Category: Politics

President ratifies Right to Information Act

President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom has ratified the landmark Right to Information (RTI) Act today.

Advocacy NGO Transparency Maldives has hailed the ratification of the act as “major step forward for good governance and transparency.”

The act (Dhivehi) aims to widen and improve the scope for the citizen’s rights to information in order to increase transparency and accountability.

Within six months of ratification, the president is mandated to appoint a Commissioner of Information to enforce the act, while the government is obliged to appoint an Information Officer at every government office to facilitate access to information.

The Commissioner of Information’s tenure is five years. The act also provides for the establishment of an Office of the Commissioner of Information.

The commissioner has the power enforce a fine on information officers who deliberately refuse access to information. Such a fine may not exceed MVR5000 (US$324).

The commissioner may also fine any individual who destroys requested information, obstructs a public authority or the Information Officer’s from providing access to information. Such a fine may not exceed MVR25,000 (US$ 1621).

The act also provides protection to whistleblowers if the whistleblower publicises information regarding corruption or breach of the law.

Under the act, any public authority is obliged to comply with a request for information within 21 days. However, if the request is relevant to an individual’s liberty or protection of a person’s life, information must be provided within 48 hours.

Any request for information must state the request is being submitted under the RTI Act, details of the requested information, details of the applicant, an address for receipt of requested information, as well as the designated fee.

A request for information can be declined if the Information Officer deems the request to be incomplete, incorrect, or purposeless. However, the Information Officer must notify the applicant before declining the request and grant enough time and assistance to the applicant to revise their application

The state is not required to disclose any information designated confidential by law, or information that could cause legal action against the government for breach of confidence, or which could prevent future communication of such information to the government.

Furthermore, the state is not required to disclose information which could have an adverse impact on the government’s ability to manage or administer the economy or  information whose premature disclosure could put a person at an unfair advantage or disadvantage

Neither is the government obliged to reveal information that harms the immunities of the parliament and the courts, information of a closed trial, personal or judicial records which could harm the dignity of a child below 18 years, and information regarding victims of sexual abuse.

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Week in review: January 4 – 10

The law and order aims of the new administration took centre stage this week as the Home Minister Umar Naseer announced his desire to introduce mandatory government service for young people in order to produce a well-disciplined generation.

The Home Ministry also revealed that fifty prison inmates were to begin work on road construction on the industrial island of Thilafushi as part of efforts to improve reintegration.

With the same end in mind, the police announced its decision to expunge the criminal records of over 1000 young offenders, as the juvenile court revealed that only 6 young people had completed reintegration programmes the previous year.

In an interview with Minivan News, Umar Naseer described the desire to fight illegal drugs that had originally brought him into politics – and now into the cabinet. Naseer expressed his intention to relieve the pressure the drugs problem places on the criminal justice system.

This pressure on the system seemed set to rise this week as the Criminal Court said it would halt all existing cases following the Majlis’s failure to confirm a new prosecutor general. The Supreme Court, however, quickly stepped in to order the resumption of activity.

The government’s plans in the education sector also continued to take shape with the formation of the Council of Higher Education. The scholarship policy of the previous administration took a blow, however, as the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) ordered a review of the vetting processes for tertiary scholarships.

Additionally, the ACC revealed that laptops were given to immigration department staff as bribes to encourage cooperation with the later-terminated border control project.

Returning from his state visit to India, President Abdulla Yameen described bilateral ties as being as strong as they had been under the thirty-year leadership of his half-brother Maumoon Abdul Gayoom. The vice president lauded the visit as a panacea to all of the countries’ previous problems.

After Yameen had discussed the amicable settlement of the GMR dispute with the Indian Prime Minister, the Maldives Attorney General this week claimed that the Mohamed Nasheed administration had broken finance laws when guaranteeing loans to the infrastructure giant in 2011.

Nasheed himself rounded on the Yameen cabinet during campaigning for the approaching local council elections, criticising the president’s decision to split ministerial portfolios between different parties.

