Maldives’ resorts among world’s best, but industry insiders express concern over Green Tax

Three Maldivian resorts have been named among the world’s top 25 hotels by TripAdvisor, but industry specialists have expressed concern over the new green tax and rising prices.

Gili Lankanfushi Maldives placed top in the recently announced Traveler’s Choice Awards, based upon the quantity and quality of reviews posted on the website, while two other Maldivian resorts – Cocoa Island and Constance Moofushi – ranked at number six and fifteen, respectively.

The survey by the world’s largest travel website acknowledged over 8,100 properties based on one year’s worth of reviews and opinions from its 315 million unique monthly visitors.

“We are very glad that three of our resorts got included as top hotels in the world,” said Maldives Association of Tourism Industry Secretary General Ahmed Nazeer.

Four other Maldivian locations were named as part of the top 25 hotels in the Asian region. Baros Maldives was awarded ninth place on the regional list, Soneva Fushi placed 13th, while LUX* Maldives and Komandhoo Maldives Resort earned 21st and 22nd, respectively.

Meanwhile, industry specialists have expressed concern that the Maldives might soon become an overpriced destination due to increasing taxes and service charges, with the latest levy taking the form of a US$6 green tax.

“The green tax will definitely have an impact,” said Shafraz Fazley, Managing Director of Viluxur Holidays to ttgasia.com. “It is (already) becoming too expensive to go to top resorts because of all the service charges and taxes.”

The US$6 green tax was announced in November last year with the tourism minister Ahmed Adeeb saying that the revenue generated from the tax will go into managing waste from local resorts and other islands.

Rising arrivals, rising costs

The tax is part of  new revenue raising measures outlined in the record MVR24.3 billion (US$1.5 billion) state budget for 2015, which also includes the addition of ten resorts to the current 109 registered facilities. These measures are anticipated to raise MVR3.4 billion (US$220 million) in revenue for the government.

The green tax will be introduced 11 months after the abolition of the US$8 per night bed tax, and one year after the hike in the Tourism Goods and Service Tax (T-GST) from 8 to 12 percent. Airport service tax was also raised from US$18 to US$25 in July 2014 for visitors leaving the country.

Maldives Association for Travel Agents and Tour Operators President Abdulla Ghiyas was reported as having told TTG that the resort contracts will be unaffected as the bed tax had been taken into account, though the opposition has previously called the levying of this and T-GST simultaneously as “double taxation” on the industry.

“Have a look at the TripAdvisor Forum,” Michelle Flake from Koamas Luxury Escapes told TTG. “I am sure people are moaning and saying it will be too expensive for them to come soon.”

After receiving more than one million tourists for the second consecutive year in 2014, the tourism ministry estimates that the Maldives will see 1.4 million tourist arrivals this year.

Speaking to Minivan News about the past year, however, Tourism Employee’s Association of Maldives Secretary General Mauroof Zakir said that, despite the increased arrivals, the tourism industry suffered as a whole in 2014.

“Total tourist arrivals have increased compared to the previous year. However, as arrivals from Europe and Russia decrease, less income is generated as the replacing Chinese visitors spend less and stay for lesser periods,” said Zakir.

Last year’s Maldives visitor survey in January 2014 appeared to confirm Zakir’s point, showing that Asian tourists stayed for shorter periods of 3 to 4 days while the average stay for European tourists was between 7 and 11 days.

According to the Tourism Yearbook 2014 – published by the tourism ministry – average duration of stay by tourists is declining, from 8.6 days in 2009 to 6.3 days in 2013.

The Chinese and Russian tourist markets are two of the fastest growing in the world, with arrivals increasing by an average of 54 and 10.7 percent, respectively, between 2009 and 2013.

Adeeb has acknowledged the negative impact of the falling Russian rouble on arrivals, saying that the Maldives must diversify its tourism markets as the international arena “heats up”.


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Bank of Maldives introduces Islamic banking services

With additional reporting by Mohamed Said Fathih and Ismail Humaam Hamid

The Bank of Maldives (BML) has introduced Islamic Banking Services today (January 22).

