Day: April 16, 2014

Kuda Bandos will be accessible to locals after resort development, says government

Malé area picnic island Kuda Bandos will remain accessible to the public even after its development as a tourist resort, Deputy Minister of Tourism Hussain Lirar has said today.

“The island was given for development as per regulations and laws to be developed as tourist resort. But the developer has decided to allow public access to the island for picnics,” Lirar said.

Malé City Council yesterday passed a resolution against the development of Kuda Bandos, with Mayor Mohamed Shihab arguing that the island ought to remain as a picnic island as there was no other nearby for the capital’s 100,000 plus citizens.

“[Kuda Bandos] has remained the only picnic island for a very long time. Now people of Malé are losing that as well,” he said. “All nearby islands are being given as resorts,” Councillor Shamau Shareef today told Minivan News today.

Members of the council yesterday met senior members of the ruling Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) including its leader, former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom.

Gayoom yesterday expressed his concern over the matter through his official twitter account, saying that hoped the news was not true.

Councillor Shareef reported that the response from the PPM leadership was positive and that they had assured the matter would be discussed with the government.

Council members will also meet leaders of other political parties to discuss the issue.

Picnic islands

Traditionally, picnic islands were leased at a very cheap rate for ‘tourism-related purposes’ by the government without any regulation as to how they were valued. Over time, however, the islands came to be utilised as any other tourist location, without being subject to the same taxes.

One example of this is Kaafu Kudafinolhu picnic island which was leased for five years to the Villa Group for an annual fee of just US$1,500 in 1998.

In 2010, the government allowed picnic islands to extend their leases by fifty years and to re-develop the islands into resorts by giving an extra fee to the government – twenty percent initially, the rest within a three year period – without a bidding process.

By 2013, procedures created under the Tourism Act allowed a company with at least a 10 percent share held by the state to develop a resort from land set aside for tourism use, such as a picnic island.

This regulation was criticised as excluding small and medium businesses by requiring joint venture partners to have a minimum financial worth of US$300 million, and to make a minimum initial capital investment of at least US$100 million.

Kuda Bandos itself was initially leased to former Vice President Waheed Deen – also the owner of Bandos Island resort- for an annual fee of US$6,000. Under his stewardship, the island has been made available exclusively for locals on Fridays, Saturdays, and public holidays.

The island was opened for bids in November 2012, with Waheed Deen – the sole bidder – winning the lease again for an annual fee of US$180,582, reported local media.

At the time, Tourism Minister Ahmed Adeeb said that a joint venture company would be established with the government to develop the island, though it is yet unclear if Waheed Deen is developing the resort with the government.

A wider issue

The response to the potential development of Kuda Bandos can be compared to reaction that met the decision to lease Kaafu Thanburudhoo for resort development in 2012.

Local surfers soon started a campaign to end exclusivity, and to allow free access to the island’s unique surf breaks.

After the campaign gained international support, the government last month amended the regulation on determining the borders of islands leased for tourism. Surfing areas and other tourist attractions near such islands are no longer considered part of it, even if they fall within the given borders.

One surfer who led the campaign as then president of the Maldivian Surf Association told Minivan News that the Thanburudhoo and Kuda Bandos cases were part of a bigger problem.

“This really should not be about just Kuda Bandos. That island is not enough to cater for the huge population in Malé,” said Ahmed Fauzan

“It is part a bigger problem – the same thing is going on with public spaces like parks being leased for businesses, even within Malé.”

He said that the issue is already spreading to other central atolls, with the majority of the islands being given away for tourism.

“It is part of our culture to go on picnic to the nearby island – we still have that right. There should be proper planning and consultation with locals. Just giving away every single bit of island and reef just like that is unsustainable and wrong,” said Fauzan.

More than sixty islands in Kaafu atoll are developed – or under development – with no uninhabited islands excluded.

