Category: News in Brief

Agriculture ministry introduces biological agent to control coconut beetles

The ministry of agriculture has started using a biological agent or flying parasite to control coconut beetles.

The agriculture ministry told CNM the parasites will consume beetle larvae before it grows.

The control agents were provided under an agreement with the Chinese environment and plant protection institute and the Chinese academy of tropical agricultural science.

The parasites have been released in various islands, including Hulhumalé, Maafushi, and Fenfushi, under the ministry’s “integrated pest management programme.”

The parasites are bred at a laboratory built in Hulhulé island with Chinese assistance. Two technicians have also been trained at China.

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Court extends detention of Adhaalath Party leader, MDP chairperson

The criminal court has extended the remand detention of Adhaalath Party president Sheikh Imran Abdulla and main opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) chairperson Ali Waheed by 10 days and seven days, respectively.

The pair were arrested in the wake of the May Day anti-government demonstration with court warrants and accused of inciting violence.

The criminal court subsequently ordered police to the opposition leaders in remand detention for 15 days. The 15-day period expired today.

Ali Waheed and Imran were brought to the remand hearing at the criminal court today and escorted back to the Dhoonidhoo detention centre.

The High Court last week rejected appeals from the pair challenging the legality of the criminal court’s remand detention orders.

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Over 1,900 illegal expatriates deported

The department of immigration has deported over 1,900 illegal migrant workers so far this year.

The department revealed in a press release last week that 1,953 expatriates were identified and deported in 12 operations conducted in 2015. More than 8,800 undocumented workers were deported last year.

Some 36 migrant workers were meanwhile denied entry this year due to medical reasons.

The immigration department media officer told CNM the migrant workers do not have their passports with them, which forces the department to make new passports through embassies.

Embassies in the Maldives are able to make about 30 passports or travel documents a week, while the number of illegal migrant workers the department plans to deport were higher than 30.

The police meanwhile caught 33 undocumented workers last week in a joint operation conducted by the immigration department at the T-jetty and auction shop areas in Malé.

According to the 2014 census, there are 58,683 expatriates residing in the Maldives. However, the department of national planning has said the figure was much lower than numbers recorded by the immigration department.

NGO Transparency Maldives (TM) estimates there are 200,000 migrant workers in the Maldives – two-thirds of the country’s population.

A government report in 2011 revealed human trafficking to be the Maldives’ second most lucrative industry after tourism – worth an estimated US$123 million a year.

The Maldives ratified an Anti-Trafficking Act in December 2013, but TM says implementation, monitoring and enforcement of laws and regulations are crucial to prevent human trafficking.

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MP Riyaz refuses to apologise for ‘discriminatory’ tweets

Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) MP Riyaz Rasheed has said his tweets about prohibiting “islanders” from traveling to protest in Malé were misinterpreted.

“Raajje therey meehun [islanders] will no longer have the opportunity to come to Malé, protest on the streets of Malé, assault and harm police,” the MP for Thaa Vilifushi had tweeted on Thursday.

The security forces will no longer allow “islanders” to protest in the capital anymore, he tweeted the following day.

Riyaz’s tweets sparked an outcry on social media. An online petition was also launched calling on the MP to “publicly apologise for his discriminatory and bigoted views against people who are not from Malé.”

The PPM parliamentary group’s deputy leader told Haveeru today that he will not apologise as he did not consider the phrase “raajje therey meehun” to be derogatory.

Riyaz said he meant the opposition alliance will not be allowed to deceive people from the atolls and bring them to Malé for violent protests.

Responding to outrage over Riyaz’s remarks on Twitter, PPM parliamentary group leader Ahmed Nihan said the MP has been told to change the phrases used in his tweet.

“I hope he will apologise soon!” the majority leader tweeted yesterday.

President’s office spokesperson Ibrahim Muaz Ali meanwhile tweeted today: “Under this government, from HA Thuraakunu to Addu City will be first class Maldivians. There will be no discrimination.”

 

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28 senior citizens under state care

Some 28 elderly persons are under state care at the centre for persons with special needs in Kaafu Guraidhoo, attorney general Mohamed Anil revealed last week.

Speaking at a ceremony on Thursday night, Anil said the 28 senior citizens were in reasonably good health, but their families are refusing to take them in despite repeated pleas.

“The government is telling their families repeatedly to take them back to live with their families, but they are not complying,” he was quoted as saying by Haveeru.

Anil is also in charge of the ministry of law and gender.

He added that the government is seeking legal remedies through the courts as the family law states that children must take care of their elderly parents.

While citizens above the age of 65 are currently 4.8 percent of the population, Anil said the figure will rise to 6.5 percent in 10 years.

In 30 years, the elderly will be 13 percent of the population.

