Nexbis to challenge termination of Border Control System project

Additional reporting by Ahmed Naish.

Nexbis has said it will challenge parliament’s decision instructing the government terminate a Border Control System (BCS) project signed under the previous administration.

The Malaysia-based IT group has said it will seek a court injunction preventing any attempts to cancel the agreement whilst court hearings over the contract were still ongoing.

Speaking to local media on Tuesday (December 25), Home Minister Dr Mohamed Jameel Ahmed claimed the government would respect parliament’s unanimous decision to halt the BCS project agreement with Nexbis.

Dr Jameel told local newspaper Haveeru that it was “difficult to come up with an exact figure at present” for the level of compensation the government would potentially have to pay Nexbis after prematurely terminating a contract with the company.

The home minister was not responding to Minivan News at the time of press.

Yesterday’s vote on the deal was taken after Parliament’s Finance Committee claimed there had been foul play in the agreement signed between Nexis and the Maldives immigration department.

Prior to the parliamentary vote, an official spokesperson for Nexbis told Minivan News on December 23 that the company would “challenge” any decision by the Majlis to halt the BCS contract while court hearings were continuing in the country.

“We are asking the Supreme Court to intervene with the decision as we have come to be aware that the contract cannot be legally terminated if there is an ongoing legal case. Presently we have legal cases in the Civil Court, the High Court and the Supreme Court,” the Nexbis source added.

Meanwhile, Director of the Department of Judicial Administration Ahmed Maajid today (December 26) confirmed that to his knowledge, Nexbis was currently involved in ongoing cases within the Maldives’ judicial system.

Maajid added that on a legal basis, the contract between Nexbis and the government could not be terminated until all proceedings involving the company were concluded.

“There is a provision in the Judicature Act under Law 22, 2010 that basically states no public body can terminate a contract with a company that is involved in judicial proceedings in the courts,” he said,

“The government has made their decision based on the the Majlis’ vote. But the legality of that decision can be challenged at the Civil Court if Nexbis submit a case. They have a constitutional right to do so.”

The MVR 500 million (US$39 million) BCS project moved ahead this year after a series of high-profile court battles and delays that led Nexbis to last year threaten legal action against the Maldivian government should it incur losses for the work already done on the project.

The Malaysia-based mobile security provider has come under scrutiny by political parties who claim that the project is detrimental to the state, while the Anti-Corruption Committee (ACC) has alleged corruption in the bidding process.

Nexbis has denied any allegations of wrong doing within its contract.

Unanimous vote

Amidst these concerns, parliament voted unanimously yesterday (December 25) to instruct the government to terminate the border control project agreement with Nexbis.

All 74 MPs in attendance voted in favour of a Finance Committee recommendation following a probe into the potential financial burden placed on the state as a result of the deal.

Presenting the Finance Committee report to the floor, Chair MP Ahmed Nazim explained that the “main problem” flagged by the ACC was that the tender had not been made in accordance with the documents by the National Planning Council authorising the project.

The documents were changed to favour the chosen party and facilitate the deal, Nazim said, which the ACC considered an act of corruption.

Regarding allegations of corruption within the contract, the Nexbis source told Minivan News that the company is “systematically denying” any allegations of corruption, adding that if there was any foul play within the contract “we were unaware of it”.

Nazim stressed that the Finance Committee inquiry focused on the financial burden on the state and had discovered that the government would have to pay US$166 million to Nexbis over the course of the agreement.

Conversely, he claimed that the Maldivian government would only earn US$8 million as royalties during the agreement period.

Nazim noted that the Finance Ministry informed the committee that it was yet to receive a copy of the agreement two years after it was signed.

The Finance Ministry has also not included any funds in either the 2012 or 2013 budgets to pay for the project.

Nazim also accused the then-attorney general of “negligence” in the deal as he had not provided an official legal opinion to the Immigration Department in writing.

Recommendations by the former attorney general to amend the agreement could not be found in the documentation, he added.