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Feydhoo case accepted as High Court considers 13 election-related complaints

A panel of High Court judges have overruled a decision by the court’s registrar to reject a case filed by a losing candidate seeking annulment of the results for the Feydhoo constituency in the March 22 parliamentary polls.

The registrar’s decision regarding the Feydhoo constituency was overturned after the claimant – opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) candidate Mohamed Nihad – appealed the decision.

Of the 16 election-related complaints submitted to the High Court before the deadline last Friday (April 11), the court has rejected three cases and commenced proceedings on 12 others.

Following the decision to accept Nihad’s complaint, a first hearing of the Feydhoo constituency case has been scheduled for 2:15pm tomorrow (April 17).

Electoral laws stipulate that the High Court must conclude election-related cases within 30 days of the announcement of the official results, which was made on March 28.

In addition to complaints submitted by its candidates, the main opposition party has challenged the results in three constituencies.

Tagged ballot papers

Briefing members of the MDP’s national council yesterday, former Human Resources Minister Hassan Latheef – a member of the party’s legal committee – explained that that the party filed cases concerning the Villigili, Isdhoo, and Gemanafushi constituencies.

As both the constitution and electoral laws stipulate that voting must be conducted through secret ballot, Latheef said the Elections Commission (EC) was responsible for ensuring secrecy of the ballot.

Based on precedents established by the High Court and Supreme Court, Latheef explained that the MDP has asked the High Court to declare that ballot papers tagged with a symbol or mark would be invalid.

In the Gaaf Alif Villigili constituency election, Latheef said that about 300 ballot papers were tagged, all of which were counted as valid votes for the Progressive Party of Maldives’ (PPM) candidate.

Similarly, in the Laamu Isdhoo constituency, Latheef said the number of tagged ballot papers was more than 150 while there were more than 100 tagged ballot papers in the Gemanafushi constituency.

Latheef noted that in all three constituencies, the margin between MDP and PPM candidates was smaller than the number of tagged ballot papers identified by observers.

The party has submitted witnesses in all three cases, he said.

Under a precedent established by a Supreme Court ruling, Latheef said that if the number of ballots whose secrecy was compromised exceeds the margin of victory, the poll would not be valid.

As compromising the secrecy of the ballot in any election was illegal, Latheef contended that tagged ballot papers should be considered invalid votes.

Hearings have nearly concluded in all three cases, Latheef continued, and judges have said that verdicts would be delivered at the next trial date if they decide not to summon witnesses.

Transparency

Following Latheef’s briefing and presentation of the legal committee’s report on the election-related cases, former President Mohamed Nasheed – who was chairing yesterday’s national council meeting following his appointment as the party’s acting president – said that the party’s secretariat requested information of suspected wrongdoing from all election observers.

Detailed information was sent to the party office by MDP observers in the three constituencies where the party has challenged the results, he noted.

“Our biggest aim is to ensure that votes taken in the Maldives in the future are valid, transparent, and trustworthy,” Nasheed said.

Earlier this month, the MDP issued a press release accusing government-aligned parties of unduly influencing the March 22 polls through coercion and intimidation in addition to vote buying.

Some voters were asked to tag their ballot papers with a special mark or symbol for PPM observers and candidate representatives to identify their votes, the party alleged.

Voters were threatened with dismissal from their government jobs if they did not follow the instructions and proved they voted for the coalition candidate, the press release stated.

In the wake of the Majlis elections, NGO Transparency Maldives stated that while the polls were well-administered and transparent, “wider issues of money politics threatens to hijack the democratic process”.

The religious conservative Adhaalath Party also blamed its poor showing on bribery and coercion – accusing both sides of such practices.

“We saw it both from the ruling party and opposition Maldivian Democratic Party but we really did not want to buy votes –  instead we tried to change the way people think,’’ Adhaalath Party Spokesperson Ali Zahir told Minivan News.

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EC rejects Jabir’s arguments for annulment of Kaashidhoo poll

The Elections Commission (EC) has responded to accusations made in the ongoing trial of the case filed by Maldivian Democratic Party MP Abdulla Jabir who lost his seat in the recent parliamentary elections.

