November 18, 2014 – Minivan News

China donates 200,000 energy efficient lights

China has today pledged to provide the Maldives with 200,000 energy efficient LED lights as part of an MoU for the provision of goods to assist in combatting climate change.

“Approximately MVR300 is estimated to be saved if the LED lights are used for 8 hours per day and if 75% of the LED lights which has been provided are used, MVR49 million would be saved,” read a press release from the Ministry of Environment and Energy.

The ministry last month launched the ‘It’s cool at 25’ campaign to reduce energy consumption in the country and potentially save MVR8,000 (US$519) – or seven percent – from household electricity bills.

Minister of Environment and Energy Throriq Ibrahim signed the MoU on behalf of the government, while Deputy Head of Commission at the Chinese Embassy in Maldives Liu Ching signed on behalf of the Chinese government.

In addition to providing an additional 250,000 LED lights in 2013 – subsequently used across 164 islands – China has more recently donated 200 waste bins worth MVR500,000 (US$32,425) to the Maldives.

As well as a steady stream of grant aid, the Chinese and Maldivian governments have recently penned deals regarding military aid and the development of Ibrahim Nasir International Airport, as well as the Chinese promising to “favorably consider” financing the Malé-Hulhulé bridge project.

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Free airport ferries for the disabled

Free ferries between Malé and Hulhulé will be provided for people with disabilities from midnight tonight, the Airports Ferry Operators Association has announced.

“People with disabilities can show their card at the ticket station and get tickets for free,” Secretary General of the Airports Ferry Operators Association Ibrahim Mohamed told Sun Online.

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High Court overturns sex crime conviction of renowned Quran teacher

The High Court on Sunday (October 16) overturned the conviction of renowned Quran teacher or reciter Hussain Thoufeeq, for committing a sex crime.

In November 2013, Thaufeeq was sentenced to six months banishment and 15 lashes for sexually abusing children. However the Criminal Court suspended the sentence for three years, on the grounds it was the Qari’s first offence.

Thaufeeq appealed the verdict and the High Court ruled noted that the three witnesses were all related, had not reported the matter to police, and had testified after being evicted from their apartment.

Presiding Judges Abbas Shareef, Yousuf Hussain, and Dr Ezmirelda Zahir ruled that the testimony of the witnesses was not sufficient to prove guilt beyond reasonable doubt.

Thaufeeq was arrested in August 2010 on multiple charges of child sexual molestation with “some cases going a long time back,” police said at the time.

Thaufeeq’s students had also submitted a petition to the Human Rights Commission of the Maldives (HRCM) asking the commission to investigate the allegations.

Thaufeeq hosted a daily Quran teaching program on Television Maldives (TVM) for school children every evening after Isha prayers. He also led Friday prayers and conducted sermons.

Under the Child Sex Offenders (Special Provisions) Act of 2009, the penalty for child sex abuse is 10-14 years but can be extended to 15-18 years if the accused was in a position of trust with the children he allegedly abused.

However, Thaufeeq was charged under a different regulation for criminalising fornication and sexual misconduct.

The Qari is also being charged with possession of pornographic material. The trial is still pending at the Criminal Court.

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Police officer arrested in domestic violence case

A police officer was arrested in Hulhumalé around 12:45pm today for assaulting his wife.

Police said the 35-year-old man was arrested at the “crime scene” and the victim has sought treatment at the Hulhumalé hospital.

The Hulhumalé police station and the police family and child protection department are jointly investigating the domestic violence case.

According to online news outlet Vaguthu, the police officer beat his wife in the presence of his mother-in-law.

In April 2012, parliament passed long-awaited legislation on criminalising domestic violence.

A Ministry of Gender and Family study – the first comprehensive nationwide survey of domestic violence in the Maldives – showed that one in every three women between the ages of 15-49 has been a victim of domestic violence.

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More than one in three Maldivians offered bribes or witnessed vote buying, IFES survey reveals

More than one in three Maldivians were offered bribes for their votes or witnessed vote buying in the March parliamentary polls, a landmark study by the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES) has revealed.

