0.1 percent following 15.8 percent growth in 2010 and 9.2 percent in 2011.

Despite negative growth in 2012, the finance ministry estimated that the industry would have expanded 5.5 percent in 2013 and forecast a growth rate of 5.2 percent for this year.

The average duration of stay has however fallen from 8.6 days in 2009 to 6.7 days in 2012 and 6.3 days in 2013.

According to the annual tourism yearbook published by the Tourism Ministry, the average occupancy rate of all tourist establishments in 2012 was 2.5 percent below the previous year at 70.6 percent.

The Maldivian economy is largely dependent on tourism, which accounted for 28 percent of GDP on average in the past five years, and generated 38 percent of government revenue in 2012.

Meanwhile, in the fisheries industry – the second largest domestic industry – “the volume of fish exports increased by 48 percent while the earnings on fish exports rose by 14 percent” between January and November 2013 compared to the same period in 2012.

“This was contributed by the increase in both the volume and earnings on fresh, chilled or frozen tuna,” the MMA report stated.

It added that fish purchases rose by 21 percent from January to September 2013 compared to the same period the previous year.

Inflation

The monthly review noted that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) commodity price index increased by two percent in monthly terms during December 2013.

“This increase was due to the rise in food, metal and petroleum prices in the review period. In annual terms the IMF commodity price index increased by one percent, contributed by the increase in petroleum prices which off set the price declines in food and metal.The price of crude oil increased by three percent in monthly terms during December 2013, while prices rose by six percent in annual terms,” the review stated.

The rate of inflation in the capital Malé meanwhile decreased to 3.1 percent in December 2013, the MMA revealed, which was “largely due to the fall in fish prices.”

“Similarly, the rate of inflation in Male’ decelerated  marginally in monthly terms during December 2013, which was also due to the fall in fish prices,” the review stated.

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Man fined for brewing alcohol

The Criminal Court has handed an MVR1000 (US$64.9) to a Fuvahmulah Island man for brewing alcohol.

The Maldives Police Services arrested Mohamed Saeed on October 1, 2011 on a tip off while he was brewing alcohol in his house with another individual. The police discovered utensils used for alcohol brewing and a 500 ml bottle containing alcohol.

Saeed has been ordered to pay the fine within 7 days – by February 16.

According to the police, Saeed has a record of drug abuse, theft, mugging, and sexual harassment.

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Drug kingpin appeals sentence from Sri Lanka

The ringleader of a nationwide drug network who is currently in Sri Lanka for medical treatment has asked the High Court to review his 18-year jail term.

Ibrahim Shafaz ‘Shafa’ Abdul Razzaq, 32, of Maafannu Lonumidhilige was sentenced to 18 years in prison and fined MVR75,000 (US$4,860) for drug trafficking in November.

Shafaz’s departure to Sri Lanka caused a furor in local media last week with newspaper Haveeru claiming the Maldives Correctional Services (MCS) were not informed of a date for the inmate’s return. An MCS officer did not accompany Shafaz, the local daily reported.

Opposition aligned broadcaster Raajje TV alleged Shafaz was not listed in the immigration control system as a convict when he boarded the midnight flight with his family.

But High Court procedures say appellants in criminal cases must be present in the courtroom for trials to proceed.

Meanwhile, Commissioner of Prisons Moosa Azim said all due procedures had been followed in allowing Shafaz to leave to get medical treatment.

Article 70 and 110 of the new Jails and Parole Act states the Commissioner of Prisons may release an inmate to seek medical treatment abroad, on the advise of a medical board, if such care is not available in the Maldives.

“A medical officer does not have to accompany the inmate. He was allowed to leave under an agreement with his family. Family members will be held accountable for his actions, including failure to return,” Azim told Minivan News.

Although an inmate is given a maximum three-month period for treatment, the duration may be extended if documents prove further care is required.

“Shafaz’s family is required to keep us informed through daily reports,”Azim said.

Operation Challenge

Shafaz was arrested on June 24, 2011 with 896 grams of heroin from a rented apartment in a building owned by PPM MP Ahmed ‘Redwave’ Saleem.

Former head of the Drug Enforcement Department (DED), Superintendent Mohamed Jinah, told the press at the time that police raided Henveiru Fashan based on intelligence information gathered in the two-year long “Operation Challenge.”

