Police follow MNDF in forming cooperative society to conduct business activities

The Maldives Police Service (MPS) on Sunday registered its first cooperative society, the Police Corporative Society (POLCO), with the Ministry of Economic Development.

Registrar of Companies Ali Sujaau told local news website Sun Online that the cooperative society had been registered with 15 shareholders. Sujau did not reveal any details of the 15 shareholders.

Speaking to local media, Police Spokesperson Sub-Inspector Hassan Haneef said that the cooperative society was formed in accordance with the police act, and that  it would to carry out business activities that would help boost the police welfare fund.

“The main purpose of [forming POLCO] is to improve the functioning of police, and for that matter, improve the welfare fund of police officers and their families and retired police officers and their families as well. Even now there is a police shop open,” Haneef said.

Commissioner of Police Abdulla Riyaz also tweeted about the formation of the corporative society, stating that it “will support to improve the welfare” of police officers and family members.

Haneef confirmed the formation of the cooperative society to Minivan News.

“We have been doing works to strengthen the police welfare mechanism, and the formation of a police corporative society was a part of the work,” he said.

Haneef further said that the current police shop that is being run will now be operated by the police cooperative society, and that it “would be researching new business ventures”.

The decision follows the Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF)’s similar move, which has begun negotiations to enter the tourism industry with the privatisation of the Thanburudhoo island as a surf resort.

Asked if the police cooperative society would follow the MNDF cooperative society in entering the tourism industry, Haneef did not rule out the possibility.

“For now, I think it is too early to say what type of business that we may be focusing on. We are now discussing on an action plan of how the cooperative society will progress and maybe it is a possibility,” Haneef said.

MNDF Welfare Company

Last month the MNDF registered the joint venture “MNDF Welfare Company” aiming to invest in various businesses, including the tourism industry, in a bid to generate revenue to fund welfare services for the armed forces.

The “MNDF Welfare Company” registered at the Economic Ministry is 10 percent government owned, and 90 percent by SIFCO, MNDF ‘s cooperative society, which provides welfare services for defence force officers and their families,  including subsidised products and loans.

Just a week after the formation of the welfare company, MNDF confirmed plans to develop a tourist resort on the island of Thanburudhoo, currently being used by the military for training and recreational purposes.

Speaking to Minivan News following the decision, Lieutenant Abdullah Ali explained that the MNDF is not going to play any direct role in the development of the resort, and that the island would be leased to a third party.

He claimed that the concept of developing the training island as a tourist resort was approved by the former government in 2010, but that work had stalled “for various reasons”.

Local surfers raised concerns over the decision on social networks, claiming that the Thamburudhoo project involved dredging and reclaiming the surrounding area of the island reef, which would destroy the popular surfing spot.

Banzai Bongo, a well-known local surfer, wrote on Face book: “This is going to affect the natural current flow of the surrounding waves such as Jailbreaks, Honkies, Sultans and Pasta. Moreover, it will destroy dive spots around this area. So the government’s best interest is to annihilate our natural resources which include world class surf sites and dive sites.”

Bongo called for surfers to “save these waves like we all stood against the state and saved the Trestles. Save it for or children, save it for the future.”

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President speaks at China-Eurasia Expo

President Dr Mohamed Waheed Hassan has spoken at the opening of the opening of the 2nd China-Eurasia Expo & the 2nd China-Eurasia Economy Development and Cooperation Forum, as part of his official state visit to the country.

“As China continues to make great strides in the various facets of its development, it has indeed become an outstanding example of the good international citizen,” said Waheed.

“The Maldives has always looked to China as an invaluable friend. As we celebrate the 40th anniversary of diplomatic relations this year, the contribution from China to the social, cultural and economic development of our country is immense and numerous.”

“For over two decades, China has supported housing development in the Maldives, along with other infrastructure projects. The support towards promoting athletics and other sports as well as cultural cooperation is noteworthy.”

“We recognize China as one of the leading economic powers globally, and we are keen to strengthen our relationship with the country. Maldives has always promoted an open economy with liberal trade and investment policies. We are happy to note that we maintain one of the most liberal trade regimes in the SAARC region.”