Earlier in the week, Yameen’s Progressive Coalition had launched its own local election campaign, calling upon voters to enable the government to fulfil its pledges by supporting its local candidates.

Meanwhile, in the first of a series of interviews with MPs ahead of March’s parliamentary poll, Maldivian Democratic Party MP Hamid Abdul Ghafoor told Minivan News that the Nasheed government’s decentralisation policy had been his proudest achievement.

The Elections Commission this week announced that all ten parties with less than 3,000 members would be dissolved.

Elsewhere, a leading member of the Fiqh academy – advisory council – this week publicly criticised the recently passed Sexual Offences Bill for partially criminalising marital rape.

The government’s passing of anti-trafficking legislation was commended by visiting officials from the US State Department, though a government source questioned the decision to move responsibility for implementation to the Ministry of Youth and Sports.

Finally, the bankrupt State Trading Organisation has announced plans to cut operational costs by MVR50 million in 2014 (US$ 3,242,542).

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Supreme Court orders Criminal Court to restart trials

The Supreme Court has ordered the Criminal Court to restart trials following the court’s decision to suspend all cases in the absence of a prosecutor general (PG).

In a statement today, the Supreme Court said it had told the Criminal Court that the criminal justice system must proceed in order to maintain constitutional rule.

The apex court ordered the Criminal Court to “continue with all ongoing cases without any obstruction, and continue issuing rulings such as that on [pre-trial] detentions as before.”

The Criminal Court had announced yesterday it will halt all ongoing cases as the PG’s position has been vacant for more than 30 days.

Former PG Ahmed Muizz had resigned from his position shortly before the parliament was set to debate a no confidence motion against him.

Speaking to Minivan News, deputy PG Hussein Shameem condemned the Criminal Court for its decision, alleging the court had not discussed the matter with him or the parliament.

Further, people held in pre-trial detention may have to stay in remand centers if cases do not go ahead, Shameem said.

“So what do they do now, it would not be fair to keep them in there until the parliament comes back to work from recess after three months and appoint a new PG,’’ Shameem said.

“That is one of my biggest concerns over this issue, it is a responsibility of the PG office to uphold constitutional rights of the people.’’

There were no laws stating that the deputy PG cannot fulfill the responsibilities of PG in the case of the position being vacant, Shameem added.

He argued that PG’s office’s work must not come to a halt because the parliament had failed to appoint a new PG.

On December 10, President Abdulla Yameen proposed his nephew Maumoon Hameed for the post of Prosecutor General and submitted the name to the parliament for the MPs to approve.

The issue was sent to parliament’s Independent Commissions Committee and the committee decided to seek public opinion on him before sending it to the parliament floor for voting.

However, the parliament is now on recess and will not start work until March.

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Nexbis gave laptops as “bribes” in border control project: ACC

Malaysian security firm Nexbis offered laptops as “bribes” to the Department of Immigration and Emigration’s staff to proceed with a border control project, the Anti- Corruption Commission has said.

In a statement today, the ACC said Nexbis had given 14 inch Lenovo laptops to senior staff at the Department of Immigration on May 10, 2012 in order to “increase Immigration staff’s interest for the project, and to obtain their cooperation so that Nexbiz could proceed with the project.”

The government signed a concession with Nexbis in 2010 to install and operate a border control system. However, in 2011 the ACC ordered the government to terminate the contract claiming that then-Immigration Controller Ilyas Hussain Ibrahim and a Finance Ministry official had abused their authority for undue financial gain in awarding Nexbis the MVR500 million (US$39 million) project.

Nexbiz appealed the commission’s order at the Civil Court. While the Civil Court ruled the ACC did not have the authority to terminate the contract, the High Court later overturned the lower court’s ruling.

In August 2013, the government terminated the agreement citing unspecified “major losses” to the state and replaced the project with a Personal Identification Secure Comparison and Evaluation System (PISCES) provided by the US government. The parliament had also unanimously voted for termination of the contract in December 2012.

In September 2013, the Supreme Court upheld the Civil Court’s ruling declaring that the ACC did not have the legal authority to order the termination, noting the order was made after the agreement was signed.