Jihah labeled Shafaz a high-profile drug dealer suspected of smuggling and supplying drugs since 2006.

The traffickers had been using an authorised money changer called A J Emporium to transfer funds to Sri Lanka, Jinah revealed.

The drugs were believed to have been smuggled via Sri Lankan Airlines.

Jinah claimed that the network smuggled drugs worth MVR1.3 million (US$84,306) to the Maldives between February and April 2011.

Police also discovered that Shafaz had bought a shop named ‘Charm’ for MVR150,000 (US$9700) that was sold in June 2011 for MVR200,000 (US$12,970).

Moreover, Shafaz was renting three apartments in Malé and owned a tailor shop bought for MVR200,000 (US$13,000), a shop in Kaafu Atoll Maafushi, and a Suzuki Swift car worth MVR180,000 (US$11,673), later sold for MVR170,000 (US$11,025).

As Shafaz was not in the room with the drugs at the time of the raid and his fingerprints were not found on the confiscated drugs, the Criminal Court ruled last year that there was not enough evidence to convict Shafaz on one count of the drug charges.

However, he was found guilty on the second count based on recorded phone conversations and financial transactions with a contact in Colombo, believed to be the supplier.

Three of Shafaz’s accomplices who were caught with the opiates and packing equipment – Ismail Shaheem, Mohamed Meead, and Anas Anees – were meanwhile found guilty of possession and trafficking and sentenced to ten years in prison.

In a speech a few days after the drug bust, former President Mohamed Nasheed said he found it “quite shocking [that] 800 packets of heroin a night were getting sealed in the house of an honourable member of parliament.”

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Humam’s confession used against Shan in Dr Afrasheem’s murder trial

The Criminal Court has today heard the prosecution’s evidence against H. Hikost Ali Shan in the case of MP Dr Afrasheem Ali’s murder.

Evidence was presented separately in support of four separate assertions: Shan’s involvement in conspiring to murder, his going to to Dr Afrasheem’s house with the intent of murder, attacking the victim with a sharp object, and Dr Afrasheem’s subsequent death from the attack.

The confession from the Hussein Human Ahmed – who was recently sentenced to death for Afrasheem’s murder – was used to back all four assertions. Humam later stated that the confession was obtained by the  Maldives Police Service through coercive means.

Other evidence presented include two confidential witnesses, audio recording and the script of a phone call, and Dr Afrasheem’s medical report and death certificate.

The defense also presented evidence at today’s hearing. Sun Online reported that the evidence was presented to prove that Shan was in ‘Jalapeno Restaurant’ from 9:00pm on October 1 2012 until 1:00am.

‘CNM‘ reported that Shan’s Defense lawyer Abdulla Haseen had requested anonymity for defense witnesses stating that, due to the nature of the case, revealing their identities could endanger their lives. The request was granted by the judge.

According to ‘Haveeru‘, a request for leniency regarding Shan’s detention was rejected, with the judge stating that more importance would be given to finishing the case as soon as possible, and that previous scheduled hearings were canceled upon requests from the prosecutor general. The court has been extending Shan’s detention since late 2012.

The judge has  said that a hearing is likely to be scheduled within the next week, and that the case will be concluded as soon as statements of the witnesses are collected.

Dr Afrasheem Ali, a moderate Islamic scholar who was at the time representing Ungoofaaru constituency in the People’s Majlis, was found brutally murdered at his apartment building on the night of October 1 2012.

Shan, along with Humam, was charged with with the murder. In a hearing on May 6 2013, Humam denied the charge before changing his statement and confessing to the murder. He also implicated several others investigated for the murder. After nine days, however, Humam retracted the confession saying that it had been obtained by police through coercive means.

Other suspects mentioned in Humam’s confessional statement – a key piece of evidence on both his own and Shan’s cases – included a juvenile  identified as ‘Nangi, a Maldives National Defence Force officer Azleef Rauf, Abdulla ‘Jaa’ Javid (son-in-law of opposition Maldivian Democratic Party Chairperson ‘Reeko’ Moosa Manik), Jaa’s brother Jana, and another person identified only as ‘Spy’.

In December 2012, then Commissioner of Police Abdulla Riyaz described the murder as a “‘preplanned politically motivated act of terrorism carried out by politicians”.