In the High Court, Jabir has requested the invalidation of the result on the grounds that he was restrained from the right to campaign, and that the ballot box kept in the island of Gaafaru was not closed on time.

Jabir has also claimed that Home Minister Umar Naseer made comments that influenced the elections by saying he would very soon establish a prison in Jabir’s constituency of Kaashidhoo, and that Jabir – currently serving a twelve month jail sentence – would be transferred to that prison.

EC lawyer and former Attorney General Husnu Suood told the court that Jabir was in prison as a result of his own actions and that there was nothing that commission could do to solve this issue.

Suood told the court that every candidate has a representative, the purpose of which was to assist the candidate in such situations, and that the commission believes Jabir lost the right to campaign when incarcerated for a failure to provide a urine sample to police.

Furthermore, Suood pointed out that the ballot box in Gaafaru was closed later than the other boxes because the box had been opened later than others on the day of voting.

According to local media, Jabir presented the names of 36 persons to support his argument in the court as well as the audio recording of Umar Naseer’s remarks on establishing a prison in Kaashidhoo.

The decision to build an open prison on the island of Kaashidhoo was first announced by the Home Ministy in September last year, two months prior to Umar Naseer’s appointment as home minister.

In February, the Criminal Court sentenced Jabir to one year in prison after the court found him guilty of refusing to provide a urine sample to police after his arrest on the private island of Hondaidhoo in November 2012.

The Prosecutor General also charged Jabir for possession of cannabis before the court ruled that there was not enough evidence to find him guilty.

Jabir’s trial on alcohol possession charges – also stemming from the Hondaidhoo incident – was postponed last week after the MP was hospitalised with breathing difficulties.

In an interview with Vnews today, Jabir’s wife Dhiyana Saeed has said her husband had been in hospital since April 8, revealing that doctors asked to bring a bilevel positive airway pressure machine from Singapore.

Dhiyana also told the news outlet that doctors had informed her that Jabir’s breathing stops four times every hour.

She said that doctors had not recommended taking Jabir abroad for medical treatment, and that his medical reports were being sent directly to the Maldives Correctional Services.

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DhiFM Plus airs upside down photo of broadcasting commission chair

Private broadcaster DhiTV and sister network DhiFM Plus have responded to threats of action by the Broadcasting Commission regarding violations of the broadcasting code of practice by displaying an upside down photo of the commission’s chair, Mohamed Shaheeb.

The commission issued a stern warning yesterday of possible action against the broadcaster for repeatedly displaying upside down photos of Elections Commission (EC) members in late February.

As the commission had previously decided that the move contravened the broadcasting code of practice, the broadcasting regulator said in a statement yesterday that its members unanimously decided to issue a warning to Broadcasting Maldives Pvt Ltd – the company that operates DhiTV – under article 44(a)(2) of the Broadcasting Commission Act.

The upside down photo of Shaheeb on DhiFM’s visual radio channel – also aired on DhiTV during its downtime – is accompanied by a news ticker that reads, ‘Experts say that making such a harsh announcement while [we] have been apologising in compliance with the Broadcasting Commission’s instructions is a step backwards for democracy’.

Last month, the commission asked DhiFM Plus to publicly apologise for broadcasting an upside down photo of former EC Chair Fuwad Thowfeek.

The commission noted at the time that the station had previously been advised that the upside-down content was in violation of the code of practice, instructing the private broadcaster to issue a statement of apology to be aired between 8:00pm and 10:00pm before March 26.

The station had been asked in February to cease broadcasting upside down photos pending the conclusion of an investigation by the commission.

Similar advice was given to the broadcaster in November last year after upside down photos of three EC members were shown with a caption alleging electoral fraud in the annulled September 7 presidential election.

In March, the Supreme Court stripped Thowfeek and EC Deputy Chair Ahmed Fayaz of their membership over charges of contempt of court, prompting DhiTV and DhiFM to resume airing their upside down photos.