The ‘Money and Elections in the Maldives: Perceptions and Reality‘ report released today said vote buying in the Maldives has assumed “alarming proportions” and “if not addressed, it threatens to undermine the democratic process in the country.”

The survey gathered information from face-to-face interviews from across the Maldives and looked at prevalence of vote buying and fraud, and public perception on campaign finance.

Of the respondents who experienced or witnessed vote buying, 82 percent said they were offered cash. Of this, 53 percent said they were offered between MVR4,000 (US$262) and MVR20,000 (US$1,309) for their votes.

According to IFES, the figure for those who experienced vote buying is a conservative estimate as respondents to opinion surveys are generally reluctant to report unethical or illegal activity.

Ballot marking was the most common technique used to ensure that those offered money or gifts cast their ballot for the candidate or the party who offered them money or gifts (27 percent), the survey said.

A further eight percent were asked to swear an oath on the Qur’an while six percent were asked to turn over their identity papers.

More than a third of respondents believed fraud was committed during parliamentary polls.

Despite the alarming prevalence of vote buying, majority of Maldivians continue to have faith in the electoral process, with 8 out of 10 saying they believed voting gives them influence over decision-making in the country.

“Vote buying should be addressed before cynicism and apathy take root,” IFES said.

Campaign Finance

Nearly two thirds (66 percent) of Maldivians believed political parties and candidates spend most of their campaign funds on vote buying and gifts for voters, while 70 percent said they do not believe candidates are honest in reporting campaign spending.

When asked about key sources of campaign funding, most Maldivians believe political parties and candidates receive funds from party funds (40 percent), or that candidates are self funded (32 percent). Local businesses ranked third.

More significantly, nearly 4 out of 10 respondents said they did not know sources of funding, suggesting a significant lack of information regarding election campaign funding.

Despite the dismal picture, there is near unanimous support for campaign finance reform, specifically to combat vote buying, IFES said.

Approximately 90 percent said vote buying should remain illegal and 70 percent supported a cap on contributions by any one person.

Three quarters of respondents also said they would like to see campaign spending limits for political parties and candidates.

Hence, “Maldivian lawmakers have clear public support to introduce preventive measures to combat vote buying ahead of the next elections,” the report stated.

A clear majority, nearly 90 percent, do not believe government property, including vehicles and boats, should be allowed for campaigning or political purposes.

A majority also said candidates and political parties must not undertake charitable activities and community development activities such as building a playground or harbors, suggesting a majority recognised such activities can be utilised to generate support.

A slight majority also believed the hiring of local musicians during campaigns was inappropriate.

Survey findings indicated high levels of confidence in the Election Commission with 73 percent stating the commission performed well or very well.

Those who did not vote in the election identified re-registration and other logistical issues such as transportation as main reasons for not voting.

Nearly 4 out of 10 voters had to manually re-register before each election, the survey found. IFES has recommended legislative reform to ease the burden or re-registration and logistical difficulties for voters and the Election Commission

Of those who did not vote, 19 percent said there were no worthy candidates, while 16 percent said they had no interest and 7 percent said their vote does not matter.

Related to this story

Majlis elections: “Money politics threatens to hijack democratic process”, says Transparency Maldives

EU elections observers recommend legislation to improve future polls

Majlis elections: Undue influence, bribery, and disilussionment led to losses, says MDP

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President Yameen launches MVR200 million ‘Maldives Youth Entrepreneurship Programme’

President Abdulla Yameen launched the ‘Get Set – Maldives Youth Entrepreneurship Programme’ at a function held last night to mark ‘National Youth Day.’

According to the President’s Office, MVR200 million (US$12.9 million) worth of loans would be provided through the initiative to encourage entrepreneurship among youth and assist the development of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

“Two individuals may jointly apply ‎for loans to start up their businesses under this scheme,” the President’s Office explained in a statement.

