A 71-year-old Maldivian man died at Hajj in Saudi Arabia, Miadhu reports.
Ibrahim Ismail of Dhaalu atoll Kuda Huvadhoo Gulshan died while undergoing treatment for pneumonia.
The first group of Hajj pilgrims will return to the Maldives on Friday and the last group will return on 8 December.
The health ministry is preparing to test the pilgrims for Influenza A at the airport.
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(0)The government of Oman is encouraging investment in the Maldives, reports Miadhu following an interview with the Ambassador of Oman to the Maldives, Sheikh Humaid Bin Al-Maani.
Al Maani said the four Oman Air flights a week between Oman and Male were proving successful and could lead to further business between the two countries.
The ambassador presented his credentials to Maldivian president Mohamed Nasheed on 24 November, and met with the Maldives Chamber of Commerce to discuss an exchange of business delegations.
(0)Dislikes(0)The opposition Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) will visit Addu Atoll to hear people’s grievances with the current administration, reports Miadhu, the first time the party has visited Addu since last year’s presidential election.
Meanwhile the ruling Maldivian Democratic Party is trying to boost its support in the atolls by holding membership drives in Medhu Dhekunu and Mathi Uthuru, and have reportedly received 1800 applications.
(0)Dislikes(0)The Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) has expressed regret over the proposed 2010 mid-term budget, which it argues will fail to deliver development to the Maldives.
The largest opposition party said the budget had a deficit of Rf4.7 billion (US$366 million), noting that while Rf7.2 billion (US$560 million) is expected in revenue, this was accounted for 60 per cent of the budget.
“It is further doubtful that the revenue goals could be reached since a large part of the income rests upon taxes to be levied under laws that would be made in the future,” a statement from the party said.
Addressing MPs last week, Finance Minister Ali Hashim said the government had proposed a number of measures to generate around US$354 million to plug the deficit. These included foreign aid, foreign loan assistance, privatisation of government companies and the sale of treasury bills through the Maldives Monetary Authority.
In their statement, the DRP further noted that Hashim said government revenue depended on three new taxes, legislation for which was currently pending in parliament.
But, the party continued, the Rf3.4 billion (US$265 million) expected in tax revenue in next year’s budget was only three per cent higher than tax revenue in 2008.
Last week, Hashim urged MPs to pass the taxation legislation before the end of the year and said a goods and services tax would be imposed on tourist resorts and hotels in the final quarter of 2010, which he anticipated would raise Rf358 million (US$27 million) in revenue.
Revenue
The party further noted that at Rf333 million (US$26 million) revenue from profits of government companies was significantly lower than 2009 because of the government’s policy of selling off state assets.
DRP pointed to the government’s decision to sell seven per cent of its stake in the highly profitable Dhiraagu, the country’s first telecommunications company, to British company Cable & Wireless for US$40 million.
“We believe that another reason for the decrease of income from government companies is handing over management of these companies to unqualified people for political purposes,” their statement said.
Since coming to power, the government has introduced a policy of public-private partnerships it hopes will enhance the efficiency of state-owned enterprises.
Beyond the 40 per cent deficit, another of the issues raised by the DRP was the lack of funding for large development projects such as a national university,
“The extraordinarily high government expenditure casts doubts on the government’s talk of reducing expenditure,” the statement said, further claiming that a large portion of the total expenditure on government employees, Rf3.9 billion (US$304 million), would be spent on political appointees.
Even with the reduction of civil servants’ salaries and dismissals, expenditure on salaries is higher than previous years, the DRP said.
In August, the government announced a raft of austerity measures to help alleviate the budget deficit. These included pay cuts of up to 20 per cent for civil servants and all political appointees ranked deputy minister and above, cutting back on foreign trips, and letting go of all government-rented buildings.
Both the president and the vice-president also volunteered to take a 20 per cent pay cut to their salaries.
Despite a high number of political appointees, the government continues to maintain that it has made fewer appointments than the former administration.
“Benefit of the people”
In their statement, the opposition party described the interest on loans as “alarming”, noting that compared to Rf279 million (US$22 million) in 2008, the amount raised from interest in 2010 will be Rf529 million (US$41 million).
The party said that while the government’s policy was to reduce the size of the government, the proposed expenditure in 2010 will be higher than in previous years.
