Day: January 12, 2015

Details of President’s trips to Singapore a public right, says Nasheed

Opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) leader and former President Mohamed Nasheed has stated that Maldivian citizens have the right to information regarding President Abdulla Yameen’s frequent trips abroad.

In a statement, followed by a tweet in Dhivehi regarding the issue, Nasheed stated that under the Information Act the public has the right to know details of all Yameen’s expenses.

“Revealing information regarding the expenses of the president from funds raised by public taxation is something that must be done in a transparent, democratic society,” said the MDP party president.

Responding to the statement, President’s Office spokesman Ibrahim Muaz told Minivan News that the president’s health was not an issue.

“You can see him actively working day and night. He is in good health, Alhamdulillahi,” said Muaz.

He added that the government does not believe that the details about such trips have to be made public.

“Details of president’s personal trips do not have to revealed, nowhere in the world does that happen,” said Muaz.

Further, he assured that the government will uphold the spirit of the Information Act and would  therefore welcome any information sought within the boundaries of the act, “even if president Nasheed’s travel expenses and information on how many foreigners he employed, paid by the state, was requested”.

In his statement today, Nasheed said that during MDP’s tenure details of all government expenses were revealed by the Ministry of Finance and Treasury on a systematic basis, noting that the practice has been put to an end after the new government stepped in.

In a letter to Vice President Dr Mohamed Jameel Ahmed yesterday (January 11), MDP Deputy Chairperson Ali Shiyam asked the President’s Office to make public details of the number of official and unofficial visits Yameen had undertaken to Singapore since he assumed office in November 2013.

The MDP also asked for details on the number of days Yameen spent in Singapore, the number of individuals who accompanied him, the amount of money spent from the state budget, and details of the president’s health.

Yameen has travelled to Singapore at least five times between July 29 and the end of November last year. This includes two stop-overs in Singapore – one in August and one in November – on the way to China and Nepal, respectively.

Nasheed first raised concerns over the president’s health in October.

During Malé’s water crisis in December, the MDP passed a resolution claiming the government had failed to perform its duties and declaring support for Jumhooree Party leader Gasim Ibrahim to assume power.

Yameen had been in Singapore, but cut short his unofficial trip and returned to Malé as the water crisis continued. The capital’s 130,000 residents had been left without running water due to a fire at the water plant.

Article 123 of the Constitution states that if the president believes himself temporarily unable to perform the duties and responsibilities of office, he should inform the speaker of the People’s Majlis in writing and handover duties and responsibilities to the vice president.


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Housing units from Gaza fund to be completed by end of January: Red Crescent

The Maldives Red Crescent has revealed that the housing units built in Gaza using the money collected in the Maldives through the Gaza fund will be completed by the end of January, reports local media.

CNM reported that the houses built by the Red Crescent are to home 100 families, and that they are being built near the rubble of houses destroyed during last year’s conflict with Israel.

US$1.9 million was collected from the Maldives for the Gaza fund through donation boxes set out across the islands as well as the proceeds of a media telethon.

CNM also reported that the funds have allowed for the purchase of medicine from Jordan, which has been handed over to Jordan’s Haashimee Charitable Association to be transferred to Gaza.

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Islamic Ministry proposes compulsory Zakat in new bill

Islamic minister Dr Mohamed Shaheem Ali Saeed says proposed legislation to collect, distribute, and manage Zakat would facilitate the collection of MVR500 million annually.

Speaking at a workshop involving stakeholders to the Zakat bill, Shaheem said Zakat systems are protected by law in Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Sudan, Kuwait, and Malaysia.

“In these countries, Zakat systems have been set up and protected by law, while institutions involved in the management of Zakat have been empowered by law. Hence, it is very important that such a system be organised by law in our 100 percent Muslim country,” he said.

The Islamic ministry collected MVR52 million as Zakat last year.

The comprehensive bill defines Zakat as part of a property that must be given by a Muslim individual or business entity for charity to entitled recipients – which includes the poor, heavily indebted individuals, and travellers.

Zakat payment in the Maldives has traditionally been voluntary, but the new bill makes the annual payment compulsory and imposes a jail term of five years or a fine of MVR500,000 for non-compliance.

Wealth, assets, and income are zakatable – subject to the levy – under the new law. These include precious metal holdings, cash and other securities, trade and business inventories, and earnings from agriculture, fisheries, service delivery and mining.

Draft regulations introduced with the bill propose collecting 2.5 percent of the value of financial assets, business goods, net business profits and rent. The regulations also propose collecting 2.5 percent of net income as Zakat.

Analysis of the bill suggests the legislation avoids double taxation by deducting money collected as Zakat from taxes.

