MDP MP calls out government on corruption charges

Ruling party Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) MP Mohamed ‘Colonel’ Nasheed has said some government operations involve corrupt dealings and that the ruling party should clear up these failings before opposition parties make further accusations.

Nasheed is a member of the Public Accounts Committee, and the first MDP MP to publicly accuse the ruling party of corruption.

“The opposition is always linking MDP with corruption, but we also should acknowledge that corruption is bad in the system. We need to reform our system so that there’s no room for corruption,” Nasheed told Minivan News today.

Nasheed did not say if certain branches of government were culpable. He did, however, indicate that “there are some housekeeping problems within us, and we will deal with those things.”

Recently, the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has been investigating the Disaster Management Center for delayed payments to Moreway Construction Company.

In August, the ACC requested Maldivian construction giant Heavy Load Pvt Ltd. to stop its reclamation operations at Thilafushi in August on suspicion of corruption.

Heavy Load is owned by MDP Chairperson and MP Moosa ‘Reeko’ Manik. The company and its shareholding politician have been regularly accused of corruption over the past year.

In September 2010, Heavy Load was awarded a US$21 million (Rf269.8 million) contract from Thilafushi Corporation Limited (TCL) to reclaim 130 hectares from Thilafushi lagoon. Heavy Load had submitted its proposal for the project to the National Planning Council in July, however the proposal had reportedly not been fully approved before TCL offered project finances and in August 2011 Heavy Load was asked to allow other companies to submit their bids.

Minivan News understands that the ACC was concerned about operations within TCL.

Currently, Heavy Load is responsible for reclaiming land on Hulhumale’ for a new terminal at Ibrahim Nasir International Airport (INIA). The project incurred a dispute with infrastructure company GMR, whose subsidiary GMR Airport Development Ltd. had allegedly received the project before it was awarded to Heavy Load.

When asked if his allegations of government corruption related to the Heavy Load affair earlier this year, Colonel said “it’s not fair for me to mention Heavy Load in the media.”

Colonel later elaborated on the ACC’s investigation of Heavy Load.

“I’m not saying there is or isn’t corruption in Heavy Load, it’s too early to say, but some investigations should be done. Because of the lack of transparency people might accuse the company of corruption, but accusations don’t mean that there really is corruption,” he said.

Accusations of corruption are nothing new to Moosa. In August, Moosa was accused of using party resources for “self-promotion”, and Colonel speculated that Moosa was preparing to place a bid for the 2013 presidential election.

In a long-standing feud with private broadcaster DhiTV, Moosa has been accused of alcohol possession and corrupt dealings with Heavy Load. In turn, he alleged that private broadcasting channels were inappropriately funded. The negative media attention prompted Colonel to call Moosa “a big liability” for the government.

“I’m not saying the accusations are true, but Moosa has not been able to prove his innocence,” he said at the time.

When asked today if his allegations of government corruption had any particular grounds, Colonel told Minivan News that he was “not picking a fight with anybody, it’s nothing personal.” He added that the ACC’s operations have improved since a new auditor general was appointed, and that the government’s system of check and balances would handle issue.

Reflecting on the reasons behind what he called an increase in corruption awareness, Colonel suggested that increased transparency “from the new constitution and reforms” has exposed a long-standing issue.

“The situation might not be worse than before, only the number of cases reported is higher,” he said.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)