Nazim said the Finance Committee concluded therefore that the best course of action would be to terminate the Nexbis agreement and install a different border control system at the earliest date.

Following the Finance Committee decision, the budget review committee has included a recommendation compelling the government to terminate the Nexbis agreement.

The Finance Committee also recommended terminating the agreement over concerns it contained clauses to waive taxes to the company, Nazim said. He noted that imposing or waiving taxes was a prerogative of parliament under article 97(d) of the constitution.

During the ensuing debate, MPs from both the formerly ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) and government-aligned parties spoke in favour of terminating the agreement.

Along with the decision to terminate the Nexbis deal, the government of President Dr Mohamed Waheed Hasaan Manik late last month also opted to void an airport development agreement with India-based infrastructure group GMR.

The GMR contract, a 25-year agreement to develop and manage an entire new terminal at Ibrahim Nasir International Airport (INIA), was the single largest foreign investment project in the country’s history.

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Committee approves six month jail term for violating MPs’ privileges

Parliament’s Privileges Committee completed work Sunday (December 23) on the parliamentary privileges bill submitted back in 2010 by MP Riyaz Rasheed. The proposed bill will now be forwarded to the People’s Majlis floor for a vote.

Under the draft legislation, a person found guilty of committing acts that are deemed disrespectful towards parliament, or that interferes with the Majlis work, would face a fine or a jail sentence of between three to six months.

The bill further stipulates that members of the public found guilty of disruption while attending the People’s Majlis to view proceedings would either be fined between MVR 500 or MVR 1000 or sentenced to jail for three to six months.

Moreover, persons found guilty of providing false information to the parliament or any of its committees would be fined an amount between MVR 3,000 and MVR 10,000 or sentenced to three to six months in jail.

On the arrest of serving MPs, the draft legislation conceded that parliamentarians could be arrested if they are seen committing a crime, but stipulated that the Speaker of Parliament must be notified at the earliest time following such an arrest.

In the event that an MP has to be arrested under different circumstances, police must provide a court order obtained through an application by the Prosecutor General.

The bill additionally stipulates that even when under arrest, MPs must be allowed to attend parliament proceedings.

In contrast to existing parliamentary rules of procedure, the draft privileges bill allows the arrest of MPs even at a time when a no-confidence motion against a state official has been tabled in the parliament.

The bill however stipulates that MPs under arrest must be allowed to participate in no-confidence votes.

The bill also states that no MP must be summoned to a court of law or any institution in a manner which may interfere with their official work at the parliament or in any of its committees.

It further states that a court summons must not be delivered to an MP while they are on the premises of the parliament building.

Additionally, the bill states that no MP must misuse his elected post or any information gathered in official capacity for personal benefit or to facilitate such benefit to a third party.

Minivan News attempted to contact Chair of the Privileges Committee MP Hussain Mohamed, but his phone was switched off at the time of press.

In the two years that the privileges bill has been pending at the committee stage, groups of concerned citizens have demonstrated against some of the clauses in the bill.

Some concerns raised by the group include the inhibition of criticism against parliamentarians, large amounts of remuneration, special treatment in criminal justice proceedings and a pension scheme unique to parliamentarians.

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Allegations of assassination plot “realistic”: former President Nasheed

Former President Mohamed Nasheed has said he believes allegations made in a personal memoir by former Human Rights Minister Fathimath Dhiyana Saeed of a plot to assassinate him are “realistic”.

In an exclusive interview with Minivan News, Nasheed said he hoped the allegations would prompt a thorough criminal investigation either from parliament or other institutions.

“I see Dhiyana Saeed’s allegations as realistic. I hope that the parliament and other institutions would conduct a thorough criminal investigation. Even the CNI [Commission of National Inquiry] report as well highlights the need for such an investigation,” he said.

The memoir, which the former SAARC Secretary General shared with Minivan News, levelled serious allegations against then opposition figures, who Saeed claimed had plotted Nasheed’s fall and conspired to assassinate him.

On the allegations of threats to his life, Nasheed said he had received information from government intelligence sources of plots to assassinate him.