The DRP further pointed to the increase in foreign debt from Rf755 million (US$59 million) in 2008 to Rf1,057 million (US$82 million) in 2010, adding that the interest rate had not been revealed.
“Our only hope is that this mid-term budget will be amended for the benefit of the people and the country and pave way for development. We give full assurance to the beloved people that we will do everything we can in parliament,” the statement concluded.
Speaking to MPs at parliament, Hashim said that by the IMF government finance statistics measure, the deficit for 2009 was 26.1 per cent.
But, he added, if the mid-term budget was implemented, although there would be a decline to 14.8 per cent in 2010 and 2.4 per cent in 2011, it will reach a surplus in 2012.
Hashim said the structure of the budget was agreed upon after consultations with the International Monetary Fund and recommendations by the Asian Development Bank and the World Bank.
(0)Dislikes(0)Dear Editor,
Minivan News should cover both sides of the coin I guess. What did Moomina lose when compared to our family and people of Thinadhoo when Nasir crushed innocent civilians in the name of revolution, how many innocents were killed? I am happy that you’re still living and you still have most of the biggest houses in Male’. What have we got? My gradndfathers from both sides were killed in Nasir’s brutal Villingili jail.
I am not telling that you should be suffering, I am happy that you’re there to tell your sad story even though it’s not as sad as ours. But Maumoon, dictator 2, couldn’t do anything to you; you’re lucky when compared to Nasir’s, dictator 1, actions in Thinadhoo.
I am just waiting and hoping that this government will do something for us too…because all the damages was done by the state in the name of minivan kan…killing inoccent children cannot be justified (we don’t even have our home, yours kaimoo, kai lodge, kam hotel all these lands belong to you while we are refugees.
Moomina please be mindful and help those people who suffered back then when your government was in power before you die if you want to serve people. Human rights violations and genocide will not be different whether it’s Maumoon or Nasir both equals to despotic tyrants, and my grandfathers never returned of exile.
Regards,
Anonymous
(0)Dislikes(0)Dear Editor,
Well the purpose of this letter is to let people know that the Maldives Police Services have a lot of people under suspension due to different problems. The suspension is not the problem. It’s the way they keep them. They aren’t given any salary or never even care if they live or not the so-called verin who should be able to take responsibility for almost everything since they have trees and bushes growing on each of there shoulders should know better than this.
I know since they are getting the fat sum of money they don’t care but this shouldn’t be this way since this is a democracy people on suspension have to stay 7 to 8 months or years to come back on service but I belive this is a huge injustice made to them. If the Maldives Police Services can do such damage to people’s lives they shouldn’t be even there. Because there purpose isn’t so.
It seems all the heads of the Maldives Police Services care about is saving their faces and just using the low ranking officers to do so. In a lot of things this is wrong the way they are doing it. They don’t have any place to go for help. Even the people investigating the people don’t even care to answer their calls unless they call them 50 to 70 times and they aren’t even doing their job well.
Just saving face nothing else. I’m a friend of one or two of these people and I’ve seen them being done this injustice. Nobody is above the law but the law shouldn’t be to systematically destroy someone’s life and the people implementing it shouldn’t do so.
Regards,
Anonymous
(0)Dislikes(0)Commonwealth leaders welcomed a US$10 billion annual package for developing countries ahead of the landmark United Nations climate change conference in Copenhagen this December.
Leaders of the 53 countries, among them President Mohamed Nasheed, issued a declaration committing to “achieving the strongest possible outcome” in the Danish capital.
“The latest scientific evidence indicates that in order to avoid dangerous climate change likely to have catastrophic impacts we must find solutions using all available means,” the declaration stated. “We must act now.”
Participants at the two-day annual Commonwealth meeting in Trinidad and Tobago agreed that an international legally binding agreement at Copenhagen was essential and pledged their support to Danish Prime Minister Lars Rasmussen to deliver a comprehensive treaty.
Negotiations over the past two years have virtually stalled with developed and developing countries unable to agree on the level of emission cuts and financial assistance to be given.
However a meeting between US President Barack Obama and Chinese Premier Hu Jintao earlier this month breathed new life into the climate change talks as each agreed to lobby for a legally binding deal at Copenhagen.
In their declaration, leaders of the Commonwealth agreed that developed countries should continue to take the lead on cutting their emissions.