Evidence

According to the ACC, the concession agreement does not list laptops under project deliverables. Although the concession agreement says Nexbis must provide mobile enforcement tools to enforcement officers, laptops are not included in these tools.

The steering committee in charge of the project told the ACC that the laptops were given in order to facilitate communication between the project’s stakeholders, to conduct border control training and to test the system.

However, the Immigration Department’s IT staff told the ACC that every immigration staff member had a desktop computer and that laptops were not necessary for the outlined tasks.

Evidence shows “the project’s steering committee accepted the laptops as a bribe to enable Nexbiz and gave laptops to other Immigration staff as a bribe,” the ACC said.

The commission has recommended the prosecutor general file bribery charges against the steering committee for accepting bribes and offering bribes to other staff.

The steering committee includes former Immigration Controller Ilyas Hussein Ibrahim, and staff members Abdulla Waheed, Ibrahim Ashraf, Saeed Mohamed, and Ali Saeed.

If found guilty, the five may be sentenced to five years in jail, banishment, or house arrest.

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Anti-trafficking measures praised by US, whilst doubts persist within government

The US State Department has commended the Government of Maldives on the recent ratification of the Anti-trafficking Act, whilst a source within the government has questioned the administration’s initial moves in managing anti-trafficking policy.

Principal Deputy in the Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons, Nan Kennelly, visited the country to consult with numerous stakeholders within both the government and civil society.

“Without a doubt passing a human trafficking act is a significant accomplishment and we have commended the government for that. It’s notable that it was done so early  in the new administration,” said Kennelly.

A source within the government, however, has today questioned the decision to move the human trafficking issue under the mandate of the Ministry of Youth and Sports.

“The Ministry of Youth does not play a significant part in dealing with foreigners and workers in this country. Ninety-five percent of the relevant work takes place within the immigration department,” explained the source.

“When trafficking happens, what are the functions of immigration in border control? Just making referrals to the Ministry of Youth? I wonder how that will work.”

The source explained that the transfer of responsibilities had occurred after the act came into force.

Recently confirmed Minister for Youth and Sports Mohamed Maleeh Jamal was not responding to calls at the time of press.

Principal Deputy Kennelly met with the attorney general, the acting prosecutor general, the immigration controller, the commissioner of police, and representatives from the Youth Ministry, the Foreign Ministry, and the Human Rights Commission.

From civil society, consultations were held with Transparency Maldives, and the International Organisation of Migration (IOM) – which is being funded by the US for its work in the Maldives.

The IOM has conducted training following the passage of the bill last month which included officials from both the Youth Ministry and the Immigration Department.

“The IOM has tremendous expertise,” explained Kennelly. “With IOM you know you are going to get quality training that’s reflecting the norms of the international community.”

Watchlist

The Office to Monitor and combat Trafficking is responsible for producing the US Government’s yearly trafficking report. The Maldives has appeared on the report’s Tier 2 watchlist for four consecutive years.

“The law that governs the trafficking and persons report which we produce every year requires that it a country is on the tier two watchlist  for four years  in a row they must either go up one grade, or they will be downgraded to tier three,” explained Kennelly.

Relegation to Tier 3 – reserved for those deemed not to have conformed to the department’s minimum standards or to not be making enough effort to do so – carries with it the potential for the withdrawal of non-humanitarian and non-trade related foreign assistance.

“That’s the situation in which is in for the 2014 report – I can’t really speculate on what the ranking will be in 2014 because there are many factors that we take into consideration.”

Asked if the passage of the trafficking bill constituted enough effort to save the Maldives from Tier 3, Kennelly state that she had yet to see an English copy of the act, but that the next report would consider many factors.

She did, however, describe the new legislation as a “very good basis for future action”.

Shortly after the act’s ratification, both the Human Rights Commission and the Department of Immigration expressed concern over its failure to adequately identify smuggling – a topic Kennelly discussed with the media yesterday.