“I did get information from the Ministry of Defence that the intelligence got reports of planned assassination attempts. I had knowledge of this before,” he revealed.

In her memoir, Dhiyana claimed that the notion of “taking out” the former president came up during a conversation she had with a friend and a “long-standing political affiliate” whom she referred as “X”.

Asked whether he knew the identity of X, Nasheed refused to speculate.

“I don’t personally know that person. It would not be very good for me to name the person before a proper investigation. But I too have got information,” he said.

Nasheed added that resigning from the presidency had not put an end to death threats.

“Yes, I do [get threats of assassination], quite a lot actually,” he said.

Dhiyana alleged in her memoir that the controversial transfer of presidential power on February 7 was the result of a premeditated and well-orchestrated plan and questioned the findings of the Commonwealth-backed Commission of National Inquiry (CNI).

Nasheed reiterated his belief that the accusations were accurate, in line with concerns he himself had previously raised over the findings of the CNI’s report.

“After the coup, I was seeing very dirty dealings within the government. According to information I get, even now, affairs of government are being carried out in an irregular mafia style. I don’t see things happening according to government procedures,” he claimed.

Bugging

Nasheed also dismissed allegations by current Defense Minister Mohamed Nazim that the former President had pressured his representative on the CNI, Ahmed ‘Gahaa’ Saeed, to influence the outcome of the inquiry.

“I did not even once call Ahmed Saeed. Not even once I called. I don’t really know how the procedure had gone from the government side,” he claimed.

Dhiyana Saeed also alleged that Defence Minister Nazim had admitted to “bugging” the office of the CNI panel in which witness testimonies were recorded.

However, Nazim dismissed the allegations in local media yesterday.

Nasheed claimed that he too had been told of the alleged surveillance measures by the government during the time the CNI was conducting its inquiry.

Nasheed was however reluctant to comment accusations Saeed had made regarding for Defense Minister Tholhath Ibrahim Kaleyfaanu’s alleged role in the controversial transfer of power on February 7.  He insisted that it was not proper to accuse someone without a thorough investigation.

The former President however reiterated his allegation that his former deputy, current President Mohamed Waheed Hassan Manik, had been plotting his downfall for some time before February 7.

Asked why he had not taken any action taken to investigate allegations against the then-Vice President, Nasheed accused the country’s judiciary of being flawed and politicised, preventing his government from conducting an investigation.

“I was getting information that [President] Waheed was plotting something like this. Due to the way the courts were functioning, the government were unable to conduct necessary criminal investigations,” he explained.

On Dhiyana’s suggestion that only an international criminal investigation that was “independent, impartial and comprehensive” could uncover the truth, Nasheed said he doubted a positive outcome from international intervention.

“I now have a very dim view towards international community. I don’t think there is a UN resolve or an imagination in doing something good and proactive to help a country move forward. I don’t think such a vision is anymore the vision of the UN,” Nasheed claimed.

Revolution

The former President has recently called for an Egyptian-style “popular uprising” to topple the “coup regime”.

“Our party now sees no other change other than a revolutionary change. We could not fire the imagination of the international community to bring an institutional change, a structural change. Their lethargy and their all time need to maintain the status-quo means we cannot bring reform to this country. So the way we see it, the best thing for the country is a revolutionary change,” he said.

Presidents Office Media Secretary Masood Imad said that he “did not wish to comment on what Nasheed had to say,” when contacted yesterday.

While Dhiyana in her memoir concurred with the formerly ruling Maldivian Democratic Party’s (MDP’s) insistence that Nasheed’s resignation was made “under duress” to avoid bloodshed in the capital, she stopped short of characterising the transfer of power as a “coup d’etat.”

“I weighed all this together and I could not ignore the logical conclusion – that key players had engineered and orchestrated the events, that President Nasheed had not resigned voluntarily as he asserted and that Waheed was possibly complicit. I believe further, that had President Nasheed not resigned ‘voluntarily’ that day he would have been killed in a way that would not be apparent as a killing – perhaps ‘accidentally’ in a cross-fire in the MNDF or at the hands of the enraged public in the manner of Amin Didi, the first President of the Republic,” Dhiyana concluded in her memoir.