He also said that both Humam and Shan belonged to a local gang who often carry out criminal acts for politicians and businessmen. Riyaz said that MVR14million was paid for the murder.

Politicians have similarly blamed the recent stabbing of MP Alhan Fahmy on criminal gangs with political paymasters.

Shan, who was arrested at the time of Riyaz’s press briefing, was only charged with the crime on  April 21 2013, where he requested to appoint a defense attorney for himself.

A hearing was held again on 5 May 2013, during which Shan’s defense refused to respond to charges until the findings of police investigations and statements of witnesses were presented. Agreeing to grant the request, the judge said that it was the prosecutor’s wish that it should not be presented.

Since May 2013 several scheduled hearings have been cancelled upon request from the prosecution, including one in July and December last year.

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Gasim slams Adhaalath for fielding candidates in Jumhooree Party seats

Jumhooree Party (JP) leader Gasim Ibrahim has slammed the religious conservative Adhaalath Party (AP) over its decision to field candidates in People’s Majlis constituencies reserved for the JP.

Speaking to local media on Sunday, Gasim said Maldivians would not accept the AP’s “unethical” decision.

“Their actions are not in the general interest, in the name of Adhaalath (justice) they are doing everything in the wrong way. This is what I believe. This is the truth. There is no deception in this,” said the JP leader.

“We gave them four seats. They did not accept it. There is nothing we can do,” he said.

The AP was excluded from the governing coalition’s seat allocation. The ruling coalition agreed to contest the People’s Majlis elections as a team and initially allocated 49 seats to the Progressive Party of the Maldives (PPM), eight to the Maldives Development Alliance (MDA), and 28 to the JP.

The AP held a series of discussions with the PPM and JP on the possibility of allocating constituencies to its candidates.

However, negotiations with the JP ended unsuccessfully after it refused to cede the Vaikaradhoo and Makunudhoo constituencies. The PPM also refused to cede five constituencies to the AP.

The AP subsequently announced it would field candidates in all constituencies reserved for the JP, but eventually decided upon seven candidates in PPM reserved constituencies and six in constituencies reserved for the JP.

The AP was among the coalition of parties that backed Gasim during November’s presidential election. After placing third in the re-run of the first round of presidential polls, the JP initially said it would remain neutral and would not support either the PPM or the opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP).

After the AP pledged its unconditional support for the PPM, just days before the second round, Gasim announced that his party had decided to back the PPM in exchange for a 30 percent stake in government and local and parliamentary elections.

Gasim went on to say that any agreement between his party and Adhaalath was invalidated as the two had decided to support the PPM separately.

He said the JP would have fielded candidates for all 85 constituencies if not for the agreement within the coalition.

“Success will not be within reach unless we work together,” he said, calling on coalition supporters vote only for coalition candidates.

The AP’s candidates include Ali Zahir for the Inguraidhoo constituency, Ibrahim Ahmed for the Madduvari constituency, incumbent MP Ibrahim Muttalib for the Fares-Maathoda constituency, Abdulla Ibrahim for the Kendhikolhudhoo constituency, Hassan Rasheed for the Kudahuvadhoo constituency, and Abdulla Haleem for the Isdhoo constituency.

Anara Naeem will contest the Makunudhoo constituency in Haa Dhaal atoll, Aishath Haleela for the Vaikaradhoo constituency, Ahmed Zahir for the Komandoo constituency, Asadhulla Shafie for the Kaashidhoo constituency, and Hisham Ahmed will contest the Meedhoo constituency in Addu City.

The party also named the Fiqh Academy Vice President Dr Mohamed Iyaz Abdul Latheef for the Hulhuhenveiru constituency. Dr Iyaz last week sparked controversy as he endorsed the practice of female genital mutilation in an online forum.

The AP also announced that State Minister for Home Affairs Abdulla Mohamed was awarded the party’s ticket for the Nolhivaram constituency.

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PPM concludes primaries, announces seven more candidates

The Progressive Party of Maldives had concluded its primaries for the upcoming Majlis elections, scheduled for March 22.

After having been allocated 49 seats after negotiations with its coalition allies, the party assigned places on the ticket to 13 party members without a vote. A further five were subsequently uncontested for their places on the party roster.

Following primaries for a further 25 seats last Saturday (February 8), the party held six additional races on Sunday, the results for which have been announced today.

