Category: News in Brief

Police confiscate alcohol brewing equipment in Fuvahmulah

Police have said that equipment suspected to have been used to brew alcohol has been confiscated after being discovered in an abandoned home on the island of Fuvahmulah.

The alleged brewing apparatus and a number of containers thought to have contained alcohol was reported to have been picked up by police.   Law enforcement officials claim they have dealt with six individual cases during the year so far relating to alcohol consumption or production, according to Haveeru.

The news report claimed that the equipment and alcohol were found both in an abandoned home and around swamp land across two separate wards on the island.

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Handling of economy affects popularity of Maldivian President: Sunday Times

Maldivian authorities have placed a restriction on the repatriation of foreign currency by expatriate workers including Sri Lankans to tackle an acute shortage of US dollars in the market, writes Feizal Samath for Sri Lanka’s Sunday Times, a move that recently triggered protests in the island nation.

“The restrictions, according to rules enforced in a gazette notification by the Maldivian Monetary Authority (Central Bank) on Friday, permits workers to remit their contracted salary and nothing more.

“The foreign exchange crisis in the Maldives has been precipitated by ballooning budget deficits spilling over from the regime of former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom.

“Huge capital expenditure on new development which is not matched by revenue has widened the trade balance and precipitated the foreign exchange crisis. Banks have limited the issue of dollars. Most banks are limiting the issue of dollars against the rufiya (local currency) for repatriation, a move which has also affected tourism, the country’s main foreign exchange earner, and even for local business.

“’There is absolute confusion in the industry about how much can be retained by us in dollars (for our work). There are no clear guidelines,’” said a resort owner, accusing the government of mismanaging the economy.

“New taxes to be enforced in July on income and business profits, for the first time in the Maldives, have affected President Mohamed Nasheed’s popularity and led to a week of protests against cost of living and alleged corruption. Another new tax, Tourism GST was enforced from January.

“Prices of essential commodities have escalated and inflation has sharply risen mainly due to the shortage of dollars in the market. The Maldives imports all its needs except fish. Its main foreign earnings comes from the bed tax from tourism and fish exports while local taxes in the past have been limited to import duties and levies.

“The President’s chief spokesman Mohamed Zuhair, while acknowledging that the new measures have affected government’s popularity, has accused opposition parties and disgruntled businessmen unhappy over the taxes, of instigating the violent protests by youths, and also blamed unscrupulous traders for jacking up prices.

“He said while taxes were inevitable and had been announced a long time ago, the latest round of protests came after Mr Gayoom broke away from the main opposition DRP and formed his own faction.
Opposition spokesman Mohamed ‘Mundhu’ Shareef rejected the claim and said the protests were a natural reaction of the people against rising food prices and what he called ‘a corrupt regime’.”

Full story

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Local council elections cost Rf45 million: EC report

The Elections Commission (EC) has claimed the bill for the local council elections, held in February this year, reached Rf45 million (US$3.5 million) – approximately US$15 for every voter in the Maldives.

Money was spent on transport, supplies, printing, salaries, overtime allowances and food, the EC stated.

In its report, the EC stated that problems encountered during vote counting were minor and solved quickly.

“Elections carried on rather successfully compared to previously held elections. Ballot counting was finished with minimal obstructions,” the report said.

Several cases sent by the EC to the Prosecutor General’s office including a man who gave false information to contest in the election (Rf20,000 fine), a man caught videoing the ballot (Rf12,000 fine) and a man who attempted to alter voter registration details and was sentenced to a year in prison.

The EC has yet to report party preference results from the election. The ruling MDP won seats in most populated areas almost unanimously, while the opposition DRP won the majority of seats overall, taking islands into account.

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Maldives at a crossroads: Selina Mohsin

“Street protests, unruly mob violence, nightly raids and destructive slogans against the ruling party have put the first democratic government of Maldives in a vulnerable position,” writes former Bangladeshi High Commissioner to the Maldives, Professor Selina Mohsin, in the Daily Star.

“The devaluation of the currency has provided an opportune moment [for the opposition] to protest against the government and create a smokescreen over their own political wrangling. They claim that the government is responsible for financial mismanagement and reckless spending without investing in productive resources. The youth are being used as pawns and the recent unrest has been termed by the opposition parties as youth movement reminiscent of political movements in the Middle East.