The service inaugurated by Minister of Islamic Affairs Dr Mohamed Shaheem Ali Saeed will be operated under the name ‘BML Islamic’ which will offer its personal and business customers with deposit and financing products.

“This is a big and proud day for our Bank,” said BML’s CEO and Managing Director Andrew Healy. “Today we start to provide alternatives to those who wish to strictly follow Islamic principles in their banking.”

“We look forward to rolling out a broad range of products and services – for both personal and business customers – over the next two years”.

Islamic banking and capital market services – compliant with Islamic Shariah – were introduced in the Maldives in 2011, with the opening of the Maldives Islamic Bank.

The Capital Market Development Authority began reporting on the Islamic Capital Market for the first time last year, while Maldives Monetary Authority Governor Dr Azeema Adam said that the industry’s potential was still being realised.

“One of the reasons for the phenomenal growth of Islamic finance is the perception that it is more ethical, compared to conventional finance, which is traditionally viewed as predatory when needed,” Azeema told the Maldives’ first Islamic banking conference last September.

BML CEO Andrew Healy

The new BML service will be provided by existing branches of the bank but Islamic bank accounts and finances will be “fully segregated from the rest of the Bank’s Services”, explained a BML press release.

“ATMs and card machines and will be fully Shari’ah-compliant, with Islamic accounts,” the statement continued, while Wadi’ah accounts can now be opened at any BML branch.

Prominent Islamic scholars have expressed their support for the move, with Dr Aishath Muneeza, Sheikh Fayyaz Ali Manik, and former Islamic minister Dr Abdul Majeed Abdul Bari all contributing to BML’s promotional campaign.

“I believe this is a service which has been much needed for the people of Maldives. This allow lot of people across the country to go about their financial transactions as per Islamic Sharia,” said Sheikh Fayyaz.

Islamic minister Shaheem today described the move as “great news for many Maldivians”, saying that “BML’s commencement of Islamic financial services, to coincide with the day Maldives embraced Islam, is a memorable occasion”.

Other recent changes to services provided by the national bank included 22 state-of-the-art ATMs across Malé in November as well as the bank’s first US dollar ATM at its main branch the following month.


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President Yameen urges STO to enter international markets

President Abdulla Yameen has called on the State Trading Organisation (STO) to widen the company’s scope into the international global markets.

At a ceremony held at Dharubaaruge last night to mark the company’s 50th anniversary, Yameen spoke of diversifying the company into numerous fields including the establishment of a national shipping line and operation of oil tankers, assuring the government’s support in these ventures.

“We must find ways to reduce the price of oil and to find low priced oil,” Yameen said.

Oil exploration – via the STO’s subsidiary Maldives National Oil Company – was an election pledge of President Yameen, with a German research vessel conducting oil and gas exploration research in August 2014.

Expressing his confidence that diversification into shipping would reduce costs, especially oil prices, Yameen said that the STO cannot always remain a small scale retailer.

The STO is the country’s primary wholesaler, responsible for bringing in the vast majority of basic foodstuffs such as rice and flour, as well as other imported commodities such as electrical goods

The president also warned that “managing directors of state owned companies will change if the companies cannot perform” to the required standard.

Yesterday (January 22), Ibrahim ‘Bandhu’ Saleem was dismissed from the post of Managing Director of Maldives Airports Company Limited (MACL). No specific reason was given regarding the decision.

Yameen said yesterday evening that his office was working with the treasury to audit state-owned companies in order to determine whether they are reaching set targets as well as to categorise the firms and to align their pay structures to ensure employees are paid fairly.

According to Article 212 of the Constitution the auditor general has the authority and power to audit all institutions primarily funded by the state and “any business entity, in which shares are owned by the State”.

The STO launched an austerity campaign twelve months ago, pledging to cut operations costs by MVR50 million by the end of 2014 after President Yameen had declared the company bankrupt upon assuming office in November 2013.

“Not only does STO not have dollars, it does not have Maldivian Rufiyaa either. Funding the oil import through STO is now a burden for the state,” said Yameen at the time of the announcement.

Managing Director at the STO Adam Azim said last month that the company’s debts will be paid off within three years, telling Haveeru that its US$144 million (MVR1.7 billion) debt was unprecedented, and that US$51 million had been paid off during his tenure as a result of reductions in expenditure.