The Islamic ministry is to manage the Zakat fund. Money collected as Zakat is not property of the state and cannot be borrowed by the state for fiscal purposes, the bill said.

Protected by law

The Islamic Ministry must set up a Zakat Management Council to manage Zakat funds under the draft legislation. The council is to be supported through the state budget and advised by a Shariah Advisory Committee, appointed by the Islamic ministry.

Zakatable assets and wealth include gold, silver and other precious metals, cash and other securities, and trade and business inventories.

The persons eligible for Zakat are the poor, paupers, those under bondage, those in heavy debt, “those whose hearts are inclined towards Islam,” travellers and zakat officials. Zakat funds can also be used for ‘fi Sabililah’ (‘in the cause of Allah’) purposes or to defend Islam and improve the well being of Muslims.

The poor and paupers include those who are unable to work due to old age, those who are disabled, widows, and students who have no means of income, or those who do not have a legal benefactor.

It also includes legal guardians who are unable to provide for those under their guardianship, those who are unable to initiate an economic activity due to lack of initial capital, and victims of natural disasters.

When allocating money to the poor, the council must consider other forms of state aid and assistance they receive.

Zakat fund could also be utilised to encourage conversion to Islam, for those who strive to prevent harassment aimed at Muslims by non-Muslims and to assist those who have recently embraced Islam.

Zakat allocated for travellers may be given to Muslims who get stranded and become helpless while travelling for a lawful purpose.

The Zakat Management Council will determine the amount of money to be allocated for each category.

According to the bill, property of the state is not zakatable, while draft regulations say Zakat cannot be levied on property or money obtained via a transaction that is not permissible in Islam.

If a non-Muslim owns shares in a company being valued for Zakat, the value of their shares shall not be included in the valuation for Zakat, the draft regulations state.

Zakat funds are to be deposited in an account called the Baithul Maal as a separate and specialised account with the Maldives Monetary Authority.

The auditor general is to perform an annual audit of the Zakat Management Council under the proposed legislation.


Related to this story

More than 53,000 poor to receive Zakat

Donations made from Zakat fund to children’s home, centre for persons with special need

Alms Act to increase zakat contributions

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Comment: Where is the love? Chinese tourists in the Maldives

In one of Minivan News’ recent articles, a tourism sector official from the Maldives was quoted as saying:

“[E]ven though total arrivals increased, the tourism industry suffered as a whole in 2014.

Total tourist arrivals have increased compared to the previous year. However, as arrivals from Europe and Russia decrease, less income is generated as the replacing Chinese visitors spend less and stay for lesser periods,”

As the Maldivian airline that brought over 30 percent of the Chinese to the Maldives – more than any other foreign or domestic airline – we know a thing or two about Chinese visitors to the Maldives. And we would like to point out that this idea of the Chinese as the poor, pot-noodle-eating, ‘second-class’ tourist is not only offensive, but also untrue.

The data

Don’t take our word for it. Data from the World Tourism Organisation show that at US$102.2 billion, Chinese passengers were by 2012 already the biggest spenders abroad. By 2014 this had reached over US$155 billion, and is expected to hit US$194 billion in 2015.

Individual country results also show similar patterns. According to the US Travel Association, Chinese tourists spend on average US$7,200, compared to US$4,500 from other nationals. Chinese tourists are so important, that some countries, like the UK, are changing their entire visa systems to attract them.

In fact, data from our own tourism ministry also implies that the Chinese are big spenders here in the Maldives too. According to the Maldives Tourism Visitor Survey 2013, 40 percent of Chinese spent over US$5,000 (not including their hotel and air package), while only 27 percent of the Germans, 24 percent of the British, and 23 percent of Russians spent more than this in the Maldives.

So, whichever way you look at it, the data does not agree with the common (mis)perception of Chinese passengers as being poor.

The Chinese ‘fad’

We in the Maldives have consistently been wrong about the China market. Let’s not forget that in 2010, there were senior officials in the tourism sector who regarded Chinese tourists to the Maldives to be a ‘passing fad’.

Thankfully for the Maldives, it wasn’t. Since 2010, the ‘fad’ tripled from about 100,000 to 300,000 today. Chinese tourists are the reason why we count ourselves a million visitor destination today.

Retail therapy

“Yes they are here”, you say. “But they do not spend”.

Despite the statistics above, we believe there is some partial truth to this. The Chinese do not spend like the Europeans on holiday do. This is partly because ‘spending’ for Chinese on holiday meant primarily one thing: shopping.