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Decision on future of waste management project expected within a week: State Minister Matheen

A decision over whether to cancel a contract with India-based Tatva Global Renewable Energy for the provision of a waste management system in the Male’ area will be taken by the Environment Ministry this week, according to local media.

A final decision on the contract – which was last month in the process of renegotiation between the current government and Tatva Global Renewable Energy – is expected to be taken within the next five days, State Minister for Environment and Energy Abdul Matheen Mohamed has reportedly confirmed.

Matheen claimed Monday (December 25) that final discussions with the company were set to take place over whether the ministry would seek to scrap the contract, Local newspaper Haveeru has reported.

Former President Mohamed Nasheed’s administration signed the original waste management agreement with Tatva in May 2011 in a deal that was supposed to have generated power from recycling waste. The scheme was also said to be part of attempts to improve the overall standards of waste management in Male’ and the nearby “garbage island”, Thilafushi.

The deal, like the airport development agreement with India-based GMR declared void by the government last month, was been backed by International Finance Corporation (IFC), an affiliate organisation of the World Bank, according to the Inter Press Service news agency.

However, parts of the agreement were ordered halted by the country’s Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) in August this year over alleged concerns about the contract approved by the former government.

The ACC received concerns that the project would lead to an anticipated loss of MVR 1 billion (US$64.8 million) in government finances over a 20 year operating period, according to local news reports at the time.

“Mutually beneficial”

Environment Minister Dr Mariyam Shakeela announced earlier this month that discussions were taking place as to whether the previous contract agreed with Tatva could be replaced with a more “mutually beneficial” agreement.

“Provided they perform within the time frame given, the contract will remain with Tatva,” she said in response to whether the company would retain its role on the waste management project.

However, Male’ City Council (MCC) has criticised the renegotiation attempts, accusing the state of trying to sabotage the agreement outright for political gain.

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Population consolidation, rightsizing public sector essential to address budget deficit: Auditor General

A policy of population consolidation together with effective measures to reduce the public sector wage bill is necessary to address continuing budget deficits, the Auditor General has advised parliament.

The recommendations were made in a report (Dhivehi) submitted to parliament with the Auditor General’s professional opinion on the proposed state budget for 2013.

Auditor General Niyaz Ibrahim observed that of the estimated MVR 12 billion (US$778 million) of recurrent expenditure, MVR 7 billion (US$453.9 million) would be spent on employees, including MVR 743 million (US$48 million) as pension payments.

Consequently, 59 percent of recurrent expenditure and 42 percent of the total budget would be spent on state employees.

“We note that the yearly increase in employees hired for state posts and jobs has been at a worrying level and that sound measures are needed,” the report stated. “It is unlikely that the budget deficit issue could be resolved without making big changes to the number of state employees as well as salaries and allowances to control state expenditure.”

The report noted that the bill on state wage policy recently passed by parliament would not address the issue as the legislation focused “mainly on reviewing salaries of state institutions.”

The Auditor General’s Office contended that “major changes” were needed to right-size the public sector and “control the salary of state employees and expenditure related to employees.”

The report observed that compared to 2012, the number of state employees is set to increase from 32,868 to 40,333 – resulting in MVR 1.3 billion (US$84.3 million) of additional expenditure in 2013.

This anticipated increase included 864 new staff to be hired by the Maldives Police Service (MPS) and Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF), the report noted.

In light of “existing inefficiencies” in the state, the Auditor General contended that hiring more staff for various independent institutions would be “a waste of public funds” as it would divert resources from service provision and development projects.

“Moreover, we note that increasing the number of employees would lead to an increase in office expenses and expenditure on employees’ retirement and pensions, decrease the number of people left to do productive work in the private sector (decrease the labour force), and slow the growth of the country’s economy,” the report stated.

Details of the state’s wage bill included in the report showed that MVR 187 million (US$12 million) was budgeted as salaries and allowances for 545 political appointees in 2012.