“To further strengthen our investment policies, the Government is taking steps to further improve the legal and regulatory framework governing private sector growth and foreign direct investments. Maldives is open for business and it is with pleasure that I note, companies from China are already involved in Maldives.”

“I call upon potential investors to consider Maldives as an attractive investment destination in addition to a popular tourist destination. Potential opportunities are available in real estate development, especially residential and mixed development projects, public infrastructure projects as well as investments in the tourism sector.”

The President’s Office has reported that Waheed is scheduled to meet Chinese Premier, Wen Jiabao, who was also present at yesterday’s opening ceremony.

Also in attendance was the President of Krygyzstan, and the Prime Minister’s of Kazakhstan, Cambodia and Tajikistan

Before leaving, the President also announced that he expected to finalise arrangements for a $500 million loan from the Chinese government. Local media has today confirmed that an agreement has been signed.

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The Maldives: Mired in presidential intrigue

“In the end, whether it was a coup or not is academic. The chance to reverse the situation is long gone. Waheed’s government is established,” writes Will Jordan for Al Jazeera.

“But there are two other questions. Was there a conspiracy to cripple Nasheed’s government? And did Gayoom have a hand in bringing Nasheed down?

The evidence is circumstantial.

It centres on what the Danish experts describe as ‘a highly unorthodox meeting’ at the end of January between then Deputy President Waheed and the opposition leaders. Afterwards, opposition figures pledged their allegiance to Waheed.

Two key players in Nasheed’s downfall have also received senior posts. Mohamed Nazim is Defence Minister. Abdulla Riyaz is Minister for State and Home Affairs. They both watched as Nasheed signed his resignation.

Waheed was also fast to reshuffle his government, promoting Gayoom’s son and daughter to the foreign and fisheries ministries respectively.”

Read more.

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Common sense after CoNI: Eurasia Review

As the best hope of unraveling the tangled events surrounding Nasheed’s resignation on February 7, the failure of the CoNI ought to put to rest attempts to determine what happened on that fateful day, writes Daniel Bosley for the Eurasia Review.

CoNI represented the light at the end of the tunnel that has been the country’s attempts at political reconciliation since February. Assembled by Presidential decree and reconstituted by international request, the inquiry has become increasingly important as parallel all-party talks failed to get off the ground.

The revelation that Nasheed’s representative on the commission, Ahmed Gahaa Saeed, was unhappy with the report on Monday suggested that its public release on Thursday would be a disappointing anti-climax. His resignation on Wednesday confirmed it.

It also confirmed the reality that no legal document, governmental report, or political opinion will ever change the differing versions of events that are indelibly scored into the hearts and minds of Maldivians.

After six months of going round in circles, it is time to face reality and find the best way to heal the nation – starting from where it is today – on the edge of a precipice.

Read more

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Maldives surfing threatened by privatisation: Zigzag

Telos Investments wants to develop a ’boutique’ surf resort on Thanburudhoo island, home to two of North Malé’s best waves – Sultans and Honkies. If this proposal gets approved – which is looking highly likely according to long-time local surfer Ahmed Nasru (Mickey), who claims the process smacks of underhanded dealings – then the number of quality spots in the area which are open to locals will halve, writes South African surf news website Zigzag.

This will leave only Jailbreaks (on Himmafushi island) and Cokes (on Thulusdhoo island) as the last quality reef passes in the area without exclusive rights and open to local surfers.

Privatisation of surf spots is nothing new. For decades now entrepreneurs and even companies have been buying up land adjacent to quality surf breaks from South America to North Sumatra, claiming rights to the breaks in front of their resorts, and making them exclusive to guests.

Local surfers from the North Malé atolls of the Maldives are very familiar with this process. Some of their finest surf breaks – like Lohifushi and Pasta Point for example – have been deemed off-limits for many years after resorts were built on the islands hosting these waves. It’s something the local surfers have learned to live with, because they always had a few other quality spots in the area to fall back on.

If the Telos Investment proposal goes through, that will all change as their last few quality spots are gobbled up by privatisation.

And then of course there is the ethical question: it’s becoming increasingly clear that privatisation not only infringes on local surfers’ rights to freely access the reefs and islands they’ve inhabited and lived off for centuries. It also ensures any visiting surfers who can’t afford to pay the prices of these ’boutique’ resorts will instead be forced to sit shoulder-to-shoulder waiting for a set at the last two quality spots in North Malé.