Unlike Malaysia, Thailand, or Dubai, we in the Maldives do not do ‘shopping’ as a tourism product. So when they first arrived, the Chinese did not have much to ‘buy’: no Burberry scarves, no Godiva chocolates and no Rolex watches. It was not that they lacked money. They were simply not the type to spend US$500 on a bottle of wine (at least not one they could not take back as a gift).

This gave the local tourism industry a perception of the Chinese passenger as ‘poor’. However, those of us who sold duty-free products to them, either at the airport or on their return journeys, knew perfectly well that they were not. On one flight from Male to Beijing, the entire contents of a Mega Maldives Airlines duty-free shopping trolley were sold out. Every single item!

The coming opportunity

That said, it is unlikely that we can, or even want to turn the Maldives into a shopping-focused haven of malls and discount-retail outlets. Luckily for us, we don’t have to. The spending habits of Chinese tourists are changing.

According to research by China UnionPay – one of China’s biggest bank-card association – the importance Chinese customers assign to shopping is falling. According to data analyst at China UnionPay Chen Han:

“The data show that outbound Chinese consumers are focusing more on what they gain from their travel experiences instead of what they buy at their destinations. This shift shows a heightened awareness of ‘quality time’ during their holidays.”

This means that the Chinese tourist is becoming a little more similar to the Western tourist. They will start appreciating cuisine, drinks, spas, diving and all the other ‘experiences’ that make the Maldives unique today. However, this also presents us with an opportunity to develop a much more active and innovative tourism sector product. Maldivian culture does not have to just mean the weekly local cuisine buffet, or the staff ‘bodu-beru’ band of the resort.

We could for example, have festivals of music, art, dances, poetry and literature, all of which will be highly appealing to the Chinese market. We could have talks on conservation, sustainability, nature and the environment – concepts becoming very popular in China. Natural remedies and approaches to health and well-being, as well as meditation and ‘mindfulness’ are also increasingly popular with this market, especially as Chinese cities like Beijing become increasingly polluted.

All of these opportunities generate a lot more in terms of jobs and creative opportunities for our youth, and is much better for us than selling a $20,000 Gucci handbag.

How will we get this diversified product to the tourists? The answer to this question may be difficult, but the Maldives tourism product has shown itself to be highly dynamic. The recent emergence of guest houses is one such example of this dynamism. The current government’s ‘Thumburi project,’ is also another very good opportunity to diversify these products and really develop a product that appeals to the Chinese market.

Where is the love?

Look around you. Every country in the world – from Canada to South Africa – is spending hundreds of millions of dollars in promoting their destination in the hope of attracting Chinese tourists.

But we in the Maldives, with our pristine natural beauty, were able to make the Chinese fall in love with us with little or no effort. It’s about time we put our prejudices aside and learnt to love them back.

Mizna Ahmed is a Director at Mega Maldives.


Related to this story

MMPRC to further boost Chinese visitors with tourism roadshow

Maldives mulls tourism future as China reaches quarter of all arrivals

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MTCC to purchase US$36 million dredger

The Maldives Transport and Contracting Company (MTCC) has revealed plans to purchase a US$36 million land reclamation dredger, reports local media.

According to Vnews, the purchase of the dredger would make it the biggest and most expensive to be operated locally in the Maldives.

MTCC CEO Ibrahim Abdul Razzaq told Vnews that the dredger is a ‘hopper suction dredger’, which would be capable of reclaiming one hectare in just two days.

“This is an investment to ease the land reclamation projects done in the Maldives,” said Ibrahim. “We are currently talking with Holland’s IHC Company regarding the purchase, the dredger will be designed to be suitable for Maldives.”

Source: Vnews

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City council dismisses allegations of MDP favouritism at City Hall

Malé City Council (MCC) has dismissed suggestions made by the housing minister that it favours the opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) when renting out Malé City Hall.

An MCC press statement released yesterday (January 11) said the council rents out the hall in accordance to the constitution, laws, and relevant regulations, and that the council does not give preference to any party or individual when renting out the public space.

In a tweet posted on Saturday (January 12) housing minister Dr Mohamed Muizzu alleged that the council premises were “not being used to serve the public”, but instead as an MDP headquarter.

The council’s response condemned the remarks, assuring the public that all private and public events were held at City Hall without discrimination.

The council – dominated by MDP members – also noted that in 2014 alone the council received MVR158,150 (US$10,300) from renting the hall, and that the entire sum has been transferred to the finance ministry to be added to state reserves.

Speaking to Minivan News yesterday, Malé City Deputy Mayor Shifa Mohamed said that the “government is coming up with lies and excuses to take over the building from where MCC is run, after it has already transferred all public spaces and roads under the Council’s authority.”