“The recipients of the ‎scheme will be granted soft loans, along with the required technical ‎assistances through business incubation programmes.”‎

In his speech at the function, President Yameen pledged to help all young job seekers secure employment, adding that enough job opportunities were currently available for skilled youth.

“However, Maldivian youth should have the courage to remain in a job,” he said.

Yameen referred to a report released by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) two years ago, which found that the number of unemployed youth worldwide was 750 million or 16 percent.

The number of youth worldwide who earn less than US$2 a day was meanwhile 230 million, he noted.

At present, he continued, youth is synonymous with unemployed, homeless, and indebted.

However, the “strong, potent power” of youth could be “harnessed” to change the course of a nation, he said.

“The slogan I choose during the presidential election was ‘where there is life, there is hope’,” he said.

Efforts were underway to fulfil the Progressive Party of Maldives’ campaign pledge to create 94,000 jobs in five years, he said.

The government would establishe sports arenas in islands with a population in excess of 2,000 people by the end of 2015, Yameen pledged, which would include facilities and infrastructure for most sports played by Maldivian youth of both genders.

The government has allocated MVR300 million (US$19.4 million) in next year’s budget to conduct programmes aimed at youth, he noted, which Yameen said he considered “an investment”.

The government was also focused on rehabilitating wayward youth, he continued, and called on youth leaders to “harness positive energy” to enact “positive change” and “build the nation”.

The current administration believed Maldivian youth were “resourceful, innovative and productive,” he said.

Speaking at a function held last week to celebrate TC Sports Club’s promotion to the football first division, President Yameen said politicians would be “forced to walk down the path shown by youth”.

The government was erasing or expunging police records of youth who have served sentences under an inititiatve to provide employment opportunities, he said.

In July, Home Minister Umar Naseer told parliament that criminal records of more than 2,000 youth had been cleared.

A 2012 report on gang culture in the Maldives noted that lack of employment opportunities was one of the main reasons young people join criminal gangs.

Criminal records even for minor offences are not cleared for five years, the report noted.

Meanwhile, the Prosecutor General’s (PG) Office revealed earlier this month that it has declined to prosecute 56 first offenders as of the last week of October – part of the office’s ‘second chance programme’.

Youth awards

At last night’s event, President Yameen also presented ‘National Youth Awards’ for 2013 and 2014 to “nine individuals and two NGOs for their outstanding accomplishments in the ‎areas of sports, journalism, Dhivehi linguistics, events management, fashion ‎design, and social service.‎”

“The National Youth Awards 2014 was presented to 4 individuals and two ‎NGOs for their ‎outstanding accomplishments in the areas of sports, ‎creative writing and social service,” the President’s Office noted.

The recipients included national football team captain Ali Ashfaq, who recently won the Malaysian league’s ‘Foreign Player of the Year’ title.

PG announces policy for not prosecuting first time offenders

Yameen Abdul Gayoom identifies youth and economy as key focus for primary campaign

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Government proposes import duty hike for oil, staple foodstuffs

The government has proposed raising import duties for staple foodstuffs and oil to 10 percent to raise additional revenue anticipated in the record MVR24.3 billion (US$1.5 billion) state budget for 2015.

Amendments (Dhivehi) submitted to the Export-Import Act on behalf of the government by Maldives Development Alliance MP Mohamed Ismail proposes raising import duties from the current zero rate to 10 percent for rice, flour, wheat, and sugar as well as oil or petroleum products.

Additionally, the bill proposes raising custom duties for tobacco from 150 to 200 percent and raising the duty for a single cigarette to MVR1.25.

The government has also proposed imposing a 20 percent custom duty for luxury cosmetics and perfume and a 200 percent custom duty for land vehicles such as cars, jeeps, and vans.

However, the bill proposes scrapping import duty for luxury yachts imported for tourism businesses.

The stated purpose of the amendment is revising import duty rates in light of “price changes in the global market”.

The latest monthly economic review from the Maldives Monetary Authority noted that “the International Monetary Fund (IMF) commodity price index fell in both monthly and annual terms in September 2014, by 4 percent and 9 percent, respectively.”

