Category: News in Brief

Inflation hits 15 percent: Department of Planning

The inflation rate in Male’ for August 2012 reached 15.04 percent, according to statistics from the Department of National Planning.

According to the department, tobacco prices increased 71 percent, fish products 68 percent, and restaurant and cafes by 32 percent. The rises were attributed to changes in the dollar, which is currently pegged to the rufiya within a 20 percent of MVR 12.85. In real terms, the rate has remained fixed at the maximum limit of MVR 15.42 and remains nonexchangeable, forcing importers to rely on inconsistent black market dollar exchanges of up to MVR 17-18.

Meanwhile, local business tycoon, media owner, MP, Jumhoree Party (JP) leader and member of the Judicial Services Commission (JSC), Gasim Ibrahim, has warned that the dollar exchange rate of the Maldivian rufiya may rise to MVR 20 by the end of the year – a 25 percent increase.

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Finance Ministry will consider budget increase requests from independent institutions

The finance ministry has today said that it has received requests for budget increases from a number of independent institutions. The ministry did not specify which institutions these were.

Minister of Finance and Treasury Abdulla Jihad has told local media today that the requests for increases will be reviewed by the ministry. He said that increases would be granted after assessing how much need there is for it.

Jihad said that the previous 15 percent deduction from the budgets of all institutions had been made for the sake of bringing down state expenditure, further saying that this could not be done without the support of all stakeholders.

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‘February in history’: Himal Southasian

“What happened in the Maldives on 7 February this year has been the subject of constant debate ever since. The completion of the investigation into these events last month did little other than confirm the one thing that everybody already knew: that the winners of the power struggle that day were those who found themselves in charge come 8 February,” writes Daniel Bosley for Himal Southasian magazine.

“The old maxim that history is written by the victors appeared to have been borne out as the Commission of National Inquiry (CoNI) not only absolved all those in the current government of any wrongdoing in the suspicious ousting of former president Mohamed Nasheed, but also laid upon Nasheed the blame for all the events preceding his resignation.

After a quasi-legal investigation, the final report read more like a political justification for the removal of an opponent than a genuine attempt to untangle the confusion surrounding the events, which many believe to have been a coup d’état.

After half a year, the addition of two new members, and an additional month’s delay, the commission’s credibility was already under question. It came as no surprise, then, that the final draft brought no real agreement over the circumstances surrounding Mohamed Waheed Hassan’s ascension to the presidency.

What the CoNI report has done, however, is to enter the first official account of the fateful day’s events in the ledger of Maldivian history. Anti-climactic and unsatisfactory, can the CoNI still mark the beginning of a new chapter in Maldivian democracy?”
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‘Time just right for dialogue, political reconciliation’: Observer Research Foundation

“Given the shock and awe democracy has inspired in the nation over the past three or four years, the current phase is a sit-back time for the nation to take stock before moving forward,” writes N Sathiya Moorthy for the Observer Research Foundation.

“The nation is also in a more receptive, reflective and contemplative mood than anytime over the past months and years. It cannot afford to lose this opportunity.

For the right atmosphere to be created for such a dialogue and national reconciliation coupled with a political consensus on a way forward for existing issues of institutionalisation and recurring problems of economy, Maldives has to begin at the beginning.

Independent of charges and counter-charges, of a criminal nature in particular, the immunity available to past Presidents should apply uniformly, so that parties and leaders do not still have to live in the past, or have to defend their decisions and actions while in office.

Where the nation has learnt from the democratic developments of the past years, it can look at options for the future, including legal and punitive actions. At the end of the day, democracy is a dynamic process, and it will be more so in the case of Maldives, which wants to do – and will have to do – all at once. Errors and correctives are also part of greater democratisation.”

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‘Being female in Male’: Daily News and Analysis

“Male’, the miniscule capital of the Maldives, serves as an antidote to the tourist islands that dot the archipelago, with their buffet of luxury resorts and personalised service. It is in fact the complete antithetical, binary contrast, other,” writes Sonia Nazareth for India’s Daily News and Analysis.

“No sooner than I disembark from the seaplane, as well as from the thrill born of the underwater adventure and barefoot luxury of the resort islands, than my bikini is replaced by a gown that covers my shoulders and knees, to make me somewhat presentable for this Islamic capital.

While the tourist islands resemble a film set waiting for James Bond to speed boat up to it, Male feels like a paragraph from a Roald Dahl short story.