“Human smuggling is a crime against the state because immigration laws are being broken, whereas human trafficking is a crime which takes place against the individual…their human rights to be free from forced labour are violated.”

All government stakeholders consulted during the visit, however, were very clear on the difference, she explained.

“Generally speaking I was impressed with the level of sophistication of understanding of the concept of human trafficking amongst government interlocutors.”

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President Yameen has no cabinet, says former President Nasheed

Former President Mohamed Nasheed has criticised President Abdulla Yameen for dividing his cabinet among coalition partners and “giving half of it to a business tycoon.”

Speaking at the opposition Maldivian Democratic Party’s (MDP) local council campaign rally in Addu City last night, Nasheed  said development projects that had come to a halt during Dr Mohamed Waheed’s “coup government” had not restarted after the election of the new government.

Yameen’s administration “does not even have a development plan,” Nasheed alleged.

The ruling Progressive Party of the Maldives (PPM) won the second round of presidential polls held on November 16 with the backing of third-placed candidate business tycoon Gasim Ibrahim’s Jumhooree Gulhun.

The coalition constituted the Jumhooree Party (JP), the religious Adhaalath Party, and the Dhivehi Qaumee Party (DQP). The PPM promised the Jumhooree Coalition over 30 percent of government positions.

“The Maldivian state does not have a cabinet, the president does not have a cabinet. There is no government, and there will be no development a non-existent government could provide for the people of Maldives,” Nasheed said.

The former president has been a vocal critic of coalition governments after having come to power as part of a short-lived coalition in 2008, with the backing of several smaller parties including the JP and DQP.

Speaking on decentralisation, Nasheed said Yameen’s half-brother and former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom’s loyalists had  initially been critical of the policy.

It was the MDP who had drafted and proposed chapter eight of the constitution on decentralised administration, he said.

Nasheed accused the government of trying to “fit the decentralised system into a unitary system”.

He said that the result of a unitary system would be similar to what had happened “during the thirty long years and hundreds of years before that” where Island Chiefs were at the mercy of Ministers in the capital Malé, thus slowing down development.

Responding to Nasheed’s comments, President’s Office Spokesperson Ibrahim Muaz Ali said that Nasheed “likes to lie when elections are approaching” and that his comments were targeted only for upcoming local elections.

“I think it is in his nature to do this sort of thing, perhaps it is because he does not have much to say politically. But people are more aware now, people know what exactly is happening here.” Muaz said.

“The people of Addu City would be asking whether a dysfunctional government would be working to build a multi-specialty hospital in Hulhumale, airports in Felivaru and Kulhudhufushi, and Hulhumale’ bridge. And would such a government ease the obtaining of Indian visas and construction materials, expunge criminal records of youth. Will a dysfunctional government do all these things?” he asked.

Muaz stated that President Yameen was working very efficiently with the JP’s Gasim Ibrahim, the MDA’s Ahmed Shiyam, the Adhaalath Party and other members of the coalition.

“The cabinet we have now is a very capable one. It is divided into two councils, an Economc Council and a Social Council. Both councils will report directly to the president or the vice president”.

“All members of the cabinet are working very hard as a single team. Perhaps Nasheed was referring to 29 June 2010, when he did not have a cabinet,”  Muaz continued, referring to the mass resignation of Nasheed’s Cabinet in 2010.

Nasheed, who is in Addu City for local council election campaign, will be visiting all regions of the city and will participate in a  door to door campaign.

At last night’s rally he endorsed MDP candidates for Addu City council and all MDP candidates for other councils, calling on the public to “vote for the MDP ideology”.

He has announced that he will be travelling to all inhabited islands of the Maldives before the parliamentary elections on March 22.

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Q&A: Hamid Abdul Ghafoor MP – Henveiru South constituency

In a series of interviews to lead into the the 2014 parliamentary elections – scheduled for March 22nd – Minivan News will be conducting a series of interviews with incumbent MPs.

All 77 sitting members have been contacted, from across the political spectrum, to be asked a standardised set of questions with additional topicals. The interviews will be published as and when they are received.

