Month: March 2014

Fishermen invited to register for MVR10,000 allowance on April 1

Application forms will be available on April 1 for fishermen to register in the government’s scheme to provide MVR10,000 (US$648) during lean months, President Abdulla Yameen said last night.

Addressing supporters in Gaaf Dhaalu Thinadhoo at a rally held to celebrate the Progressive Coalition’s victory in the parliamentary polls, President Yameen said the allowance will be released to fishermen before the end of May “when all the calculations and documentation are done.”

Marinas for fishermen would meanwhile be complete by the end of the year, Yameen said.

A MVR10,000 allowance to fishermen “regardless of catch” during lean months was a campaign pledge of candidate Yameen and the now-ruling Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM).

In an interview with Minivan News in January, Fisheries Minister Dr Mohamed Shainy explained that the allowance will be provided through an insurance scheme.

“If you look at the skipjack fishing statistics for last year, you will see three or four months which are very difficult for the fishermen. The real goal of this is sustainability,” he said.

“So the aim of the government is to ensure that even during these difficult months fishermen stay in the industry. For that reason, during those few months we want to give a payment so that they can do their basic necessities, so they can fulfil their daily obligations towards their family. The MVR10,000 scheme is a top-up system.”

He stressed that the MVR10,000 was not a subsidy as the productivity of the fisheries industry has been increasing since the downturn in 2004.

“So now we need to make the industry stand alone and be more vibrant and shock-proof to absorb these shocks. We need to devise a way to get people’s minds set on the idea that they can work in the industry. The real reason is the sustainability of the fishermen in the industry to keep them in the field during this low season,” he said.

Cheaper diesel

According to the President’s Office, President Yameen also said that discussions were ongoing between the State Trading Organisation (STO) and the Indian government to arrange the supply of petroleum products.

When the talks are concluded, Yameen said the price of oil would fall during the next two months.

Duing Indian Foreign Minister Salman Khurshid’s visit to the Maldives last month, an agreement was reached to supply diesel, petrol, and aviation fuels “on favourable terms” from the Mangalore Refinery & Petrochemicals Ltd, a subsidiary of India’s state-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corporation.

Following President Yameen’s state visit to India in January – his first official overseas trip since assuming office in November – senior government figures described Indo-Maldives ties as being “as strong as they were during [former President Maumoon Abdul] Gayoom’s time in power”.

Meanwhile, in his speech last night, President Yameen reportedly said that the government has undertaken efforts to attract foreign investors to the country, which would create jobs for unemployed youth.

Among the projects in the pipeline for Thinadhoo that President Yameen announced last night included road construction, land reclamation, construction of a sports arena, and broadening tourism.

With the prevailing political stability and the mandate given to the current administration by the public in the presidential and parliamentary polls, Yameen said he believed that the government could commence mega-projects and transform the Maldives to “this region’s Singapore.”

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EC announces official results of Majlis polls

The Elections Commission (EC) announced the official results last night of the parliamentary elections that took place on Saturday, March 22.

A number of ballot boxes were reopened to address complaints from candidates before the official results were announced. However, the recounts did not affect the outcome in any of the 85 constituencies.

The official results did not differ from the preliminary results announced last week.

As 189,482 out of 240,652 eligible voters cast their ballots on Saturday, voter turnout for the parliamentary polls was 78.80 percent.

The number of male voters was 95,744 while the number of female voters was 93,898.

Speaking at a press conference held last night to announce the official results, EC member Ali Mohamed Manik noted that 52 out of 75 complaints lodged at the national complaints bureau had been addressed.

None of the remaining complaints could affect the outcome, he said.

Under electoral laws, candidates could file cases at the High Court within 14 days if they are unhappy with decisions by the complaints bureau.

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Comment: The green-eyed judiciary and the green constitution

“If civilizations is to survive, one is driven to radical views. I do not mean driven to violence. Violence always compromises or ruins the cause it means to serve: it produces as much wrong as it tries to remedy. The state, for example, is always with us. Overthrow it and it will comeback in another form, quite possible worse. It is a necessary evil– a monster that continually has to be tamed, so that it serves us rather than devours us. We can’t do without it, neither can we trust it” (Quoted from Fiji times 17th January 2007, in Firth, Fraenkel and Lal, 2009).