In addition, MVR 1.98 billion (US$128.4 million) was to be spent on 18,538 civil servants; MVR 999 million (US$64.7 million) on 6,244 police and army officers; MVR 362 million (US$23.4 million) on 1,455 elected representatives and attendant staff; MVR 485 million (US$31.4 million) on 3,372 employees of independent institutions; and MVR 345 million (US$22.3 million) on 2,714 contract staff.

In 2011, the Finance Ministry revealed that MVR 99 million (US$6.4 million) would be spent on 244 political appointees annually as salaries and allowances.

According to the weekly financial statement released by the Finance Ministry, recurrent expenditure as of December 20, 2012 has reached MVR 8.9 billion (US$577 million). Roughly half was spent on employees.

Fiscal imbalance

A report by the World Bank in May 2010 identified the dramatic growth of the public sector wage bill as the origin of the Maldives’ ongoing fiscal imbalances.

According to the report, increases to the salaries and allowances of government employees between 2006 and 2008 reached 66 percent, which was “by far the highest increase in compensation over a three year period to government employees of any country in the world.”

“Between 2004 and 2009, the average monthly salary of a government sector worker increased from MVR 3,223 (US$250) to MVR 11, 136 (US$866),” explained a UNDP paper on achieving debt sustainability in the Maldives published in December 2010.

Former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom responded to growing calls for democratisation with “a substantial fiscal stimulus programme” of increased government spending, “much of which was not related to post-tsunami reconstruction efforts.”

“This strategy led to a large increase in the number of civil servants from around 26,000 in 2004 to around 34,000 by 2008 or 11 percent of the total population. Thus the government simultaneously increased the number of public sector workers as well as their salaries,” the paper noted.

Consequently, recurrent expenditure – wage bill and administrative costs – exceeded 82 percent of total government spending in 2010. Presenting the estimated budget for 2013, Finance Minister Abdulla Jihad noted that more than 70 percent was recurrent expenditure.

“As in other years, the highest portion of recurrent expenditure is expenditure on [salaries and allowances for government] employees,” Jihad explained. “That is 48 percent of total recurrent expenditure.”

Population consolidation

Meanwhile, the Auditor General’s report noted that the government planned to carry out 406 projects under the public sector investment programme (PSIP) at a cost of MVR 3 billion (US$194 million).

The Auditor General however contended that the projects were formulated “without a national development plan” and that there was “no relation between the PSIP’s purpose and the proposed projects.”

While the stated purpose and policy of the government was population consolidation, the report stated that the harbour, sewerage, land reclamation, housing, coastal protection and other projects were included in the budget “without a plan” for integrating island populations in urban centres.

The Auditor General’s Office therefore advised against carrying out the projects planned for 2013 in the absence of a plan for population consolidation.

The report observed that “the main reason the state’s recurrent expenditure has increased” was developing 200 inhabited islands “as single units” and attempting to provide healthcare, education, social, administrative and legal services to small island populations.

The report stated that pursuing a policy of population consolidation was “essential”.

It added that the return on the investment for relocating populations of small islands would be seen in savings from the state’s budget for providing services to geographically dispersed islands.

While implementing such a policy could prove difficult, the Auditor General’s Office believed that “a national consensus” could be reached on the need for consolidating population.

Moreover, a glance at the state’s expenditure showed that continuing fiscal imbalances or budget deficits were “inevitable” if such a policy was not formulated, the report stated.

Deficit

The Auditor General explained that the fiscal deficit in 2012 was MVR 1.5 billion (US$97.2 million) more than forecast because of a shortfall in projected revenue from taxes and import duties as well as higher than budgeted expenditure on government companies and subsidies.

However, while revenue from Goods and Services Tax (GST), import duties and tourism land rent was lower than budgeted estimates, income from Business Profit Tax was more than expected at MVR 613.3 million (US$39.7 million).