As part of the series, Minivan News interviewed Hamid Abdul Ghafoor, MP for the Henveiru South constituency.

Ahmed Rilwan: What made you enter the political arena and how?

Hamid Abdul Ghafoor: In my case it was more about what I could do for the party. When I joined the MDP the first question I asked was what can I do for you. So I have been doing what the party – as collective – felt was the best thing I could do for the party. They recognize what I could do collectively.

I was studying in New Zealand when MDP was formed. I kept in touch through the internet, because I shared the same ideology.  In 2005 I returned to Maldives and when President Mohamed Nasheed started registration for the party at ‘Dhunfini Haruge,’ [MDP office] I signed on the first day.

AR: Based on your attendance and work in this ending term, how would you judge your performance as an MP?

HG: The biggest and most important privilege I had during my term was to introduce the Decentralisation Bill on the party’s behalf and to push and get it through. Because of that we came to have local councils, and that changed this country.

That the MDP tasked me with the lobbying of such an important bill shows its confidence in me. We got about 70 percent of the bill through, but we still have thirty percent more to go. For instance there is no fiscal decentralisation, it is a problem that I am very concerned about. Decentralisation is key to democracy and economic development.

We stood up against the coup, risking ourselves, even in terms of reputation. I believe even in future there is a role for activism, we are not beyond that. Some people find it difficult to understand MPs as activists, but I define myself as an activist even though I am an MP.

As an MP I stood up for members’ privileges. I’m not a supporter of material privileges, but the protecting the votes of citizens is more important for me. I see the vote I cast as a vote from my constituents. I was standing up for the legal protection of the members against their attempts to minimize the influence of MDP after the coup. They had charges against one third of our parliamentary group at different stages – with police, prosecutor general and in the courts. I stood up against that. I stayed 27 days in parliament, 10 days in house arrest and 2 days in jail

A great achievement of the MDP, myself included, is taking a parliament that was in an undemocratic culture into a democratic one. We contributed to establish a democratic culture with a democratic outlook.

This People’s Majlis passed more bills than any other in the parliamentary history of Maldives. This was a historic People’s Majlis. People became more aware of the role of MPs in national development, and I suspect it could be because of this that the opposition tried to damage the reputation of the Majlis and targeted its members. If there is an undemocratic culture they will target MPs, and standing up against this was an important achievement for me.

I worked in the Committee on Independent Institutions and the Social Affairs Committee, I was the Secretary General of the MDP Parliamentary Goup – to which I was elected each year for the past five years, I was the Chair of Media subcommittee in the Committee on Independent Institutions and the Social Affairs Committee, and the MDP disciplinary committee chair.

Within the party, in addition to being the former secretary general, I was a member of the Foreign Policy Committee and the party’s international spokesperson. I am the vice chair of the MDP Policy Committee, and currently chair of the  Disciplinary Committee.

All these is an indication of the amount of trust the party has in me. I believe that the party is bigger than the individual. I am one of many people who define this party. Changes can be brought not by myself individually, but collectively through working with others. I am a hundred percent party person.

AR: What are the main committees you were in? Which bills did you focus on?

HG: I am in two committees; one is the  Committee on Independent Institutions where I have lobbied for more funding for independent commissions because democracy will not kick in without empowerment of independent commissions. We need a democratic culture in the Maldives, and independent commissions play an important role in creating this. Their mandates were very narrow because the parliament came from an undemocratic culture.

MDP initially did not have a majority in this committee, but when the judicial transition went wrong – especially by making their qualifications a symbolic issue – the independent institutions committee was equally divided between MDP and the opposition, with independent MP Mohamed ‘Kutti’ Nasheed as chair. But considering the circumstances, the committee was reasonably successful.

The other one is the Social Affairs Committee. It was an opposition dominated committee, and I am critical of that committee. It was slow and dull, we couldn’t perform well within that committee. But we were able to dilute issues, and that is our achievement. We stopped many unacceptable actions.