Formation of judiciary

The Maldives judiciary has a long history of being under the control of the powerful and rich. In the olden days kings decided verdicts while later it came under the influence of dictatorial regime. Democracy however brought a new frontier of judiciary with a presupposition of being independent, transparent and impartial. This, however, is far from reality today and it seems judiciary is the biggest impediment for a true democracy in the small nation.

The judiciary has its evil in the way it was formed in 2008 to ratify the Article 285 of the green constitution. The Judicial Service Commission at that time also was hijacked by the bench of interim Supreme Court. Furthermore they undermined the constitution by self reorganising to re-establish as the permanent bench. Some from the bar and the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) immediately recognised the evil deeds of the then chief justice and immediately went on strike and locked the Supreme Court.

Even then, the current government – in opposition at the time – were sympathising with the bench and was in favour of its actions. The ramifications of this led to the formation of a bench in a haste in an extraordinary session of the Majlis. The bench formed was mainly of judges with strong sharia background with not much academic exposure to common laws practiced used in most civilised democratic countries. In addition, judge’s appointments had questionable integrity related issues. This was confirmed and well proven by the then JSC member Aishath Velazinee, and was circulated in the media.

The Litmus test

Major litmus test of judiciary came with the overthrowing of the democratically elected government in 2012. The bench in particular was faced with a major test of integrity and of serving justice. However the complacency shown by whole bench in the events before, during and after the toppling of the government was dubious.  Many suspicious people were convinced of their romance with the old dictatorial regime elements. The grassroots ran havoc on streets with no sense or awareness of rule of law.

Grassroots were blamed for attacks on law enforcement infrastructure, while their agony and pain was overlooked. Grassroots were blamed for not controlling their temper while temperament of elements of uniformed bodies that attacked civilians was justified. Also the grassroots with no sense of rule of law were led to a dilemma by not being provided guidance and legality in the toppling of the government. Instead the chief justice’s immediate action was to swear in the incumbent vice president who was alleged to be a major player of the “coup”.

This response immediately legitimised the actions of uniformed bodies before, during, and after the coup event. It also gave coup perpetrators and sympathisers powers leading to further repercussions. Till this day, the elements of uniformed bodies guilty of several crimes committed on day of coup and the following day remain immune to justice. For the grassroots and the watchful minds a clear fraternity between the judiciary and coup perpetrators was obvious.

Winners and losers

In essence the ‘coup’ of 2012 became a winner for the judiciary which was faced with heavy criticism, during the autumn of the democracy. Some even believe the fall of democracy has been a making of the judiciary. Soon after the coup the judiciary started enjoying a honeymoon, with overwhelming immunity and impunity. Their romance with dictatorial elements alleged to have perpetrated the coup, lead to erosion of rule of law and justice.

Justice in the country became a joke even to the layman. Any coup collaborators or sympathisers were proven innocent before going into courts – albeit of their corruption allegations. Anyone who was against the coup became guilty before appearing in court.  Day by day the grassroots became aware of the romancing of the judiciary with a particular political group. The public lost their trust in the whole judiciary. This was compounded by the dictatorial nature of judicial watch dog which from day one acted as the white cloak hiding the bench of its dirt.

In 2013, the election became a war of ‘coup’ perpetrators and their allies and the rest of the public. In a first round the public showed a relentless and overwhelming majority for the MDP. Fear began looming within the bench and their allies, enjoying the sweet honeymoon. The MDP became more vocal on reforming judiciary and garnered more support.  The looming fear within the judiciary and bench became obvious when they intervened to an internationally acclaimed transparent electoral process using baseless allegations.

Their allies in law enforcement and government by then cooked up a blatant litany of a report regarding elections. This became the catalyst for the bench to annul the elections, jeopardising one of the best electoral processes in the history of the nation. The grassroots later found the fallacies of this report which was heavily criticised by the Elections Commission. The election was won by the judiciary and the bench, as it turned in their favour.