The government also spent MVR 862.3 million (US$55.9 million) from the 2012 budget to settle bills outsanding from the previous year, the report noted

The Auditor General’s Office observed that revenue from the newly introduced GST was not enough to offset lost income from reducing and eliminating import duties.

“As a result of the change to the state’s taxation system, income to the state declined by MVR 495 million (US$32 million),” the report noted.

As reducing import duties had not resulted in a noticeable drop in prices, the Auditor General recommended reviewing the changes in consultation with the relevant authorities and amending the tax laws.

The 2013 budget

The Auditor General observed that the budget proposed for 2013 was 2.7 percent higher than 2012 and 19 percent higher than 2011.

An estimated budget deficit of MVR 2.33 billion (US$149 million) was to be financed by MVR 1.15 billion (US$74.5 million) in foreign loans and MVR 1.17 billion (US$75.8 million) in domestic finance.

Echoing a concern expressed by MPs during the recent budget debate, the Auditor General noted that projected revenue included MVR 1.8 billion (US$116 million) expected from new revenue raising measures that require parliamentary approval.

A recent mission from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) had urged the government to implement a raft of measures to raise revenues, advising that strengthening government finances was “the most pressing macroeconomic priority for the Maldives.”

The measures proposed by the Finance Ministry included revising import duties, hiking T-GST from 8 to 15 percent in July 2013, raising airport service charge or departure tax from US$18 to US$30, introducing GST for telecom services and leasing 14 new islands for resort development.

On the last proposal, the Auditor General advised that the islands should not be leased without consulting the tourism industry and studying the impact of the decision in consideration of the tourism master plan.

The Auditor General concluded that it was “unlikely” that the new revenue would be collected in 2013.

Consequently, if there was a significant shortfall in income, the Auditor General warned that government revenue would not be enough to cover recurrent expenditure.

“Therefore, we note that it is very likely that MVR 509.9 million (US$33 million) would have to taken as loans to cover recurrent expenditure,” the Auditor General stated, advising that it was “necessary” to reduce recurrent expenditure by that amount before the budget is passed.

As a result of financing budget deficits with loans for the past six years, the Finance Ministry revealed earlier this month that government spending on loan repayment and interest payments was expected to reach MVR 3.1 billion (US$201 million) in 2012.

Moreover, the total public debt would stand at MVR 27 billion (US$1.7 billion) in 2012 and MVR 31 billion (US$2 billion) in 2013 – 82 percent of GDP.

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Parliament rejects government’s proposed changes to housing project

Parliament yesterday (December 24) voted to reject government-proposed changes to a project to construct 1,500 housing units that is being funded through a loan from the Chinese EXIM bank.

Speaker Abdulla Shahid cast the tie-breaking vote after the vote on approving a Finance Committee report recommending the approval of changes proposed by the government was tied 33-33.

The government had proposed shifting 704 housing units to Hulhumale’ from four southern atolls as originally planned under the US$154.3 million project.

The loan was approved by parliament on December 29, 2011, but submitted for approval again by the new administration with the proposed changes.

During the debate on the committee report, government-aligned MPs representing constituencies in the southern atolls objected to scrapping planned housing units in Addu City and Fuvahmulah.

Meanwhile, parliament also rejected a motion submitted by Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) MP Abdulla Jabir accusing President Dr Mohamed Waheed Hassan Manik of violating MPs’ privileges.

Jabir claimed that President Waheed had told islanders during a tour of Ghaaf Dhaal atoll that they should obstruct their MP from visiting the island.

The motion was defeated 39-25 with one abstention. Following the vote, Dr Waheed tweeted: “Appreciate the trust shown in me by the majority of Parliamentarians today. I thank you all.”

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PPM leaves “national movement”

The government-aligned Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) has decided to part ways with the self-titled “National Movement” led by the religious conservative Adhaalath Party and senior government officials.

Speaking at today’s sitting of parliament, PPM MP Ahmed Mahloof revealed that the party’s council decided last night (December 24) to leave the movement out of concern that it was “moving in another direction”.