“And developing countries, in line with their national circumstances, should also take action to achieve a substantial deviation from business-as-usual emissions with financial and technical support,” the declaration said.
Copenhagen fund
Commonwealth heads welcomed the initiative to establish a Copenhagen Launch Fund to start next year and building to US$10 billion a year by 2012.
The goal received backing by French Prime Minister Nicholas Sarkozy and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown who said the UK would contribute US$1.3 billion over the next three years.
“The rest of Europe will do so,” Brown said at the Commonwealth summit. “And I believe American will do so as well.”
US Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon said, “We need to get every country on board.”
Leaders also called for fast funding for the poorest countries as well as those most vulnerable to climate change and requested that 10 per cent of the fund be put aside for small island states and associated low-lying coastal states.
“The needs of the most vulnerable must be addressed. Their voice must be heard and capacity to engage strengthened. Many of us from small island states, low-lying coastal states and least developed countries face challenges, yet have contributed least to the problem of climate change,” the declaration said.
Acceleration
Scientists said last week the effects of climate change were being felt faster than anticipated and oceans were rising by 3.4 mm per year, greater than predicted.
As one of the lowest-lying countries in the world, the Maldives is particularly vulnerable to rising sea levels. In 2007, the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change predicted that sea level rises of up to 59 cm within a century would swamp many of the Maldives’ 1,192 coral islands.
“My country would not survive,” said Nasheed at a conference of vulnerable nations earlier this month. “The sums of money on offer are so low, it is like arriving at an earthquake zone with a dustpan and brush,” he added.
In their declaration, Commonwealth heads further called for support for adaptation, technology transfer and capacity building in addition to financial assistance.
(0)Dislikes(0)The Maldives may have difficulty acquiring a vaccine believed to be effective against the H1N1 virus, despite it being produced nearby.
“There are a limited number of companies producing the vaccine, and global vaccine production is pretty low. There’s not enough to meet demand,” said Dr Ahmed Jamsheed Mohamed from the Centre for Community Health and Disease (CCHD).
“Neighbouring countries are producing the vaccine, but it is going to the West,” he claimed. “That’s part of a global issue that existed before swine flu, but it means there a difference between who needs and who gets the vaccine.”
The Maldives has developed a vaccine deployment plan, prioritising healthcare staff, however, nobody has yet been immunised.
There is no indication that wearing a surgical mask, now a common sight around the capital Male’, could protect people from flu infections, he said.
“If worn properly the masks can prevent transmission by people who are symptomatic because it eliminates the droplets,” he said.
“But when you walk around Male’ you see people wearing them like fashion statements, on their chin or forehead – this has no effect at all and probably adds to the problem.”
Temporary flu clinic opens
In response to a rising number of flu patients at Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital (IGMH), the government has established a temporary hospital in Nasandhura Palace Hotel.
Jamsheed said the clinic was intended to relieve the pressure on IGMH staff with the onset of the flu season.
The clinic will provide anti-viral drug Tamiflu to patients who test positive to Influenza A, he said. Tamiflu is used to treat the virus but the drug is not an effective preventative.
“If we are suspicious that it could be the H1N1 (swine flu) virus we will start the patient on Tamiflu without delay,” Jamsheed said, adding that the country’s current stockpile of 2,500 adult doses “is sufficient”.
Thirty-four patients have tested positive for Influenza A so far, according to the ministry of health and family.
Of those patients 12 tested positive for the H1N1 ‘swine flu’ virus. One of them, a 65 year-old man from Raa Atoll, became the first Maldivian to die from the disease on 19 November.
The remaining 11 were treated and have since been released, Jamsheed said.
The World Health Organisation reports that over 1,000 people are now dying a week from the virus.
However Jamsheed noted that “the mortality rate of swine flu and seasonal flu is pretty much the same, although it depends on the country and things like socioeconomic factors.”
(0)Dislikes(0)A religious association on Thaa atoll Dhiyamigilli stopped a music show that was being held as part of the Eid celebrations, Miadhu reports.
“The association said that men and women participating in a music show were forbidden by religion and so it cannot be held on that island,” a source told Miadhu.
“A confrontation did occur, although it was not a major one,” the source added.
Well-known local artists such as Abdul Baaree and Sobah were scheduled to appear in the show accompanied by both male and female dancers.
The source told Miadhu while some islanders supported the association others wanted to music show to continue.
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