After the coup, for instance in the health sector is the Thalassemia Bill. It was passed by this committee to dismantle the decentralised system. It was hard for us to promote liberal thinking with regards to labor rights within that committee because of the conservative attitude within the committee.

The decentralisation bill was the main bill I focused on. I was involved in lobbying for other bills such as the tax bills and social protection bill. These bills brings about major policy changing laws. I was very vocal in lobbying for social protection.

We had to work against a tide of centralisation and money politics of big businesses. We fought very hard against this. We promoted ethical and democratic values to the Majlis.

AR: What would you say are the biggest achievements within your term; in terms of what you have accomplished for your constituency and the country as a whole?

HG: For my constituency, the biggest contribution was to get them more representation through decentralisation bill and further democratisation and empowerment of the constituents. Another thing is housing, a lot of my constituents got flats. This was a relief for many who were living in highly congested houses. But because of the coup many of the flats that could have been theirs were taken away.

Annually, nearly MVR5 million (US$324,254) worth of assistance is provided for my constituents under social protection programs. The recipients include elderly, orphans, persons with disabilities and single parents. Education and training opportunities were also provided for constituents under MDP policies.

AR: What would you say is the biggest blunder/mistake/worst step you have taken in your political career, why?

HG: There is no big blunder that I know of, I think it is for others to say. My biggest regret, however, is not getting the chance to make significant contributions towards the development of the People’s Majlis, mainly because I was focused on other issues.

AR: Some people see your actions following the Hondaidhoo case, especially taking refuge in the parliament as bad decision, what do you say to this?

HG: It was done against the judiciary, in defense of the right of the people to be represented in the parliament. It was not a bad decision, I am happy about it.

AR: Are you taking the optional committee allowance of an additional MVR20,000? Why or why not?

HG: I don’t take it, and I voted against it. However I believe they should be well paid in order to reduce the chances for corruption, especially to counter money politics. I voted against it because under that government it wasn’t necessary. But after that government they were trying to harm members of the parliament. With the coup I changed my mind about that.

AR: What is your view about MPs and other public servants declaring their financial assets publicly for the electorate to be able to refer to?

HG: I believe we have in our parliament, people who cant distinguish their personal property with state property. People who have an incestual economic relationship with the state. Assets should be declared. I support that.

AR: Are you re-contesting in the next elections? What do you hope to accomplish should you be elected for a new term?

HG: Yes, I am. First thing I would target is judicial reform, then significant economic reform and then social reform. These are the major hurdles we face. Without judicial reform we cannot do anything, there is no hope without it.

AR: What improvements do you feel the 18th Majlis will need to make as an institution?

HG: If I get re-elected I will work for a total overhaul of the parliament. The Majlis budget is relatively small for one of the three powers of the state. Manpower and buildings are needed for the parliament. We need a lot of qualified people in there. We need to increase the institution’s technical capacity too.

AR: What are your thoughts on party switching – do you think it undermines the party system?

HG: It is a very common practice in an emerging democracies. It is connected to the social fabric of the place, to the absence of good governance and to money politics. It is an obstacle for the parliament and the whole system. We do not hear of this so often in advanced democracies. This can be dealt with through legislation and a culture of good governance. We have a two thousand years of written history, we did not have a democratic system or a culture. But considering the scale at which it (party switching) is happening, we should confront it and consistently fight against it.

It will continue to happen here, but I think it will settle in a near future. Because people of Maldives learn really fast. Considering the changes within the past eight years, I am very optimistic.

AR: Anything else you want to add about what you want to see in the coming years as an MP if you are elected, or as a member of MDP?

HG: My urge is to sustain our democratic gains and to improve upon it, without losing any. Democratic gains include taxation, economic reform, decentralisation, separation of powers, setting up of independent institutions. We are not moving back, we are moving forward.

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STO launches campaign to cut operational costs by MVR 50 million

The State Trading Organization (STO) has launched a campaign to cut operational costs by MVR 50 million in 2014 (US$ 3,242,542).

The state-owned 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.

It also imports the vast majority of the Maldives’ oil, used to fuel fishing and transport vessels, diesel generators, air-conditioners and water desalination plants.

