Category: News in Brief

School exams bumped up for O-level schedule

Final examinations will be held earlier than planned at most secondary schools in capital Male, in order to avoid complications with O-level scheduling.

The Education Ministry issued the change after receiving requests from schools, and extended the new schedule to some atoll schools, reports Haveeru.

O-level examinations will being on October 16 this year, and will be held until mid-November. Some eighth- and ninth- year exams will coincide with the O-levels, Haveeru reports.

Requests to close school for the four days after the Eid holidays were not honored by the ministry.

Schools will resume their studies on November 10 but will again close on November 11 for three days to mark the Republic Day.



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Fewer expatriate detainments post-visa reform

Fewer expatriates have been detained for unpaid visa fees before leaving the country since Immigration Control adapted its policy to “international standard procedure,” Immigration Controller Abdulla Shahid has said.

Previously, expatriate workers have been allowed to leave the Maldives without paying outstanding visa fees, Haveeru reports. The policy allegedly cost the Maldivian government Rf 120 million (US$7.8 million) last year.

Shahid told Haveeru that the Maldives’ former policy allowing expatriate workers to leave with outstanding visa fees was a rare case within the international community.

Immigration recently required recruitment agencies to pay visa fees for expatriate workers for a minimum of three months in a lump sum.

Shahid said that fees are non-refundable if a worker does not stay for a visa’s entire duration.

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Maldives signs global shark protection plan

The Maldives has joined seven countries in launching the latest initiative in the global shark conservation effort. The initiative protects 2.7 million square kilometers of ocean waters worldwide from commercial fishing.

Over 73 million sharks are killed each year in the global fin trade. Reports say more are killed as bycatch in fishing operations involving larger species, such as tuna and swordfish.

Efforts to create sanctuaries are spearheaded by the Global Shark Conservation for the Pew Environmental Group based in Washington, D. C.

“Our ocean’s health depends on sharks,” said Palauan President Johnson Toribiong. “I am delighted that more countries are pledging to play an active role in ensuring these creatures’ survival, not just in our lifetime but for future generations as well.”

If successful, the declaration would protect 6 million additional square kilometers of ocean area from commercial fishing.
Other signatories were Bahamas, Colombia, Honduras, Marshall Islands, Mexico, Micronesia, and Palau.

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GST open for public discussion

Maldives Inland Revenue Authority (MIRA) has made its upcoming Goods and Services Tax (GST) regulation available for public opinion.

The regulation goes into effect on October 2. It will open for public opinion on the MIRA website until Wednesday evening, Haveeru reports.

The regulation was made according to suggestions from the business community, and includes procedures on levying the goods and services tax.

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Inflation in Male’ reaches nearly 10 percent: NPD

Inflation reached nearly 9.94 percent in Male’ in August compared to the same period last year, according to statistics from the National Planning Department, driven largely by increases in the price of fish.

According to the Consumer Price Index (CPI) figures, the price of fish rose 47 percent, followed by tobacco and betel (25 percent). Food prices rose 17 percent overall.

Skipjack tuna prices declined sharply in August, but other tunas, smoked fish and reef fish prices increased by more than 90 percent since July 2011. Local chili prices increased by 60 percent.

The change in the price of fish was the main factor behind the rise in inflation over the past year, CPI statistics show.

Recreation, culture, and housing equipment had a reverse effect on inflation annually with an average decrease of 0.37 percent.

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Maldives director of Amana Takaful resigns weeks before IPO

Director of the Maldives branch of Amana Takaful, Hassan Ali Manik, has resigned his post scarely a week after the company announced the launch of a landmark IPO on the local stock exchange.

Manik’s resignation will take effect from the 21st of September. In a statement, Amana Takaful said Manik was tendered his resignation “citing business and personal commitments”.

The company did not announce a replacement.

Sharia-compliant insurance company Amana Takaful will issue 800,000 shares in an initial public offering (IPO) on the Maldives Stock Exchange (MSE).

In a first for the country, 20 percent of the shares will be made available to expatriates and 15 percent to overseas applicants. The remaining 65 percent will be offered to Maldivians.

The Sri Lanka-based company hopes to generate Rf16 million (US$1.4 million) in proceeds through the IPO, by selling shares at a low issue price of Rf20 (bundled in packages of 25).

CEO of Amana Takaful Maldives, Hareez Sulaiman, said the IPO would “change the way the Maldivian Stock Exchange operates as this will be the first time that Maldivians, expatriates and foreigners will be able to purchase securities in a Maldivian listed company.”

The decision to price the shares low “at a price affordable to any average Maldivian” also promised to “be a kick starter for an active stock market which may benefit the entire economy at large,” the company said in an accompanying statement.

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Convict released under “Second Chance Programme” arrested for drug dealing

An inmate released under the “Second Chance Programme” to be reintegrated into society was arrested on Tuesday on suspicion of dealing drugs.

Haveeru reports State Minister for Health Lubna Zahir Hussein as saying in a press conference last night that the convict would be returned to jail if he was found guilty.

Lubna stressed that the government planned to share details of the ongoing programme with the media, including cases of convicts relapsing into crime.

Five convicts released under the programme were previously apprehended after testing positive for drug use. While three of them are to be sent to detoxification centres, clinical assessments were pending for the remaining two.

State Minister for Home Affairs Mohamed ‘Monaza’ Naeem said last week that the 134 convicts released so far under the programme are being monitored under a special mechanism.

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President inaugurates first training course of “skills programme”

President Mohamed Nasheed has inaugurated the first course of the government’s Rf360 million national “skills programme” intended to train 8,500 youth for skilled employment.

Speaking at a ceremony at the Post Office workshop area this morning, Nasheed observed that the main impediment for employment or job creation in the Maldives was the lack of skilled workers.

There were 12,000 expatriate workers with some skills earning between Rf90,000 and Rf100,000 a month, said Nasheed, adding that 30 percent of working age youth in the Maldives could not find jobs.

The first course under the programme is being conducted by the Centre for Career and Technical Education (CCTE) to train 100 youth in heavy load vehicle operations. In addition to 60 participants to be trained in Male’, the course will also be conducted in Haa Dhaal Kulhudhufushi in the north and Gaaf Alif Villigili in the south with 20 participants each.

Participants in the various training programmes for youth would meanwhile be paid a monthly allowance of Rf2,000.

Earlier this week, the government contracted five parties to conduct training programmes for 645 youth.

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“Falsehoods” reported in media, claims EC

The Elections Commission (EC) has accused local media outlets Sun Online, Villa TV and DhiTV of reporting “falsehoods” in their coverage of the Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) submitting registration forms to the commission this week.

In a press statement yesterday, the EC said that the media outlets did not contact the commission for their side of the story and “brought the news very irresponsibly in a way that could lead to loss of public confidence in the commission.”

The private media outlets had reported that the PPM founding members were made to wait at the commission when they arrived to submit the forms and none of the EC members were present to receive the delegation, led by former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom’s son Farish Maumoon.

The EC statement noted that the commission had never conducted special ceremonies to receive registration forms.

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