Meanwhile, Haveeru yesterday published corruption allegations against Azim – the brother of recently dismissed Minister of Defence and National Security Mohamed Nazim.

The paper reported that it has obtained a copy of an Anti-Corruption Commission report which says Azim attempted to use the state-owned company’s money to influence the Football Association of Maldives’ congress.

Haveeru suggested the report revealed attempts to have a relative appointed to the post of FAM president through sponsorship money given to football clubs with voting rights in the congress.

Presidential spokesman Ibrahim Muaz said that no decision regarding the removal of Azim had been made and that relevant authorities and institutions will investigate and proceed with the issue of any corruption allegations.

Azim appeared alongside the president at yesterday’s anniversary celebrations.


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PG considers blocking pornographic websites in the Maldives

Prosecutor General (PG) Muhthaz Muhsin has said that the office is considering demanding that internet service providers in the Maldives block pornographic websites.

Speaking to Avas, Muhsin said pornographic websites are blocked in most Islamic countries and that the Maldives should follow suit.

“This is how it is in the lot of Muslim countries. We are thinking of doing the same in the Maldives,” Muhsin told Avas.

According to current laws and regulations, possessing and distributing pictures or videos with pornographic content is illegal in the Maldives.

Last year, nine underage students were arrested in Feydhoo School in Addu City for the possession of pornographic pictures and videos while a man was sentenced to six years of imprisonment for possessing pornographic material.

Source: Avas

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Yameen bring changes to state institutions following Nazim dismissal

President Abdulla Yameen has brought changes to a number of ministries and state institutions in the aftermath of Colonel (ret.) Mohamed Nazim’s dismissal as defence minister.

Minister of Fisheries and Agriculture Dr Mohamed Shainee was today appointed to the vacated acting health minister’s position, while Minister of Home Affairs Umar Naseer has been appointed president of the Local Government Association (LGA).

Additionally, the Department of Immigration and Emigration – under Nazim’s remit as part of the defence ministry since December 2012 – has been reallocated to the Ministry of Economic Development.

Meanwhile, the President’s Office has revealed that Ibrahim ‘Bandhu’ Saleem has been removed from the post of Maldives Airports Company Limited’s managing director. Saleem confirmed this to Minivan News stating that no reason had been given for his dismissal.

President’s Office Spokesman Ibrahim Muaz explained that the president has the power and authority to appoint and dismiss political appointees and that specific reasons for a decision would be shared with the media when they were available.

Yesterday’s dismissal of Nazim came as a result of a police investigation into illegal weapons being kept in the minister’s home. He had been in the position since February 2012 – one of the first appointments made by President Dr Mohamed Waheed following the controversial resignation of President Mohamed Nasheed.

Nazim had been given the health portfolio after pro-government MPs blocked the renomination of Dr Mariyam Shakeela to the cabinet in August last year. Shakeela later alleged a conspiracy and smear campaign to remove her from office.

At the time of his dismissal, Nazim was also facing challenges from within the Local Government Authority, to which President Yameen had appointed him in November 2013. Last week fellow board members voted to remove him from the position of president following a contested vote of no-confidence.

Meanwhile, Haveeru has published corruption allegations against Nazim’s brother, State Trading Organisation Managing Director Adam Azim.

The paper reported that it has obtained a copy of an Anti-Corruption Commission report which says Azim attempted to use the state-owned company’s money to influence the Football Association of Maldives’ congress.

Haveeru suggested the report revealed attempts to have a relative appointed to the post of FAM president through sponsorship money given to football clubs with voting rights in the congress.

Elsewhere, the Judicial Services Commission today elected Supreme Court Justice Ali Hameed as its chair.

Hameed was appointed to the judicial watchdog by President Abdulla Yameen yesterday after the commissions Supreme Court representative Adam Mohamed resigned from the commission on Sunday (January 18) citing personal reasons.


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High Court resumes Hulhumalé Magistrate Court appeal case

The High Court has scheduled a hearing for January 28 in former President Mohamed Nasheed’s appeal case into the legitimacy of the Hulhumalé Magistrate Court.