Following the incident, the broadcasting commission sent a circular to all broadcasters noting that it had received complaints and appealed against the disrespectful use of photos.

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GMR arbitration verdict to take up to two months

The government has confirmed that arbitration proceedings regarding the terminated GMR contract – expected to be concluded this week – may take up to two months to reach a verdict.

President Abdulla Yameen had recently stated that the government had failed to reach an out of court settlement with the Indian infrastructure giant, which is seeking US$1.4billion in compensation after the premature annulment of its 25-year concession agreement.

“But the thing is, the GMR is seeking a huge amount as compensation. This government, however, does not believe that we can – or indeed that we need to – pay such a large amount as compensation,” Yameen stated prior to his departure to Japan earlier this week.

“So their [GMR’s] decision now is to wait until the arbitration case is concluded. So we will carry on after the arbitration case is completed,” he continued.

Yameen revealed his intention to seek further foreign investment in the development of Ibrahim Nasir International Airport (INIA), with Japanese, Singaporean, and Middle Eastern investors all being courted.

The president confirmed that the arbitration case had commenced and that both Minister of Defence and National Security Mohamed Nazim and former Attorney General Azima Shakoor had attended the hearing as witnesses from the state.

“Those from our government who were handling the matter at the time have attended the first session’s hearing and provided the necessary information,” Yameen said.

New facilities

“We are not seeking just one single investor for the airport. This is because development of the airport will be a huge project,” Yameen told the media on before his departure on Sunday (April 13).

“What we are speaking about is a new airport. We want it to be an iconic building with additional runway, an additional terminal and new terminal facilities.”

The Maldives Airport Company Limited (MACL) has today confirmed that a second runway will form a crucial part of any new development – the need for which has come to the fore again this week as the state of the airport’s runway partly to blame for the bursting of landing aircraft’s tire in December 2011.

United Arab Emirates’ General Civil Aviation Authority found that the burst tire of a landing Emirates flight was partly caused by the accumulation of standing water on the runway.

The reports advised the Maldives Civil Aviation Authority to “ensure that Operators utilising Male’ airport are fully aware of the runway condition until the runway enhancements are finalised”.

Demands for a second runway – not included in the initial agreement – were among the criticisms levelled at the US$500million GMR concession agreement, before the deal was declared void ab initio (‘invalid from the outset’) by the Dr Mohamed Waheed government.

With speculation about excessive foreign influence accompanying the anti-GMR campaign prior to the contract’s termination, President Yameen has assured that overall  management of the airport will stay in the hands of MACL.

New investors

“We are also thinking about making the airport into one that can carry over 5 million passengers. We want the airport to be one that can cater to tourism growth within the next 50 years,” Yameen explained this week.

“Therefore, this is a project worth at least 600 to 800 million dollars. Of the various components of the airport, we are approaching Japan to invest in terminal facilities and a terminal building. So this trip [to Japan] is not one where we are seeking a single party to develop the whole airport.”

He further stated that Vice President Dr Mohamed Jameel Ahmed had held positive discussions with Kuwait over airport development assistance while he had personally met with Saudi Arabia’s infrastructure giant Bin Laden Group, who also expressed interest in the project.

While the Minister of Economic Development Mohamed Saeed and Minister of Tourism Ahmed Adeeb are working on a concept design of the airport, the senior management of Singapore’s Changi airport were being mooted as consultants for the development.

Yameen will travel to Singapore later this month to inaugurate the Maldives Investment Forum, a government initiative to showcase ‘high level’ investment opportunities in the country, including the development of INIA.

The president has previously assured foreign investors that future investments will in the Maldives are safe, and will soon be protected by enhanced legislation.

“We are going to open up the Maldives in a huge way to foreign investors. Our thirst cannot be quenched. The opportunity to foreign investors is going to be enormous,” he told potential developers earlier this month.