“I question today whether this campaign under the name of national movement is sincere or not,” Mahloof said. “I’m saying this because during the GMR issue, we said repeatedly that after that we should raise the issue of Nexbis [border control project]. But after that we saw them raise the issue of the People’s Majlis.”

Mahloof added that a speaker at a national movement rally on Sunday night “used obscene language” to attack PPM parliamentary group leader MP Abdulla Yameen.

The speaker in question accused MP Yameen of “threatening” the Adhaalath Party, during a rally held Sunday (December 23) to celebrate the first anniversary of the December 23 “mega-protest.”

Local media reported that the remarks led to heated exchanges between the speaker and PPM supporters, a number of whom left the area in protest.

In his speech following the incident, Islamic Minister Sheikh Mohamed Shaheem Ali Saeed, a senior leader of the Adhaalath Party, spoke in defence of MP Yameen and urged speakers to respect political leaders.

Meanwhile, in an appearance on private broadcaster DhiTV last week, Yameen suggested that intemperate rhetoric from senior government officials at rallies organised by the movement was responsible for strained ties with India.

Yameen further contended that the campaign by the national movement was not the reason behind the government’s decision to terminate the concession agreement with the GMR-led consortium.

The decision was backed by the political parties in the ruling coalition, Yameen noted, and questioned the wisdom and necessity of street protests led by senior government officials.

The “national movement” was born out of the unofficial December 23 coalition of eight political parties and an alliance of NGOs that rallied to “defend Islam” in late 2011 from the allegedly liberal policies and “securalisation agenda” of former President Mohamed Nasheed.

Following the transfer of presidential power on February 7, the “civil alliance” led a campaign dubbed “Maldivians’ Airport to Maldivians” calling on the government to terminate the concession agreement with Indian infrastructure giant GMR to manage and modernise Ibrahim Nasir International Airport (INIA).

However, the largest party in the ruling coalition, Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP), announced that it would not participate in the street protests. Moreover, senior leaders of other pro-government parties were noticeably absent from the anti-GMR protests and activities at the time.

Following the termination of the concession agreement, the national movement turned its attention to “reforming” the parliament and has organised poorly-attended rallies at the artificial beach in recent days.

At a rally last week, State Minister for Finance Abbas Adil Riza threatened to dissolve parliament. Riza criticised Speaker Abdulla Shahid for tabling a no-confidence motion in defiance of a Supreme Court injunction ordering parliament to halt secret voting pending a ruling on its constitutionality.

Meanwhile, speaking at a press conference today to announce PPM’s decision to leave the movement, MP Abdul Raheem Abdulla reportedly warned that the “national movement” could cause divisions in the ruling coalition and weaken the government.

The PPM interim deputy leader revealed that the decision was made after the party’s concerns were not addressed following discussions with the movement’s leaders.

PPM has appealed to the party’s members not to participate in the movement’s rallies and events.

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Housing minister expresses sadness over suspected suicide of Bangladeshi maid

Housing Minister Dr Mohamed Muiz has issued a statement expressing sadness over the death on Saturday (December 22) of a Bangladeshi woman employed as a maid at his Male’ residence.  Police have said they they are presently treating the death as a suspected suicide.

Dr Muiz confirmed that the deceased had been employed at the home he shared with his wife and two children, while also expressing deep sadness over the incident.

Muiz claimed he was first informed of the death while visiting Hulhumale’ with his wife. He added that after hearing of the incident he immediately called Police Commissioner Abdulla Riyaz.

According to the statement, police officers were already at the scene by the time the housing minister arrived home.

Muiz said that he hoped that further details concerning the case would be released after police had completed their investigation.

The statement also expressed sadness over what some people were allegedly saying about the incident through social media.

Speaking of the deceased, the housing minister stated she had been very good in her duties as well as being very close to his children and a key part of their lives.

“Initial stage”

The Maldives Police Service has said that that investigations were presently at an “initial stage” and it could not therefore disclose any more details on the case, which was presently being treated as a suicide for undisclosed reasons.