The knock-on effect could even lead to surf tour operations going out of business – why go on a surf trip when you’re not allowed to surf half the waves? The end result would mean locals not only lose out on waves, but for those employed by, or operating their own surf tour business, their very livelihood could be threatened.

Read more

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“I am very sceptical of the burden we will have to carry”: PIC chair

Chair of the Police Integrity Commission (PIC) Shahinda Ismail has said she is “very sceptical of the burden” the institution will have to carry following the publication last week of the Commission of National Inquiry’s (CNI) findings.

The comments were made after Minister of Home Affairs Dr Mohamed Jameel Ahmed yesterday said that the PIC would be tasked with investigating breaches of police conduct outlined in the CNI’s findings.

Of primary concern to Shahinda was the CNI’s lack of clarity regarding the cases the PIC was to investigate, as well as loopholes within the Police Act which made it difficult to implement PIC recommendations.

“After the CNI, it’s quite confusing when they have so vaguely blanketed the actions of the police. It would have been clearer to name specific incidents or policemen,” she said

Shahinda has questioned the ability of the PIC to follow through with this mandate after having had almost no contact with, or instruction from, the now-disbanded CNI.

“I was surprised at the dismantling of the CNI. There surely must be further questions from many people,” she said.

“After the Human Rights Commission (HRCM) completed their investigations, they sent a letter to us [to guide our work]. We would like something similar from the CNI,” she said.

Shahinda revealed that, throughout both versions of the CNI, the PIC had only had one meeting and received one letter from the commission.

The meeting involved mainly introductions and talk of future co-operation, whilst the letter from the CNI to the PIC asked only when its investigations into the events of February would be completed, she explained.

Referring to the CNI’s recommendations that the PIC, amongst other institutions, needed to be strengthened, Shahinda responded:

“My question would be – while I don’t claim the PIC is perfect – what information are they working with? Throughout their investigations, they showed no interest. There was no inquiry about specific incidents. To my knowledge, no one was summoned.”

Shahinda explained that the PIC was already investigating a number of incidents relating to February 7 and 8, making the lack of contact doubly confusing.

“They knew we were already investigating specific incidents – that’s what we do,” she said.

Shahinda also outlined what she saw as the weaknesses within the police act that, in certain cases, had allowed the Home Minister the option of ignoring PIC recommendations.

Article 44 of the Police Act states that any parties handed recommendations by the PIC can choose not to act on them if they inform the commission of the decision in writing.

“He is not really bound by the act,” said Shahinda, before alleging that this clause had already resulted in the Home Minister ignoring recommendations forwarded to him.

The PIC chair gave the example of a case involving police officer Ali Ahmed, whom she said had been adjudged unfit to continue to serve by the commission.  Shahinda claimed the case had been forwarded to the Home Minister.

“I know for a fact he is still a policeman and was promoted after this incident” she said.

“It is really upsetting – a huge concern – for me that the police leadership is showing a trend where unlawful officers are acting with impunity. This can only lead to further violence,” added Shahinda.

Dr Jameel was not responding to calls at the time of press.

Former President Mohamed Nasheed has recently expressed his belief that around 300 members of the security services were “undermining the public interest of the entire country”.

Following the findings of the CNI’s report, which concluded that Nasheed was not removed from power in a coup, he called for legal action to be taken against implicated officers.

Nasheed’s representative on the commission Ahmed ‘Gahaa’ Saeed resigned the day before the report was published, citing – amongst other things – withheld evidence and non-examination of crucial witnesses.

The report’s findings have been welcomed by the United States, India, and the United Nations as well as the Commonwealth, although the MDP has said it will lobby for the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group (CMAG) to reconsider.

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MDP requests PG hold prosecution of its members

Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) Chairman ‘Reeko’ Moosa Manik today met with Prosecutor General (PG) Ahmed Muizzu to request that the prosecution of its members arrested on February 7 and 8 be delayed, http://www.haveeru.com.mv/news/44307.