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Pension fund collects MVR3.5bn in six years

The pension fund collected MVR3.5 billion (US$226.9 million) during the past six years, the CEO of the Maldives Pension Administration Office (MPAO) has revealed.

Mohamed Hussain Manik told the press at a function held on Wednesday to mark the fund’s sixth anniversary that the pension office has been investing in government treasury bills. The office has purchased the highest number of T-bills so far, he added.

Manik said the MPAO is planning to launch a housing scheme and a disability insurance scheme.

Under the housing scheme, an employees’ savings with the pension fund will be “securitised” or used as mortgage.

A 20 percent downpayment is usually needed to buy a home or apartment, he explained, and the pension office “will give guarantee to the bank that if the [home owner] is unable to pay the 20 percent, the money kept as a mortgage can be given to the bank under an arrangement.”

The pension office is consulting with the relevant authorities and banks to finalise the scheme, he said.

Manik said the office estimates 3,000 employees could benefit from the housing scheme.

The disability scheme is meanwhile aimed for employees who suffer debilitating workplace injuries. The employee will be able to withdraw from the pension fund if he or she is unable to continue working.

The MPAO has also filed several lawsuits against employers who do not contribute to the retirement pension scheme as mandated by law. The Pensions Act require a monthly contribution of seven percent of pensionable wage from both the employer and employee.

Manik said some employers owe the state “huge sums of money” in unpaid contributions, adding that signing up to the scheme was the responsibility of employers, even if a business has only one staff member.

At last week’s ceremony, he MPAO also launched a new rebranded website, hotline (1441) and mobile app to improve services.

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100 housing units built in Gaza with Maldivian aid

The International Federation of Red Crescent (IFRC) has completed 100 housing units in Gaza with the US$1.9 million raised by the Maldivian media.

According to a video report by the Qatari red crescent, Palestinian families took up residence at 27 housing units at the ‘Maldives sheltering centre’ completed in February while the remaining 73 shelters are now also occupied.

Each unit has a bedroom, kitchen and toilet. Water and electricity services have also been provided at the centre.

The housing units were built with funds raised through the ‘Help Gaza’ telethon carried out by local media in response to the destruction caused by last year’s Israeli military offensive.

The telethon raised a record MVR29.4 million (US$1.91 million), which was handed over to the Qatari red crescent in August last year.

The red crescent also used donations from the Maldives to repair water and sewerage systems and provide supplies to health centres.

The 100 units, estimated to provide housing for 700 Palestinians, are built in areas where Israeli airstrikes destroyed housing, schools, and other infrastructure during the heavy raids in mid-2014.

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Ameen resigns as chairman of Vmedia

Jumhooree Party (JP) deputy leader Ameen Ibrahim has resigned as chairman of Vmedia, saying he wants to “devote every second to the opposition cause” against government authoritarianism.

Ameen was arrested in the wake of the May Day anti-government demonstration and accused of inciting violence against the government. He was released on Thursday after the High Court overturned the criminal court’s order to hold him in remand detention for 15 days.

“It is with deep regret that I submit my resignation as executive chairman of [Island Broadcasting Company] and Vmedia. My colleagues [Adhaalath Party president Sheikh Imran,] [Maldivian Democratic Party chairperson Ali Waheed], and [JP member Sobah Rasheed] are still in jail,” Ameen tweeted yesterday.

Ameen was appointed chairman of Vmedia and parent company IBC – owned by JP leader Gasim Ibrahim – last year after President Abdulla Yameen dismissed him from the cabinet.

Ameen was appointed transport minister under the ruling Progressive Party of Maldives’ coalition agreement with the JP. The coalition was dissolved after Gasim stood for the speaker of parliament.

Ameen also served as Vmedia’s CEO before his appointment as transport minister in November 2013.

The JP formed an alliance with the main opposition MDP in February and launched protests against the government.

 

Ameen is a member of the opposition ‘Maldivians against tyranny’ alliance’s steering committee and has been active in opposition protests.

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Water bungalows in Anantara resort destroyed in fire

Several water bungalows in the Anantara Dhigu resort in Kaafu atoll were destroyed in a fire last night.

The Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) spokesperson major Adnan Ahmed told local media that the military’s fire and rescue service was informed around 2:17am and the resort’s employees had managed to extinguish the fire when officers arrived in the island.

The fire broke out in a water bungalow and spread to other rooms, he said. Three water bungalows have been destroyed beyond use and two more were affected.

The affected bungalows were unoccupied and no one was harmed in the fire. The cause of the fire is unclear, he said.

The resort is operated by Thailand-based hospitality group Minor International, which also operates the Anantara Veli, Naladhu, and Anantara Kihavah resorts in the Maldives.

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