“The monthly and annual decline in commodity prices was attributed to the decline in petroleum, metal and food prices. The price of crude oil fell by 4 percent in monthly terms and by 12 percent in annual terms and stood at US$95.9 per barrel at the end of September 2014,” the review stated.

About 30 percent of the Maldives’ GDP is spent on importing fossil fuels. In 2012, US$ 486 million was spent on oil imports, and the figure is estimated to rise to US$700 million by 2020.

According to the Maldives Customs Service, of the MVR7.2 billion (US$466.9 million) worth of goods imported in the first quarter of 2014, one-third was spent on petroleum products.

Finance Minister Abdulla Jihad meanwhile told parliament’s budget review committee last week that the government was considering increasing custom duties “mostly for luxury items, or items that are harmful to the environment or health.”

Jihad had said the items under consideration were tobacco, perfume, and vehicles.

Other revenue raising measures

In his budget speech to parliament, Jihad also revealed plans to revise the electricity subsidy, which he said currently benefits the affluent more than the needy.

Targeting the electricity subsidy to low-income families or households would save 40 percent of the government’s expenditure on the subsidy, Jihad explained.

Jihad told the budget review committee that the government anticipates MVR533 million (US$34.5 million) in additional revenue from revising import duties, which was among five revenue raising measures proposed with next year’s budget.

The forecast for additional revenue from the new measures is MVR3.4 billion (US$220 million), including US$100 million expected as acquisition fees for investments in special economic zones and MVR400 million (US$25.9 million) from the sale and lease of state-owned land.

The other measures were introducing a green tax of US$6 per night in November 2015 and leasing 10 islands for new resort development.

An amendment (Dhivehi) to the Tourism Act has been submitted by Progressive Party of Maldives MP Abdulla Khaleel on behalf of the government for introducing the green tax.

The government has also decided to waive import duties for construction material and capital goods imported for resort development and provide sovereign guarantees for loans.

Meanwhile, at the ongoing budget debate, opposition Maldivian Democratic Party MPs have criticised plans to hike import duties while providing concessions to wealthy resort owners.

The burden of higher prices due to higher tariffs would be borne by the public, the MPs argued, contending that the government’s economic policies would benefit the rich at the expense of the poor.

“Our question is why shouldn’t an income tax be introduced? When MDP submitted an income tax bill to parliament it wasn’t passed. But we are telling this government to introduce an income tax and [tax] the affluent as well,” said MDP MP Eva Abdulla last week.

US$6 green tax to be introduced from November 2015, says tourism minister

Government submits revenue raising bills to parliament

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Advance payment of €40,000 for police dog squad

The Maldives government has made a €40,000 (US$50,000) advance payment to a Netherlands-based company for the delivery of a dog squad to combat drug trafficking.

A police media statement explained that the payment was made to the Dutch company yesterday which is to be called ‘Faara Gema’.

Police also announced employment opportunities working at the ‘Faara Gema’ dog squad kennel which is to be located in Hulhumalé.

Police give the utmost importance and high priority towards fighting against drug use and trafficking and also establishing the ‘Faara Gema’ dog squad, read the press statement.

While speaking at a press conference last week, Police Drug Enforcement Department head, Chief Inspector Ahmed Shifan revealed plans to use the dog squad in the atolls during special operations, but refused to provide any further details.

Minister of Home Affairs, Umaru Naseer flew to the Netherlands in June to finalise arrangements for the dogs, which the ministry has said will first be transported to Sri Lanka.

“The dogs will be trained in Sri Lanka for three months. After that the Maldivian police team will travel to Sri Lanka and train with the dogs for another three months and the dogs will be brought to the Maldives for the first time to form the squad,” explained media officer Thazmeel Abdul Samad.

A total of 15 police officers are to be given training to work with the animals, local media have reported.