Moosa told the press after his meeting that he had requested the PG await the results of investigations prompted by the recently released Commission of National Inquiry (CNI) before prosecuting the cases of over 200 MDP members.

One of the CNI’s findings was that acts of police brutality had occurred on February 6, 7 and 8 this year. Moosa asked the PG if would wait to first determine if all of his party’s members were arrested within the contours of the law.

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Immigration head calls for “clean-up” of Thilafushi over crime fears

Controller of Immigration and Emigration Dr Mohamed Ali  has said that a raid on the island of Thilafushi yesterday which uncovered 134 unregistered foreign workers reflects wider fears over criminal operations being conducted on the island.

Dr Ali told Minivan News that the group of foreign workers, mostly Bangladesh nationals, had been uncovered after the Immigration Department had made continued warnings to employers on the island to have their workers “regularised” with the correct papers by the end of August.

Beyond failing to register workers, the immigration controller said the raid reflected wider concerns over addressing potential criminal operations on Thilafushi – popularly referred to in international media as the Maldives’ ‘rubbish island’.

“Right now there are just so many issues to be addressed on Thilafushi,” he claimed. “We need to clean it up in all aspects. We believe there are a number of illegal operations there.”

According to the immigration department, these alleged activities are thought to include the  shipping of illegal goods and drugs.

Dr Ali added that the expatriate workers found without correct papers were presently being kept for processing in Male’.

“At present they’re employers are working to take them back and have them processed,” he said.

The immigration controller did not have the exact figures on the number of workers presently being kept at a centre in Male’ while their papers were undergoing processing.

“These workers are not being detained, they are being kept comfortably and fed while processing is going on,” he added.

The High Commissioner of Bangladesh, Rear Admiral Abu Saeed Mohamed Abdul Awal, said he had been aware of the raid that had taken place yesterday by the Department of Immigration and Emmigration, but was awaiting for information on the matter at the time of press.

Back in May, 47 Bangladeshi nationals working for a local security were seized by the Department of Immigration as part of a wider crackdown on illeal immigrants after being found to have been incorrectly registered in the country.

Police Spokesperson Sub-Inspector Hassan Haneef confirmed that it had worked with the Department of Immigration and Emmigration on the raid as part of a joint operation.

Haneef added that this joint operation with immigration officials would be continuing in the future, but would not be focused solely on Thilafushi

Back in July, the Maldives was included on the US State Department’s Tier Two Watch List for Human Trafficking for a third year in a row.

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Police officer kidnapped during a special operation conducted to arrest four men carrying alcohol

Police have said an officer was briefly kidnapped on Friday (August 31) during a special operation to crack down on a safari b0oat operator suspected of illegally supplying alcohol from a vessel moored in Hulhumale’ lagoon.

The special operation was conducted by the police Drug Enforcement Department (DED) following intelligence reports received by authorities that four men were allegedly unloading alcohol from a safari boat kept in the waters of Hulhumale’ to supply alcohol illegally on land.  Over 100 bottles of alcohol and forty cans of beer were later discovered during the operation, police have claimed.

Speaking to media at the Iskandar Building, DED Head Chief Inspector Ahmed Azhan said that two men from the safari boat came to Hulhumale’ jetty in a small dingy before being confronted by a police officer.  After the officer stepped onto the dingy to confront the men, the boat reportedly moved away from the jetty with the member of the police on-board.

Azhan told local press that a number of other police officers pursued the suspects in their own dingy that had been kept nearby.  Police eventually recovered the officer.

According to Azhan, officers then searched the dingy and found three bottles of alcohol inside a bag.

Police officers then went onboard the safari vessel to conduct a search that found alcohol bottles stored at different parts of the safari boat without any apparent arrangement or order.

Police said 106 bottles of alcohol and 40 cans of beer were found on the vessel once the search had been completed.

Azhan said the safari boat had the license to have alcohol on-board and noted that there were required procedures to follow for supplying such goods – procedures which the vessel’s operators had failed to maintain.

He also said that one of the four men arrested was a Maldivian male 42 years of age.  The other three individuals were all expats aged 27, 32 and 42.

Police have not so far disclosed the nationality of the expatriate workers on the boat, but said all four men were employed as staff on the safari vessel.

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