Incumbents MPs Ahmed Rasheed and Yoosuf Abdul Ghafoor took the Isdhoo and Gan constituencies, respectively. Ali Shah will contest for the North Fuvahmulah constituency, Azhan Fahmy for the Maavashu seat, Mohamed Ameeth for the Maduvvari constituency, and Ibrahim Didi for the Feydhoo constituency.

After a disagreement with coalition partner, the Maldives Development Alliance (MDA), over the Gahdhoo seat, the PPM eventually ran a primary for the constituency, with Ahmed Rasheed returning as the winner.

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Environmental regulations amended to allow dredging for Kulhudhuffushi airport

The government of Maldives has amended environmental regulations to allow dredging in protected areas in order to facilitate the development of an airport in the protected mangrove site on Kulhudhuffushi island.

Speaking at a press conference today, Minister of Transport Ameen Ibrahim said the government would seek advice from environmental specialists to decide to dredge all or part of Kulhudhuffushi’s only remaining mangrove.

“We have to dredge the mangrove. We will determine whether it will be part or whole of the mangrove later,” he said.

Amendments to the regulations on dredging islands and lagoons will allow the government to dredge protected areas for development projects on the condition that an area with similar geographical characteristics is designated as protected.

The government must also determine if dredging in an environmentally protected area would cause flooding or damage underground fresh water aquifers – a critical water resource in inhabited islands.

Establishing an airport on the most populous island in the north was a key campaign pledge of President Abdulla Yameen, although with a regional airport on Hanimadhoo Island – just 16.5 km or a 30 minute dhoni ride from Kulhudhuffushi, critics have questioned the feasibility and economic viability of the venture.

The government has said airport developers will be given a contract of 25 years and will be awarded an island for resort development for 50 years in order to subsidise the airport.

“It may not be profitable to only serve Kulhudhuffushi residents. But it will become a profitable investment when islands nearby are developed as resorts,” Ameen told the media today.

Environmental NGO Ecocare has expressed concern over the government’s plans to abrogate its constitutional responsibility to protect the environment as long as the proposed plans are termed ‘development’.

“Though the constitution itself calls for sustainable development, it is sad and absurd when politicians care less about the vulnerability of the Maldives and its ecological diversity,” Ecocare has said.

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.”

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Criminal Court ignores Supreme Court order to begin trials

The Criminal Court has today refused to accept cases sent to the court by the Prosecutor General’s Office despite the Supreme Court’s insistence that the court start accepting cases.

A media official from the court has told online newspaper CNM that the Supreme Court’s order stated that cases must be accepted according to the regulations, but that cases accepting cases in the absence of a Prosecutor General would violate court regulations.

The paper reported that the court had received the Supreme Court order.

Speaking to Minivan News Deputy Prosecutor General Hussain Shameem said he had sent a letter informing the Supreme Court of the Criminal Court’s actions.

‘’Following the Supreme Court order, I was expecting the court to resume accepting cases as usual to establish justice,’’ he said.

Shameem also said that if the Criminal Court was accusing the PG’s Office of violating a regulation, then the court must specify the article and name of the regulation.

“There is no such regulation,’’ he said. “I have not seen a regulation that says so.’’

He said that 30 cases were sent to the Criminal Court today, and all were rejected.

“There are serious cases in there such as the recent incident where the wife of an MP was stabbed,’’ Shameem said, adding that there were over 400 cases pending in the PG’s Office to be sent to the Criminal Court.

On November 25, former PG Ahmed Muiz submitted his resignation, shortly before parliament was set to debate a no-confidence motion against him.

On January 8, the Criminal Court decided not to accept any cases submitted by the PG’s Office and to halt all existing cases because the position of PG has been vacant for over 30 days

On December 10, President Abdulla Yameen proposed his nephew Maumoon Hameed for the post of Prosecutor General and submitted the name to the parliament for the MPs to approve.

The issue was sent to parliament’s independent commissions committee, with the committee decided to seek public opinion before sending Hameed’s name to the parliament floor for voting.

However, the parliament is now on recess and will not re-commence work until March.

On January 9, the Supreme Court had ordered the Criminal Court to continue pending trials in the court.

Article 4(a) (4) of the Contempt of Court regulation states that willful failure to obey an order of the court or a court verdict will be considered as contempt of court.

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