Speaking to Minivan News yesterday (December 24), Police Spokesperson Sub-Inspector Hassan Haneef confirmed that the body of a 24 year-old female had been found in an apartment on the ninth floor of Chandhanee House in Maafannu Ward.

“I cannot reveal any more until we complete our investigations.  We will not come to any conclusions before that,” he said.
Hours after the body was found on Saturday evening, Police Commissioner Abdulla Riyaz left a message on the social media site Twitter stating: “Police is investigating the suicide case.”
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Finance minister claims “cash flow” issues behind delay in clearing Male’ City Council utility debts

Finance Minister Abdulla Jihad has claimed that a delay in clearing debts owed to various utility providers by Male’ City Council (MCC) is the result of a “cash flow” issue facing his department.

On Saturday (December 22), the MCC revealed that it owed an outstanding electricity bill of MVR 3.9 million (US$ 254,569) to the State Electricity Company Limited (STELCO).

A further MVR 400,000 (US$ 26,109) is also owed by the MCC to telecommunication service provider Dhiraagu, who earlier this week disconnected all telephone and internet services in the council’s offices.

Finance Minister Jihad yesterday (December 24) blamed “cash flow” issues for his ministry’s failure to clear the MMC’s debts.

“We are in the process of relieving the funds, however we have had some cash flow issues and that is why there has been a delay in the clearing the MCC’s debt.

“We are working to clear the debt in the next couple of days,” Jihad told Minivan News.

Asked yesterday whether the government lacked the money to repay the bills, Jihad replied: “The government has to manage the cash flow, they make the payments. There is a cash flow issue.”

MCC Mayor ‘Maizan’ Ali Manik Manik previously claimed that the outstanding payment owed to STELCO by the MCC threatens to leave all council owned properties and utilities – including street lights – without power.

Speaking to Minivan News today (December 25) Manik said that he had personally told members of the Finance Ministry to make a “settlement” with all the utility companies that are currently owed money.

“I told the ministry that if they don’t have the cash flow to pay these debts, then they should speak to Dhiraagu and STELCO and make a settlement,” he said.

“Even if it means saying that they will be paid in a month’s time, even a year’s time, anything is better than the current situation. I have a feeling we are going to be in darkness after December 27.”

Mayor Manik has previously told Minivan News on December 22 that MMC had filed all necessary documents and paper work with the finance ministry in order for the outstanding bills to be paid.

He claimed that having spoken to Jihad about the issue at the time, the finance minister had assured him that both the STELCO and Dhiraagu bills would be paid by his ministry on December 23.

However, STELCO Media Co-ordinator Abdulla Nazir revealed that as of December 23, no money had been deposited by the finance ministry.

Dhiraagu disconnection

On Thursday (December 20), local media reported that Dhiraagu had disconnected all phone and internet services it provided to the MCC due to unpaid bills.

MCC member Ibrahim Shajau claimed that over MVR 400,000 (US$ 26,109) is owed by the council to Dhiraagu, alleging that the Finance Ministry had failed to release the funds.

“We have sent all relevant documents to Finance Ministry. It’s up to [them] to pay the money. Dhiraagu said that Finance Ministry had not paid the money,” he told Sun Online.

Dhiraagu Marketing and PR Ibrahim Imjad Jaleel told local media that the services were disconnected after advising the council on numerous occasions to pay their bills.

“We disconnected the services today after giving them time even today to pay the bills after the offices opened. We had to cut off our services after their failure to pay any amount after several days of discussions. We are trying with our customer even now, to find a way to resume the services,” he said.

STELCO debt

Meanwhile, STELCO Media Coordinator Abdulla Nazir revealed that MCC had a “long history” of outstanding payments, adding that the stated figure of MVR 3.9 million was only part of the overall debt owed to the company.

“STELCO has received no money so far. There are many months of outstanding debt from MCC, more than the MVR 3.9 million we have asked for,” Nazir said. “While we have received no statement or payment from the Finance Ministry, we have received a letter from MCC dated December 19. They said their bills have been sent to the Finance Ministry, and they have asked the ministry to settle the outstanding payments.”

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