The unexpected always lurking close around the corner. For one thing, unlike many other places in South Asia, Male’ stays awake late into the night.

For another, it is one of the few places in the world where I see clusters of women in burquini, (a swimming costume which comprises of all the woman’s clothing and a headscarf), swimming in public pools created by the state, within the sea.”

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MP Nasheed proposes bill criminalising sexual offenses

Independent Member of Parliament Mohamed Nasheed has published on his personal blog a bill he submitted to parliament in June this year, proposing to criminalise sexual offences.

The bill defines actions to be taken against specific types of sexual offenses, including rape, spousal rape, prostitution, bestiality and incest.

Nasheed stated that he felt a bill like this is immensely important because of the serious nature of modern day sexual offenses. He states that the current legislative framework governing such offenses is too lenient, and that the proposed bill would provide a stronger penalisation structure.

Nasheed has said that he believes it is equally important to criminalise sexual offenses against adults, similar to the existing laws criminalising such acts against children.

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UNCTAD provides legal training to Maldives ports managers

A total of 22 middle managers working within the Maldives ports authority have this month completed the latest part of an ongoing training programme overseen by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).

According to the UNCTAD, the 22 Maldives Ports Ltd officials undertook training on ‘ Administrative and Legal Management’ in order to better understand the legal parameters of their work.

Programme conductor Dr Bénédicte Sage, Law lecturer at University College Cork in Ireland, has claimed the programme was designed to boost understanding of port law both in the context of local and international legal systems.

“This has helped them better understand the relevance of constituting legislation for their day-to-day tasks and for the functions of the port, which in turn has cleared up some important misunderstandings about the role of different actors within the port community, such as Customs, the army, police and coast guard, and the various ministries interacting with the port,” stated Dr Sage.

The training was provided in collaboration with local lawyer Aiminiath Nasreena, who holds a Masters Degree in International Maritime Law.

According to UNCTAD, the participants are next month expected to undergo the final module of their training programme. Once this is concluded, participants will be expected to present a thesis before a panel of experts in order to obtain UNCTAD’s Modern Port Management Certificate.

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NGOs begin child abuse survey on Thinadhoo and Fuvahmulah

The Maldivian Red Crescent and Canadian Red Cross have begun compiling a survey on the islands of Thinadhoo and Fuvahmulah to help determine public understanding of incidents of violence against children and young people, local Media has reported.

As part of a three year Violence Prevention Project being conducted by the NGOs on the back of fears of an increase in reported cases of violence against children, the survey will be used to assist efforts on educating members of the public over abuse of young people.

According to the Sun Online news service, the survey is expected to be completed and sent to local authorities by September 30.

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Trouble on Thamburudhoo: ESPN

“It has to be stopped,” said Occy succinctly, talking with a small group of local Maldivian surfers. “They can’t develop this place, it can’t happen.”

“Places like this, we need them, ” reiterated Tom Curren. “They can’t be closed to surfers, they can’t be closed to anybody. How can you close the ocean?”

Former ASP world champions Martin Potter and Damien Hardman shared similar sentiments while participating in the recent Four Seasons event in the Maldives, writes Jake Howard for ESPN.

The situation on the ground, or the atoll, as the case may be, is that currently the Maldive’s Ministry of Defense are in negotiations with an American development company, Telos Investment, to build a resort on the island of Thanburudhoo, home to two of the northern Maldives best waves; a right-hand point/reef called Sultan’s Point and a left named Honkey’s. The concern of the Maldive Surfing Association (MSA) is that the island’s develop, which was once a training ground for the military, would in essence privatize the two prized breaks.

“There are approximately 100 surfers at Thamburudhoo each day, including surfers on safari boats, surf camps on local islands, tourists from nearby resorts, and locals,” reads the MSA’s impact report. “Currently there are four available surf breaks. If Thamburudhoo becomes exclusive that number is halved to two. The remaining two waves on Himmafushi and Thulusdhoo cannot cater to the escalated number of surfers.”

“We do not have any intention of closing the surf breaks,” said Minister of Defense and National Security Mohamed Nazim in a conversation aboard the Four Season’s surf charter boat “The Explorer.”

He added, “The deal may involve perhaps charging some kind of fee to use the breaks, but we do not want to close them completely. I know this because I am the one that is directly involved in putting it together.”

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