The opposition Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party’s (DRP) has appointed Villingili MP Mohamed Ramiz as the party’s Deputy Leader following the defection of Ali Waheed to the ruling MDP.
Local media had reported that Ramiz was considering following Waheed to the ruling party; however Ramiz dismissed the rumours.
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(0)The political scenario was an unprecedented one, writes former Bangladeshi High Commissioner to the Maldives, Dr Selina Mohsin, for the country’s Daily Star newspaper, of her experience in the Maldives.
“The first multi-party presidential election was to be held within a few months. Events unfolded like acts in a dramatic play as we waited for the impending election. Thousands of Bangladeshi migrant workers, including illegal, unemployed and without money roamed the streets, hungry, angry and desperate. Instigated by rumours that catapulted into fears they sought help from the Bangladesh Mission. A demanding period began.
“Living in an isolated state in the Indian Ocean, the people of Maldives were unaware of the rich cultural heritage of Bangladesh. This needed to be shared, so discussions were held with the president and the vice president. As a result, on March 26, 2009, the Independence and National Day of Bangladesh, Dr Waheed announced a Cultural Agreement between Bangladesh and Maldives.
‘”I finalised the Agreement and later prepared MOUs on manpower and education after negotiations. Bangladeshi physicians were recruited for hospitals/clinics and sports promoted to develop intercultural interactions. Initial discussions were undertaken on trade and investment with exports from Bangladesh of medicines, electrical goods, non-perishable food items and others.
“During my tenure, great changes took place, opposition parties with a majority in the Parliament turned confrontational, making it difficult for the ruling party to govern effectively. Now, with the ruling MDP having a majority in the Parliament, implementation of reforms to stabilise the economy, proactive policies and positive relations with Saarc, China, and western states, Maldives will go forward as a vibrant middle income country in the world stage.”
(0)Dislikes(0)Mohamed ‘Champa’ Moosa has been fined Rf100m for alleged violations of the Environment Protection Act that damaged ecosystems around the island of Thun’bafushi in Kaafu Atoll.
Haveeru has reported that the Maldivian Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has issued the fine over claims that a reclamation project linked to Moosa’s business interests had caused “irreversible changes” to the marine environment of the island.
The newspaper report cited an EPA statement claiming that a fine of Rf100m had been set, despite an estimated Rf2.23bn worth of damage being found to have been caused to the local environment as part of an assessment by the government-supervised agency. A fine of Rf100m is the most severe fiscal punishment able to be set by the EPA under its own rules.
The EPA is reportedly investigating other alleged activities conducted on the island deemed to have breached the Environment Protection Act.
(0)Dislikes(0)Police last night summoned former Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) Deputy Leader Umar Naseer regarding a request by the Elections Commission [EC] that he be investigated for using the DRP logo and letterhead without authority from the party.
The request from the Elections Commission came after the DRP sent a letter to the commission urging it to take action against Umar Naseer for using the logo and letterhead without permission.
Speaking to press after police released him, Umar Naseer said he was summoned and asked whether he had been using DRP logo and letterhead.
He told the journalists that he had confessed to using DRP logo and letterhead and told them he would continue using the logo and letterhead until the suit against DRP in court reached a conclusion.
(0)Dislikes(0)Indian High Commissioner Dnyaneshwar Mulay has presented Foreign Minister Ahmed Nasheem with US$46,272.65 to help fund a coastal zone management centre.
India is providing major assistance for the centre and has so far provided almost US$1.1 million in assistance towards establishing the centre.
(0)Dislikes(0)An Israeli fugitive was arrested in Thailand yesterday in possession of a fake Maldivian passport.
Forty-one year-old Levy Ben-David escaped from an Israeli prison in 2000, after being convicted for robbing and murdering the owners of a jewelry shop in Belgium in 1993.
The fake Maldivian passport Ben-David was using to evade authorities was in the name of Dmitry Milevm, according to Thai police, who arrested him in a Bangkok apartment.
An Israeli newspaper reported that Ben-David had married a Thai woman and had two children. He is due to be extradited.
(0)Dislikes(0)Cabinet has pledged to remove all import duties on vehicles powered with electrical or renewable energy sources to try and boost its own green commitments and reduce a national reliance on fossil fuels.
As part of this commitment, the government is also expected to cut import charges on solar panels and batteries that can be used as alternate energy sources for marine vehicles in the country.
According to the cabinet’s recommendations, vehicles and power sources exempt from import charges will require documents from the country’s Environmental Protection Agency to accredit any claimed eco-friendly benefits.
The move is tied to the country’s aims of trying to become carbon neutral by 2020, a goal President Moahamed Nasheed has previously claimed would be a disaster for the nation if not achieved – although the government is yet to outline the exact measures it will take to achieve these aims.
Cabinet’s decision to waive the import charges was made at a meeting held yesterday regarding funding developments to try and encourage greater use of renewable energy sources in everyday life and business. These measures include strategies such as subsidising 50 laari for every unit of electricity produced by renewable energy means.
Aside from this environmental focus, the cabinet was also reported to have taken the decision to cut duties on imports of raw materials and agricultural equipment that could be used to bolster fishing and poultry production to reduce the nation’s overall reliance on imports.
Recommendations were also put forward to develop 15,000 square feet of land in Hulhumale’ into a detoxification and drug rehabilitation centre supported from international donor aid.
(0)Dislikes(0)Climate finance presents a governance challenge to ensure it reaches the right places, Maldives’ Ambassador to the UN in Geneva, Iruthisham Adam, has told Transparency International (TI).
“The Copenhagen Accord figure of US $100 billion per year by 2020 is a conservative estimate of needs, yet even this amount presents profound governance challenges,” Adam told TI.
“How can we generate this amount of money? How can we manage this funding? How can we distribute it to those who need it most and assure ourselves that the money is well spent and not abused?
These challenges are at the heart of why it was difficult to come to an agreement on climate financing at COP15. We also need a UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) oversight bodies to regulate the flows, distribution and efficacy of the fund. Climate financing has to be accountable and transparent in order to avoid abuse and inefficiency and build confidence and trust. Everything has come to a standstill because we are not able to build trust within the system, on which the whole UNFCCC negotiations are dependent. Procedures must be in place to allow local communities, NGOs and other stakeholders oversee the funds and build this trust.”
(0)Dislikes(0)The senior magistrate of the ‘Thundi’ ward of Gan in Laamu Atoll is currently under investigation after he filed documents at the Island Council Office indicating that his age was 50, despite his eldest son being 48 years old, reported Haveeru.
Haveeru reported allegations that the magistrate had intentionally defrauded the documents because he would have been required to resign from his position if he was over 60 years-old.
The paper also reported that the magistrate was now even younger than his younger brother, according to the documents submitted.
Sources told Haveeru that the magistrate’s real age was, 68 and his younger brother was aged 66.
Haveeru reported that another magistrate working in the same court was now investigating the case.
The court and staff declined to speak about the matter, reported Haveeru.
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