The company’s chairman Ahmed Niyaz inaugurated the “Save 50 million” and a second campaign “Saafu STO” (Clean STO) at a ceremony held in front of the company’s headquarters this morning.

The Saafu STO campaign intends to encourage cleanliness, a pleasant work environment and efficient resource utilization, STO’s media official Ismail Sodiq told Minivan News.

Speaking at the ceremony STO’s new managing director Adam Azim called on staff to be ethical in using the company’s resources.

“It is my wish that everyone is loyal to STO, and be ethical in using STO’s resources. A place without ethics does not have progress or life. If we are ethical, it is not 50 million that we save, I am certain we can save more than 100 million in 2014,” he said.

“Our Maldives is very dirty. And STO has become very dirty. So we all have to unite and bring out the new STO culture to the streets. From the streets we will take [the culture] to the houses and be more determined to clean things up,” he added.

Meanwhile, Minister of Economic Development Mohamed Saeed said all businesses must take STO’s new campaigns as examples.

In November, President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom said STO is bankrupt.

“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,” he said.

“I checked today where STO is now. By the time I left STO, the company had developed many commercial projects and STO was making MVR 154 million in profit. Today, STO is bankrupt. I am telling you, it is bankrupt. STO does not have money,” said Yameen, who chaired the organisation during the rule of his half-brother, Maumoon Abdul Gayoom.

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IGMH to hire Police Special Constabulary to manage hospital security

Indira Gandi Memorial Hospital (IGMH) in capital city Malé has announced that management of the state hospital’s security will be handled by the Special Constabulary or Reserve Force of the police from February 1.

IGMH’s Deputy CEO Mohamed Habeeb stated that the “access points” and all premises of IGMH will then be under the security of the police’s reserve force, adding that he believed this would bring “massive improvement” compared to the level of security currently seen at the hospital.

He stated that formalities regarding the matter have been completed except for the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the two institutions.

“It has already been agreed that we will begin implementation of this initiative by February 1. Police are now drafting the MoU which we will sign as soon as they send it to us,” Habeeb stated.

Stating that at present, the hospital has its own employees serving as security guards, Habeeb revealed that this caused a number of problems, including the “lack of suitable candidates who apply, and the irresponsible nature of those already employed”.

He revealed that the hospital’s management had tried to solve the matter by outsourcing to a private security firm, which had also proved unfruitful due to the lack of discipline of the guards.

“Everyone agrees that IGMH is in dire need of stronger security. We had some thieves walk out with our fundbox, we had keys stolen, we have had our doctors threatened…we absolutely are in need of taking stronger security measures,” Habeeb explained.

The police reserve force will be paid for their services by IGMH, Habeeb said, adding “mark that this is the special constabulary we are hiring. Not people from the real police force”.

“Even though we will need to pay them too, it is a far more feasible and effective measure than hiring our own guards or a private security firm. Police are well-disciplined and trained to deal with such situations, so we approached the police requesting for security assistance,” he continued.

“Police seniors then suggested we take the option of hiring the reserve force, which is what we have now agreed to do. We did request that they be especially trained to route patients and visitors to facilitate them to better obtain our services, and to prepare them for working in a hospital environment.”

“Now that we are hiring this force, we will not need to make special provisions for leaves and sick days and other such bureaucratic matters. All of that will be managed by police when it comes to security personnel,” Habeeb stated.

The police media official stated that while the Special Constabulary is managed by the police, it does not consist of “real police officers”.

The official – who requested to remain unnamed – stated that the Special Constabulary had a number of officers who have received basic police training but do not have the authorisation that comes with being an officer.

“For example, they will not have the jurisdiction to use weapons unless they are assigned to a particular task. They are a reserve force and do not have to report to duty daily. They only get paid when they are deployed on some project – oftentimes when other institutions or resorts request for police security assistance,” he explained.

He further added that the special constabulary force will be difficult to identify on sight as they wear the same uniform as regular officers, with a small identifier showing the difference in rank.

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