The Maldives has previously employed dogs for drugs and security, with the most recent example being the use of dogs for security operations at the 2011 SAARC Summit in Addu City. On that occasion, the dogs were handled by a special Sri Lankan task force.

In October 2002 two sniffer dogs were brought to the Maldives from Sri Lanka, and were used at Ibrahim Nasir International Airport under the supervision of National Security Service – and later the Maldives National Defence Force.

In 2008, the chair of the parliamentary committee on narcotics, Ibrahim Mohamed Solih said that no drugs were ever confiscated with the help of the two dogs. The committee’s investigations found that the dogs were in fact unable to recognize drugs, said Solih.

The home minister has pledged to focus his efforts on the battle against drugs while in office, noting that illegal narcotics were overloading the criminal justice system and fuelling gang crime.

He has identified stricter control of the country’s borders, a crack down on large-scale drug dealers, and rehabilitation of drug users as the key ways in which to tackle the problem.

Related to this story

Police to form a ‘K-9 dog squad’ to combat drug trafficking

Q&A: Minister of Home Affairs Umar Naseer

Maldives to buy 15 sniffer dogs

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MDN alerts PIC over failure to investigate criminal activity in missing journalist report

Human rights group Maldivian Democracy Network (MDN) has requested the Police Integrity Commission (PIC) to probe police’s failure to investigate dangerous criminal activity outlined in a report into the disappearance of Minivan News journalist Ahmed Rilwan.

The report – which claimed Rilwan was likely to have been abducted by radicalised gangs – was sent to the police on September 22 along with a letter requesting the police investigate its findings, MDN said.

The police proceeded to dismiss the report, however, claiming it was released for “political gain,” and has not yet informed the NGO if it has looked into any of the allegations.

The investigation – conducted by Glasgow based Athena Intelligence and Security – identified possible suspects in Rilwan’s disappearance, and confirmed hostile surveillance of Rilwan on the night he went missing. It also linked his disappearance to an abduction at knifepoint outside Rilwan’s apartment on the same night.

“The Maldives Police Services failed to investigate the various criminal actions outlined in the report in the past 2 months and 26 days,” MDN’s letter to the PIC on Monday read.

“We request that your commission investigate and take action against those police officers who have been negligent in this case.” Criminal activity highlighted in the report include:

Death threats issued against Rilwan by the administrators of Facebook Group Bilad Al-Sham and stalking by an individual called Ismail Abdul Raheem
Abduction with a knife reported on August 8 in front of Rilwan’s apartment
Hostile surveillance of Rilwan by at least two people belonging to Kuda Henveiru gang in Malé

Home Minister Umar Naseer has also acknowledged involvement of gangs in Rilwan’s disappearance. Meanwhile, Rilwan’s family has also lodged a complaint at the PIC accusing the Maldives Police Services of negligence.

The police had failed to treat the case seriously despite Rilwan’s high risk profile, the family said. Although an abduction reported outside Rilwan’s apartment at 2 am on August 8, the police only took statements from eyewitnesses on August 14, the family noted.

Further, the police officer in charge of the Hulhumalé police station prevented junior officers from apprehending and searching the car used in the abduction on the same night, the family said.

“If the abduction had been investigated immediately at the right time, the police would have been able to find the victim and clarify if it is our brother or not,” Rilwan’s sister Mariyam Fazna has said.

The police only searched Rilwan’s apartment 29 hours after the abduction was reported and searched his office 11 days afterwards. The police also failed to make a public announcement on Rilwan’s disappearance – despite a request by the family – and did not inform the public on how to act if they had any information related to the case, the family explained further.

In a statement to mark the 100 days of disappearance, Rilwan’s mother Aminath Easa said the state had failed to protect her son and bring perpetrators to justice.

Police Commissioner Hussain Waheed had previously denied negligence while the home minister told state television that some crimes could not be solved.

Missing journalist’s family accuses police of negligence, files complaint

“The old posters fade, but we do not forget,” says Rilwan’s family

“Not all crimes in the world are solvable”: Home minister says on Rilwan’s disappearance

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