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Fisheries Ministry and MNDF at odds over decision to destroy confiscated pets

The Ministry of Fisheries and Agriculture has said it was not consulted by the Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) before the destruction of over 120 confiscated pets.

“I was as shocked as anybody else when I saw that they had killed the animals -we were actually talking to the owl owner at the time when I saw the news,” an official with the ministry told Minivan News today.

Confusion surrounded the decision to destroy the animals after a joint operation of all relevant state institutions was prompted by a spate of exotic animal discoveries in the country in recent weeks.

The MNDF yesterday maintained that the animals had been put down upon request of the police, though the police service has denied this.

The Fisheries Ministry has today argued that regulations required the presence of witnesses to the destruction, as well as questioning the legality of the termination of the owl – whose owner had claimed the animal was found rather than imported.

“On Saturday, the ministry’s stand was that if you hand over the animals to us, we would give the choice of re-export – and the fact that the owl was something that was not imported, there was an issue – it was a controversial case that had to be dealt separately,” said the ministry source.

MNDF Deputy Spokesman Captain Ali Ihusaan has refuted these claims, arguing that the owl’s owner had initially claimed that the owl was legally imported, before changing his story.

“The only places that provide this authorisation were the Ministry of Defence and National Security and the Ministry of Environment – we asked both of these authorities and we asked the owner to provide the owner to provide any documentation given by these ministries,” said Ihusaan.

After cross-checking these confiscated creatures with import records, and thus proving they could not have been imported legally, the animals were put down, he explained.

“We are not an animal farm or a zoo and we cannot take care of that number of animals at the same time,” he added. “The animals that we disposed of were not endangered species so we didn’t really have to consult with any other authorities.”

Regarding the requirement that witnesses be present for the animals’ destruction, Ihusaan suggested that this was regulation was only applicable to animals seized at the ports.

The source at the Fisheries Ministry has revealed that a letter has been drafted to request proof that the animals have been terminated, suggesting that this was important in order to halt speculation about the animals potentially being transferred to new owners.

“A lot of people speculate because that actually does happen sometimes and people really don’t trust these institutions, and that’s why I stressed they should be destroyed in the presence of everybody.”

Local media today reported that the lawyer representing the owl’s owner claimed the animal has not been destroyed, arguing that the owner will withdraw charges filed with the Police Integrity Commission if the bird is returned.

The ministry of fisheries source revealed that the outpouring of anger following the animals’ destruction resulted in anxious crowds gathering at the ministry, as well as threatening phone calls being received from angry owners – hence the official’s request for anonymity.

The official went on to suggest that they had clearly requested that all the institutions involved in the operation to confiscate the animals should have been consulted before their destruction, suggesting that the only legal rationale for their transfer to the MNDF’s mandate was that the animals had been deemed ‘dangerous or wild’.

The animals destroyed included 11 iguanas, a snake, a sugar glider (possum), an owl, a squirrel, and 105 rats.

“We did not want any of the animals to be killed,” said the ministry official.

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President Yameen holds talks with Japanese prime minister

During his official visit to Japan, President Abdulla Yameen has met with Emperor Akihito, in addition to holding a summit meeting with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

According to the President’s Office website, the discussions during Tuesday’s summit meeting included multiple areas where the two countries could cooperate.

The Japanese prime minister hosted a dinner in honour of the Maldivian president, during which Yameen praised Japan as having been the Maldives’ most generous post-independence development partner.

The areas discussed during yesterday’s meeting were said to include environmental sustainability, clean energy, defense, maritime security, fisheries, tourism, infrastructure development, communications, broadcasting, human resource development, youth empowerment, disaster risk reduction, climate change mitigation, trade, and investment.

After conclusion of the meeting, Shinzo Abe told the press that the Maldives and Japan shared similar fundamental values of freedom and democracy, and that the two countries had agreed to work together to deal with both regional and global issues.

He further affirmed Japan’s commitment to promote bilateral cooperation in combating climate change, with leaders signing a joint statement at the end of the summit.