The case, which challenges the legality of the bench assembled to try Nasheed for the January 2012 detention of Criminal Court Judge Abdulla Mohamed, has been stalled since April 2013.

Hisaan Hussain from the opposition leader’s legal team said that the former president and his representatives have received the chits from the High Court regarding the hearing.

“The chits from the high court said it was a preliminary hearing,” said Hisaan.

“However these kind of meetings are usually where documents are exchanged and do not happen in the middle of an ongoing trail, therefore we are regarding this as a hearing.”

Meanwhile, in a press statement today the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) said that Nasheed has been “receiving threats that he will be arrested as soon as he returns to the Maldives” from his visit to Abu Dhabi.

Nasheed – who has recently urged the government to expedite the trial – tweeted today that he will be cutting his trip short after hearing of the government’s intentions to arrest him and will arrive tomorrow afternoon.

The former president was arrested in October 2012 after the Hulhumale Magistrate Court issued a warrant following his failure to adhere to court summons.

Also charged with the detention of Judge Abdulla Mohamed were prominent figures from the Nasheed government, including Major General (retired) Moosa Ali Jaleel.

Jaleel was appointed as minister of defence yesterday following the dismissal of Mohamed Nazim, who is being investigated on suspicion of keeping illegal weapons in his home.

The Prosecutor General’s Office has subsequently said it will not be withdrawing with the charges against the new defence minister, while President’s Office Spokesman Ibrahim Muaz told Minivan News that the cases of Jaleel and Nazim are not comparable.

“There is a massive difference between security services finding dangerous weapons and an ongoing case intiated by a previous administration. The president has decided to trust Jaleel even with the pending case,” said Muaz.

Stalled case

In a statement today, the MDP noted that the threats to arrest Nasheed come at a time when “President Yameen’s government has been threatening various political figures while undermining the Constitution”.

Chief among the complaints levelled against the government are recent amendments to the Judicature Act which saw the removal of two of the Supreme Court’s seven judges.

Also included in the amendments was the division of the nine-member High Court into three regional branches, with only the Malé branch allowed to hear challenges to laws and regulations.

Speaking at a party rally last weekend, Nasheed suggested the president had been attempting to strike a deal regarding the charges related to Abdulla Mohamed’s detention. “I am the bad guy,” he reminded the president.

Last November, Nasheed also told the press that the judge’s detention had been wrong, blaming his former defense minister Tholhath Ibrahim for the decision.

Nasheed has appealed at the High Court against the legitimacy of the Hulhumalé Magistrates bench – assembled by the Judicial Services Commission (JSC) – saying that judges on the bench on cases must be appointed by the senior judge of the court, arguing that such decisions were beyond the remit of the judicial watchdog.

He has also questioned the establishment of a Magistrates Court in the Malé suburb, arguing that Hulhumalé is considered to be part of Malé City under the Decentralisation Act and therefore require a separate Magistrates Court.

Other critics of the court included then-JSC members Sheikh Shuaib Abdul Rahman and former Speaker of Parliament Abdulla Shahid, who argued that the judicial watchdog had acted unconstitutionally in assigning magistrates to a particular case.

United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Independence of Judges and Lawyers Gabriela Knaul, noted at the time that the  “appointment of judges to the case, has been set up in an arbitrary manner outside the parameters laid out in the laws”.


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Adhaalath Party president meets with police

Adhaalath Party President Sheikh Imran Abdulla has met with police at the their headquarters in Malé today, says media reports.

Imran told press that he had not been accused of any crime, while police have said the meeting was not in relation to any ongoing investigations.

Imran took to twitter following the dismissal of defence minister Colonel (retired) Mohamed Nazim yesterday, warning that the country was “drifting towards a storm”,

“If the direction is not changed wisely the country will be shattered,” read one post, while another posted the day before said: “The people who try and blame innocent people after commit heinous crimes will face a bitter end”.

Source: Sun Online, Vnews, Haveeru

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US embassy donates library to Thinadhoo Primary School

The US embassy has donated a library of 750 English-language books to the Thinadoo Primary School in Gaafu Dhaalu Atoll.

“The United States supports expanding educational opportunities around the world,” said Young Hwan Joo of the US embassy to the students at the school.