Shifa has previously suggested that the government was plotting to “destroy decentralization” after the housing ministry seized numerous plots of land from the council including two parks, the artificial beach, carnival area, south harbor, Usfasgandu, Dharubaaruge, and land near the T- Jetty.

With the removal of road maintenance duties in the capital late last year, the council has said it remains in charge only of facilitating construction, issuing death and birth certificates, and cleaning mosques.

Last month, the council expressed concern after 377 of its employees were transferred to the Ministry of Housing and Infrastructure without prior notice – constituting over a third of its workforce.

Speaking at the time, Mayor Mohamed Shihab said that the council has only been operating within the powers granted to it by the Decentralisation Act, adding that the government has been persistently making its work difficult.

In November 2014, nearly all services at the council came to a halt after police confiscated important documents and several hard drives, including the server system necessary for daily operation.

Police searched and confiscated the council’s office on the night of November 26 after a search warrant was requested from the Criminal Court regarding a corruption case against council staff.

However, the council denied the corruption allegations, which had alleged staff had used documents sent by the housing ministry to gain unlawful advantages.

Speaking at the time, Maafannu Hulhangu Constituency Councillor Shamau Shareef said the incident was one of many intended to intimidate the council and to prevent it from providing the services to the people of Malé.

October also saw masked individuals wielding machetes cut down over 30 council-owned areca palm trees along the capital’s main thoroughfare, Majeedhee Magu  – an attack former President Mohamed Nasheed alleged was carried out by off duty special operations officers.


Related to this story

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Malé City Council close to shut-down after police confiscate documents and server system

Malé City Council helpless as housing ministry takes over all land, public services staff

Can decentralisation take root in the Maldives?

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MMA announces shortlisted proposals for new rufiyya note designs

The Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA) has announced the shortlisted candidates in a competition to design the new Maldivian currency notes.

Proposal for the new notes to be released on the occasion of the 50th Anniversary of Maldivian independence were evaluated by an advisory committee of 13 members comprising of representatives from various technical fields including history, art, language, and economics.

The shortlisted candidates will present their proposal to the advisory committee on January 17, with the three best presentations given the opportunity to design the six notes to go into general circulation and the memorial note for 50 years of independence.

The MMA board of directors will make the final decision on which designs will be printed after considering the evaluation of the advisory committee.

After initially inviting designs for notes in September, the MMA extended the November 30 deadline for one month after concluding that the 60 submitted designs were all unsuitable for bank notes.

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Japan in talks to establish embassy in Maldives

Additional reporting by Mohamed Saif Fathih

The Japanese government has had funding approved for an embassy in the Maldives, reports the Japan Times.

Japan’s foreign minister Fumio Kishida stated that the country aims to bolster diplomatic relations with different countries as the world marks 70 years since the end of the Second World War.

An official from the Maldives Ministry of Foreign Affairs have told Minivan News that negotiations are ongoing regarding the new diplomatic mission.

Japan is one of the Maldives’ largest trading partners, importing over US$5.1 million worth of goods from the Indian Ocean nation in 2013 – a year on year increase of 48 percent. However, Japanese tourists only make up around 3 percent of arrivals to the Maldives.

Statistics available from the fisheries ministry showed that Maldivian fish exports to Japan expanded rapidly last year, growing from US$4.8 million in 2013 to over US$6.8 million between January and October in 2014.

Japan has traditionally donated large amounts of aid to the Maldives, with President Abdulla Yameen explaining during a state visit to Japan last April that that Japan was the Maldives’ most generous aid partner.

Data from the Japanese International Cooperation Agency  (JICA) – which already has offices in Malé – shows that the east Asian nation gave over US$450 million to the Maldives in development assistance between 2004 and 2010.

JICA recently completed the ‘Project for Clean Energy Promotion in Malé’ with the installation of 740 solar panels in 12 government buildings in the capital, at a cost of US$11.1 million (MVR141.5 million).

Other 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.

Last month, the Japanese government gifted the Maldives ¥100,000,000 (US$840,000) in grant aid, as well as contributing MVR13.9 million to assist with repairs to Malé’s desalination plant – partially destroyed by fire on December 4.

The capital city currently hosts five full diplomatic missions – belonging to China, India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. The Maldives has had a full embassy in Tokyo since 2006.

According to the Japan Times, the Japanese government initially requested to create nine new embassies and six new consulates, and has opted to include six  embassies in 2015’s state budget,

In addition to the Maldives, Japan intends to establish embassies in Barbados, the Solomon Islands, Tajikistan, Moldova, and Turkmenistan. Consulates will be established in the Mexican city of Leon and the German city of Hamburg.


Related to this story

President Yameen holds talks with Japanese prime minister

Japan gifts 100 million yen to government, Hitachi MVR1 million to water crisis fund

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