In a statement released to media, President Yameen spoke of the close ties between the two countries, and of the mutual extending of aid at times of need.

“Ten years ago, the Maldives was affected by the Asian Tsunami. Japan’s response to our appeals for support and assistance in our recovery efforts was overwhelming.”

“In 2011, Japan was struck by the Great Eastern Japan Earthquake and Tsunami. The Maldivian people, keen on showing their solidarity and support for those in affected areas, donated 700,000 tuna cans to be dispatched to Japan.”

“We were glad that we were of some assistance to Japanese when they were in time of need. To date, the response to that appeal remains a record in the Maldives – a confirmation of the special bonds of friendship between our two peoples,” the statement read.

During his visit, President Yameen has also extended an invitation to the Japanese Prime Minister to conduct an official visit to the Maldives.

On his first day in Tokyo, the President met with Maldivian families and students residing in Japan.

While speaking of the goals he wished to achieve during his visit, the president also remarked that “one of the highest priorities of the government is to transform the political instability among Maldivians into a development outlook”.

The President’s Office website further report Yameen as stating that a country with a politically motivated people would not be able to sustain harmony.

Japan is the biggest bilateral donor to the Maldives, with data from the Japanese International Cooperation Agency showing that the east Asian nation had given over US$450 million to the Maldives in development assistance between 2004 and 2010.

President Yameen was quoted as telling those president at yesterday’s honorary dinner that “it was likely today, there is not a ‎single Maldivian who has not ‎benefitted, both directly and indirectly, from ‎support and assistance ‎by Japan.‎”

Projects benefiting from Japanese aid have included the first mechanisation of fishing vessels between 1973-76, the development of Malé’s seawall between 1987-2003, and the extension of loans amounting to US$34 million for post-tsunami reconstruction.

Japan is also one of the Maldives largest trading partners, importing over US$3million worth of fish from the Indian Ocean nation in 2012.

President Abdulla Yameen was invited to make an official state visit to Japan during December 2013 by Japanese Ambassador to the Maldives Nobuhito Hobo. At the time, Japan gifted 200 million Japanese yen (US$ 1,956,400) in grant aid for medical supplies.

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Ports workers’ familes to receive monetary compensation from MPL

The Maldives Ports Limited (MPL) board last Thursday decided to pay MVR10,000 to the families of the workers killed in an accident on April 7, local media has reported.

In addition to the payment, the youngest child in both families will receive a monthly payment of MVR15,000 till they are eighteen years old.

Mohamed Nashid, 32, from Kudafary in Noonu atoll and Ibrahim Shareef, 36, from Malé were both killed when the crane’s wire snapped while loading a container onto the boat. The crane’s operator, Imran, fainted on seeing the incident and suffered minor injuries as a result.

Following the fatal incident the Ministry of Transport has announced an infrastructure and operations audit for of all commercial harbours in the the country.

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Government plans US$40 million stadium for Hulhumalé

The Ministry of Youth and Sports has announced plans to construct a US$40 million stadium in Hulhumalé, local media has reported.

“Several components of Hulhumale’ Youth City will be promoted at the forum in Singapore. The stadium being planned for Hulhumale’ will stand out in the region,” Minister for Youth and Sports Maleeh Jamal told Sun Online.

The minister revealed that the investment opportunity would be included in the Maldives Investment Forum, scheduled to be held in Singapore on April 25.

Haveeru has today learned that over 300 investors from 15 countries are set to attend the forum at the prestigious Marina Bay Sands hotel.

President Yameen’s plans for Hulhumalé include the development of ‘youth village’ with a population of 50,000 people, as well a bridge linking the reclaimed island with the capital, Malé.

The vision for the youth city meanwhile includes a “technopolis park” as well as entertainment and sports facilities, he said at the launch of a new housing project this month.

Hulhumalé will become “a paradise on earth” for migrants from across the country, said Yameen.

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