“For their own vested interest opposition parties appear to have incredibly short memories. Most have forgotten that in 2008 the World Bank stated that Maldives was in a volatile economic situation. The budget deficit stood at 31 percent of the GDP, inflation at 12 percent and the economy was reeling from massive fiscal expansion with the government’s wage bill increases. When President Nasheed came to power after the first multi-party democratic election, the World Bank noted that Nasheed had inherited the worst economic situation that any country faced since the 1950s.

“Recently, after international media coverage of days of violent demonstration across the capital Male’, countries that have tourists travelling to the Maldives have warned their citizens of security problems. Maldives was identified by Hong Kong as ‘amber’ after several nights of severe protests. This threat indicator now ranks the Maldives alongside Israel, Iran, Indonesia, Russia and Pakistan. China’s Xinhua news agency reported a government spokesperson as saying that those who plan to visit the Maldives or are already there should “monitor the situation and exercise caution.” Chinese tourist constitutes the largest number of arrivals and is a major emerging market. This increase in recent years has offset a decline in European tourism due to global recession of 2008.

“A dialogue was held a few days back by representatives of the government and party youth leaders. It was unsuccessful. The youth leaders demanded further reforms to reforms that have already been undertaken. To ask for the moon is a means of thwarting any useful dialogue.

“It appears that the current unrestrained demonstrations are not merely against a rise in the costs of living but to bring the government of President Nasheed down. Such is the peril of democracy.”

Full story

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Cabinet caps expatriate remittances, as blackmarket reaches Rf17

Cabinet will impose a limit on the amount of money that can be remitted by expatriate workers in the Maldives, in an attempt to increase the dollars circulating in the economy.

The government said the decision, reported in the government gazette and published in Haveeru, was intended to reduce the amount of money send overseas by those working in the country illegally. Previous estimates have put the number of illegal workers at up to half the total expatriate population of the Maldives.

Those that exceed the limit, and organisations providing the transfer facility, would face a fine.

Most banks already place a limit on the amount of rufiya that can be transacted into dollars and transferred out of the country.

Haveeru meanwhile reported that a blackmarket for dollars had resurfaced with prices reaching Rf16.5, as banks were still unable to meet demand for dollars. The highest amount permitted under the government’s band is Rf15.42 to the dollar.

“It’s difficult to buy dollars, even if you’re willing to pay Rf17 for it. Banks don’t issue dollars either,” a local businessman told Haveeru.

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Park Hyatt opens 50 villa resort on Hadahaa

The Park Hyatt resort on Hadahaa in Gaafu Alif Atoll has opened 50 luxury villas to visitors, emphasising privacy, comfort and environmental sensitivity.

A statement from the resort said services include a five star dive centre, Mandara spa and a “leisure concierge” offering excursions and activities.

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Bangladeshi scholar to deliver sermon for expatriate workers

Bangladeshi scholar Mufti Anwar Hussein has been invited to the Maldives by the Islamic Ministry to deliver sermons for the country’s large expatriate population.

The Ministry’s Director General at the ministry, Ahmedulla Jameel, told Haveeru that the sermons would be in the Bengali language and would focus on the social problems that are on the rise among the Bangladeshis living in the Maldives.

The sermons will be delivered on Thursday and Friday at mosques in Male’, Hulhumale, Villingili and Thilafushi.

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Health Ministry raises private clinic charge concerns

The Maldives Ministry of Health could be set to reprimand certain private medical clinics that are claimed to have increased their consultation charges without its permission as the value of rufiyaa falls against the US dollar.

Haveeru has reported that the ministry has raised concerns that some clinics had failed to seek permission from the country’s health officials before increasing their consultation prices from the previous rate of Rf200 by up to 50 percent in certain cases.

According to the paper, Director General of Health Services, Dr Ibrahim Yasir, said that the ministry would be investigating these consultancy costs and could potentially move to fine and revoke licenses from certain private clinics that were deemed to not be working within their remit by hiking prices.

Despite the criticisms over charges, the ministry was said to accept that the cost of imported medical consumables had risen on the back of a changing dollar exchange rate.

Yasir claimed to the paper that in light of amendments to the exchange rate, it would be reviewing submissions by private clinics that are seeking to increase their charges accordingly.

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