The MDP garnered further support and strength from grass roots and kept their spirits alive by being consistent with their pledge to reform judiciary. Fear lurking within the bench again awakened.  Fear of the MDP winning the Maldives Majlis and the bench getting dissolved was not far from reality. The bench’s fears led to the utilisation of new tactics which involved becoming the jury, the judge, and the plaintiff in a case which even the layman and grassroots understood as injustice.

Finally the verdict to dismiss the president of the Elections Commission was given by the bench. The verdict was a clear abrogation of the green constitution. The bench once again laid down a path to remain.

The enigma

The constitution turning the judiciary evil and opening the Pandora’s Box is a misconception. The irony lies in the establishment of the bench, in abrogation of the green constitution. The root cause of evil is undermining the constitution by Majlis during the formation of the bench as reiterated by Velazinee. Additionally the international community turns a blind eye to the whole saga of appalling events.

The reactions and actions of the bench and JSC have further convinced the grassroots of their deception. One’s actions become a blessing for others in disguise. The response of the bench may garner further support for the MDP. Their slogan to reform judiciary may perhaps make them the winners, sooner or later. However, the players who made the judiciary green eyed and then white-washed it, are yet to be discovered.

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Health Ministry to investigate infant death at Hithadhoo hospital

Addu City’s Hithadhoo Regional Hospital (HRH) has confirmed that the death of an infant in a birth complication is being investigated by the Ministry of Health.

The baby passed away on Monday while being treated at the hospital’s Intensive Care Unit (ICU) for complication caused mainly from meconium aspiration following a C-section delivery on Sunday.

Khadhija Hafsa, the hospital in-charge, told Minivan News that statements required for the investigation have now been collected and sent to the ministry.

“The pediatrician at this hospital recommended the baby should be taken to Male’ immediately. We started working on that immediately and got Aasandha [insurance] approval that evening,” said Hafsa.

“But we couldn’t get a seat from the flight and were in the waiting list. Next morning we decided to bring the doctor here. The pediatrician from Hulhumale hospital was treating the baby when it passed away early that evening,” she added.

The baby received the best available treatment from the hospital, and later a more experienced pediatrician brought in from Hulhumale’ was treating the baby when it passed away almost twenty four hours later, she said.

Hafsa said the investigation will determine whether there was negligence of the hospital or anyone else.

Earlier she told local media that the baby was weak when delivered and that the death was being investigated as a “serious case”

According to local media ‘Haveeru‘ the mother blames the doctor and HRH’s negligence for the death of her sixth child.

“I don’t want anyone else to face a tragic incident like this. So, this incident should be investigated and action should be taken against the negligent,” the 44-year-old mother was quoted as saying.

She told Haveeru that the doctor had no interest in admitting her to the hospital and said she was not ready to give birth even after her water broke twice a few days back. She said the baby was delivered at 38 weeks, while the given due date was next Wednesday (April 2).

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Ministry of Environment aims to “transform the Maldives’ energy sector”

The International Renewable Energy Investor’s conference, focusing on the development of solar energy in the Maldives, took place yesterday (March 26) at Bandos resort.

The one-day conference – organised by the Ministry of Environment and Energy with the World Bank – aimed to transform the Maldives’ energy sector by reducing the dependency on costly fossil fuels for power generation.

The ministry reported that a total of 78 participants from government organisations, the World Bank, foreign consultants and investors discussed photovoltaic (PV) systems which could be established in Malé and Hulhumalé, as well as a framework for subsidies.

The conference came after the government last week outlined it’s strategic aims for renewable energy in a proposal named Accelerating Sustainable Private Investments in Renewable Energy programme (ASPIRE).

Published March 21 2014, this report details some of the difficulties faced by the Maldives, as well as future plans to increase the proportion of sustainable energy consumed in the country.

Submitted by the government and the International Bank of Reconstruction and Development, the proposal asks for a US$10,683 million grant in funding from the ‘Scaling Up Renewable Energy Programme’.

“The Government has no current stabilization program with the International Monetary Fund. The prior program lapsed in 2009 and most of the measures were reversed. The World Bank started a Development Policy Credit in 2010 for economic stabilization and recovery that was also cancelled due to lack of progress,” states the ASPIRE proposal.