“We hope that one day all of you will take your first steps to not only become future exchange students in the United States, but also leaders of your community and your country.”

The books, with a total cost of cost of $10,000, range from early to more advanced stories to text books and teaching aids.  They will be used in classes, but also taken home for reading assignments and personal enjoyment, explained a US embassy press release today.

“Thank you very much for your support to our school,” said Principal Ajeeb Mohammed told embassy staff.  “Our students, teachers and staff are delighted with your visit and we all believe that it will be a great milestone for our school.”

This is the second in a series of twelve book drops planned for islands in the outer atolls. The first took place in March 2014 in Fuvamulah.

“These donations address critical educational needs in remote areas where the delivery of books has been difficult,” continued today’s press release.

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MDP holds street rally in front of Gasim’s residence

The opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) has held a street rally in front of Gasim Ibrahim’s residence in order to show solidarity with the Jumhooree Party (JP) leader in defending the Constitution.

The rally themed ‘In Defense of the Constitution’ held last night was attended by senior members of the MDP, with Maamigili MP Gasim also coming out of Maafannu Villa for a brief period of time to meet with the crowd.

Speaking at the rally, MDP Chairperson Ali Waheed said the parties were having informal talks to create a platform to defend the Constitution, which will emerge as one of the friendliest and most cooperative the nation has seen.

“We are protesting near Maafannu Villa or near any other political figure to protect the Maldivian Constitution. We should not be concerned about following someone or leading someone, rather Maldivians must rally behind the national flag and defend the constitution”, said Waheed.

MDP Vice president Mohamed Shifaz who also addressed the rally last night announced that the party will hold a protest march on Friday (January 23), starting at the Raalhugandu area in Malé.

The party has also announced that it will be holding rallies on street corners to raise awareness regarding the “destruction of the Maldivian Constitution”.

Yesterday’s rally marks a continued rapprochement between the opposition and the JP – which was officially aligned with the ruling Progressive Party of Maldives until May last year, after having given crucial backing to Abdulla Yameen in the 2013 presidential race.

Yameen eventually beat MDP candidate Mohamed Nasheed in a much-delayed poll after the Supreme Court’s controversial annulment of the first round following complaints lodged by third-placed candidate Gasim.

A warming of relations

MDP Spokesman Imthiyaz Fahmy told Minivan News today that it is time to leave the rocky past behind and for “all political parties including Mr Gasim’s Jumhooree Party to stand together with the MDP to defend the Constitution”.

“Defending the Constitution is not only the MDP’s job but everyone else’s too. The MDP is fighting for a cause in which, if anybody or politician is subjected to injustice or unfairness, the MDP would defend them and the Constitution”, said Fahmy.

Meanwhile, JP Spokesperson Ahmed Sameer stated that if all parties reflect on the experiences of the past and work with “sincerity and good will”, the JP is confident that the party will be able to work with the MDP.

“I do not see why MDP and JP cannot travel on the same boat. If are able to do fruitful work for this cause, perhaps it will pave way for further cooperation in the future”, Sameer said.

The previous alliance between the MDP and the JP – as part of Nasheed’s coalition government in 2008 – lasted less than one month. Gasim subsequently joined the anti-government movement in 2011 before the controversial resignation of Nasheed in early 2012.

Movement between the two parties has been frequent, however, with a number of prominent politicians switching between the two – most notably former MDP President Dr Ibrahim Didi and Vice President Alhan Fahmy both leaving for the JP in 2012 before returning in 2013.

After returning to the MDP following the JP’s decision to back Yameen for the presidency in late 2013, Dr Didi said that the two parties were similar in their reformist ideology.

“To tell the truth, 80 percent of Honourable Gasim’s heart is still with the MDP. This is a very clear reality. Even if he had to make a decision under duress, he is a person who worked in the front ranks since 1984 to bring reform to the Maldives,” he said.

Speaking at a rally in the capital Malé last weekend, former President Nasheed said that, despite their political differences, he would not allow President Yameen to destroy the JP leader Gasim.

“Gasim’s property cannot be looted. Gasim’s character and body cannot be harmed,” he told supporters. “We shall rally in his defense”.


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