“A major concern of foreign investors in Maldives has been their inability to reliably and consistently convert local currency to hard currency for reasonable transaction costs at the official exchange rate for repatriation of shareholder returns and foreign currency debt service.”

“The country has no conventional resources of energy. Providing electricity to the dispersed islands is overwhelmingly dependent on imported diesel fuel oil, and therefore vulnerable to fuel price volatility.”

Diesel fuel accounts for the bulk of the energy supply in the country, about 82.5% in 2009, according to ASPIRE. Therefore, the report suggests a move toward renewable energy as a means of improving “economic difficulties”.

“The development of solar PV projects is expected to improve the country’s fiscal situation by reducing both the volume of fossil fuel imports, as well as the fiscal uncertainty arising from fuel price volatility. This would also replace the expensive diesel based generation and result in significant reduction of the government subsidy,” the report confirms.

Similar reforms to the energy sector chimes were set to be rolled out two years ago, before the unstable political situation led to its  premature demise.

On the afternoon of February 7, 2012, the Maldives was set to sign in a revolutionary plan to attract an estimated US$200 million of risk-mitigated renewable energy investment.

The Scaling-Up Renewable Energy Programme (SREP) proposal was produced by the Renewable Energy Investment Office under President Mohamed Nasheed’s administration.

The World Bank team working on the project had given verbal approval for the plan, reportedly describing it as one of the most “exciting and transformative” projects of its kind in any country.

Previous awards for Clean Energy in the Maldives

Abu Dhabi media reported that in January 2014 The Abu Dhabi Fund for Development (ADFD) pledged Dh22million (US$6 million) in concessionary loans for clean energy projects in the Maldives.

The announcement came as Abu Dhabi hosted the Fourth Assembly of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) – attended by a delegation from the Maldives.

“Maldives does not have the luxury of time to sit and wait for the rest of the world to act and that Maldives has started the transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy,” Maldivian Minister for Environment and Energy Thoriq Ibrahim told the assembly.

The project will benefit 120,000 people, with a reduced need for landfills, the generation of 2MW of clean energy, and the production of 62 million litres of desalinated water per year.

Shortly after this award, the Maldives carried out a pioneering desalination project on the island of Gulhi, in Kaafu atoll, which became the first place in the world to produce desalinated drinking water using waste heat from electricity generation.

While these projects indicate advances toward renewable energy, the government has also pledged to seek crude oil as an alternative means of diversifying the economy and supplementing fuel supply.

According to local news outlet CNM, during a speech made by President Abdulla Yameen on March 16 he pledged to begin the search for crude oil. He went on to say that if the government is indeed successful in finding oil in the Maldives, the outlook for the entire country would change for the better.

However, Local NGO Bluepeace raised concerns regarding this pledge. Ali Rilwan Executive Director noted that with the large income from tourism and the spread of guest houses in local isands, the oil drilling “won’t have benefits for the people as a whole.”

“We can’t afford to go into that dirty energy,” he concluded. “When you take up the issues of drilling, we are concerned about the oil container tanks with unrefined fuel passing through.”

Minivan News was unable to contact State Ministers from the Ministry of Environment and Energy for further comment at the time of publishing.

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The government to take all major lands from Malé City Council

Following a cabinet decision on Tuesday, the Ministry of Housing and Infrastructure has decided to take all major lands in Malé City from the city council.

Minister of Housing and Infrastructure Dr Mohamed Muiz today told Haveeru that the lands that will be taken from the council including the artificial beach, carnival area, south harbour area, lands near the T-Jetty, Usfasgandu, and Dharubaaruge.

Muiz told that the decision was made to develop these lands under a master plan formulated by the ministry, and that it was not because of any problems existing between the council and the ministry.

“We are taking almost all big lands [in Malé]. We will very soon inform the council in writing that those have been taken [from the council]. We will work with the council. I don’t think this will create any problems,” Muiz said.

The government has the authority to take such lands to utilise them for social and economic purposes. He said that all arrangements of transfer, including the issue of any existing contracts with a private party, will be dealt according to the laws and regulations.

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Police investigating child sex trafficking case

Police have arrested 45-year-old man from Lhohi in Noonu atoll on suspicion of  sexually abusing a 15-year-old girl after deceiving her with the promise of an education in the capital, Malé city.

According to Maldives Police Service, the man sexually abused the girl on several occasions during her stay in Malé with him. He then took her to Lhohi claiming that she could get a better education in Lhohi than in Malé.

After being arrest on March 13 in Lhohi Miladhoo, the court has extended his detention for 15 more days. The case is being investigated by Manadhoo police station.

The same man is also also suspected of sexually abusing another 13 year old girl, also from Lhohi.

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Coalition to field separate candidates for Majlis speaker position

President Abdulla Yameen yesterday announced that his Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) will forward its own candidate for the position of speaker of the People’s Majlis.

The move follows Jumhooree Party (JP) leader Gasim Ibrahim’s claim earlier this week that he had the full backing of his coalition partners to stand for nomination to the chair.

Parliament should be an institution that “sincerely and responsibly” fulfils the duty bestowed by the public, Yameen told supporters yesterday.

“For this reason, our party wants the speaker’s post in the next People’s Majlis,” he said during a rally held last night to celebrate the Progressive Coalition’s garnering of a 53 seat majority in Saturday’s Majlis elections.

Notably absent from the event were leaders of the JP – the winner of 15 of the coalition’s seats – with party Secretary General Dr Mohamed Saud telling CNM that the party had not attended as it had not been made aware of the agenda.

Complaints from within the JP immediately after polling, regarding PPM-affiliated candidates having stood as independents in constituencies reserved for the JP, appeared to have been justified today as local media reported that two of the five successful independent candidates had signed for the ruling party.

Following his loss to an independent candidate last weekend, JP MP for Lhaviyani Naifaru, Ahmed Mohamed, accused the PPM of attempting to “destroy” its coalition partner.

Differences of opinion among coalition partners should be settled through dialogue, President Yameen said during yesterday’s rally, suggesting that the coalition had lost 15 seats as a result of members of coalition parties contesting as independents.

“This wasn’t the fault of the people. It was a mistake made by our parties,” he said, noting that coalition leaders had “repeatedly urged” party members to vote for the coalition’s official candidate.

Senior members of the JP, including Secretary General Dr Saud and Deputy Leader Ameen Ibrahim, told Minivan News today that they were unwilling to comment on political issues on behalf of the party.

The addition of two members would bring the PPM’s parliamentary group for the 18th Majlis – scheduled to hold its first session in late May/early June – to 35 of the chamber’s 85 seats.

The third coalition partner – the Maldives Development Alliance (MDA), which is more closely allied with the PPM – took five seats on Saturday.

Local media yesterday, however, reported Ahmed Mahloof as saying that both he and fellow re-elected PPM MP Ahmed Nihan had pledged to support Gasim’s candidacy for speaker while negotiating during the 2013 presidential election.

Mahloof suggested that the nomination of a PPM candidate would be likely to cause a rift within the Progressive Coalition, and would be a decision he would find difficult to support.

Neither Mahloof nor Nihan were responding to calls at the time of press. PPM leaders have told local media that no official coalition discussion on nominations to the speaker’s chair have been held.

Adding further uncertainty to Gasim’s attempts to become speaker, reports published in the Gasim-owned Vnews media outlet today that the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) – winner of 26 seats – had decided to support Gasim’s nomination to the chair have been denied.

“He’s capable, but there are many others in the parliament who are capable, we have not yet decided,” MDP Parliamentary Group Leader Ibrahim ‘Ibu’ Solih told Minivan News.

The election of the new speaker – a position currently held by the MDP’s Abdulla Shahid – is scheduled to take place through a secret ballot of MPs at the first sitting of the new session.

Majlis regulations note that the speaker “shall be the highest authority of the People’s Majlis responsible for the conduction of all matters pertaining to the People’s Majlis including the administration, the sittings and the committees of the People’s Majlis in accordance with the Constitution and the Regulations.”

The speaker is also charges with preserving “order and decorum” within the Majlis, as well as observance of the institution’s regulations.

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