Tag: Ahmed Mohamed

Hiking airport service charge to US$30 narrowly rejected at parliament

Legislation proposed by the government to raise the airport service charge from departing international passengers to MVR460 (US$30) was narrowly rejected by parliament today.

The amendment bill submitted by government-aligned MP Riyaz Rasheed was rejected with 28 votes against, 27 in favour and two abstentions.

At the parliamentary debate on the bill yesterday (April 15), MPs of the opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) and government-aligned Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) opposed the proposed hike.

MPs of both the majority and minority parties alleged that President Dr Mohamed Waheed planned to use an expected MVR185 million (US$12 million) from raising the departure tax to finance his presidential campaign.

The 1978 law imposing the airport service charge on departing passengers was first amended under the previous administration and raised to US$18.5 for foreigners.

The imposition of a similar Airport Development Charge (ADC) of US$25 by Indian infrastructure group GMR was previously a major point of contention for the Waheed administration, which terminated the concession agreement with the GMR-led consortium to modernise the airport in December 2012.

Hiking the airport service charge from US$18 to US$30 was among a raft of measures proposed by the Finance Ministry within the estimated 2013 budget to raise MVR 1.8 billion (US$116 million) in new income.

Finance Minister Abdulla Jihad told MPs in December 2012 that additional revenue was needed to finance the fiscal deficit and rein in soaring public debt, which was projected to reach MVR 31 billion (US$2 billion) or 82 percent of GDP by the end of 2013.

On January 29 this year, the cabinet decided to impose austerity measures to manage the budget following revenue shortfalls.

“Members of the cabinet noted that, by late this year, the country might have to face enormous challenges unless strict budgetary control measures were not implemented,” the President’s Office said at the time.

During the budget debate in December 2012, Majority Leader MP Ibrahim Mohamed Solih warned that the additional revenue projected in the budget was unlikely to materialise.

The MDP parliamentary group leader noted that most of the proposed measures – such as hiking the Tourism Goods and Services Tax (T-GST) to 15 percent, introducing GST for telecom services, and “selectively” reversing import duty reductions – required parliamentary approval.

Acting Finance Minister Ahmed Mohamed was unavailable for comment today on the impact to government finances from the loss of projected revenue.

Fiscal responsibility

Meanwhile, legislation on fiscal responsibility submitted in 2011 by the previous government was passed with 42 votes in favour and 10 against at a sitting of parliament on Monday (April 15).

If the bill is ratified, the government would be prohibited by law from obtaining loans after January 1, 2016 to finance recurrent expenditure or loan repayment.

The bill also sets limits on government spending and public debt based on proportion of GDP, mandating the government to not allow public debt to exceed 60 percent of GDP.

Borrowing from the central bank or Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA) should not exceed seven percent of the projected revenue for the year, while such loans would have to be paid back in a six-month period.

Moreover, a statement outlining the government’s mid-term fiscal policy must be submitted annually to parliament at the end of the financial year in July.

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Foreign investment key to address dollar supply issues: economic development minister

Economic Development Minister Ahmed Mohamed has claimed in local media that the value of the US Dollar against the Maldivian Rufiyaa is not expected to fall in the “near future”, citing the need for a new long-term financial strategy.

Criticising the previous government’s decision to amend local dollar exchange rates – capped at Rf12.85 until April last year –  in an attempt to alleviate black market trading of foreign currency, Ahmed claimed a new approach to foreign investment was needed to alleviate the supply situation.

“After Ramadan, we will announce several new projects. This would be a solution to the dollar problem,” he told local news service Sun Online yesterday.

Ahmed also hit out at the previous government’s decision to discontinue charging import duty to instead impose a General Goods and Services Tax (G-GST). The tax, which was passed by parliament last year rose to six percent from 3.5 percent yesterday while import duties were lowered or eliminated for a range of commodities starting January 1, 2012.

The Tourism Goods and Services Tax (T-GST) was meanwhile raised to six percent for 2012 as stipulated in the GST Act.

Despite Ahmed’s criticisms, two former economic ministers serving within the administration of former President Mohamed Nasheed claimed last month that they were confused by the seemingly contradictory measures of increasing import duties whilst reducing GST.

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Football star caught with local girl escapes family fury

Football star Ahmed ‘Ammaday’ Mohamed, captain of the New Radiant Football Club, was caught with a girl inside his room on Maalhos in North Ari Atoll leading to a disturbance involving family members of the girl and other islanders.

An islander who witnessed the incident said that the girl was 18 years-old.

“A group of young boys on the island noticed the girl’s behaviour was odd and followed her secretly to find out what she was about,’’ he said. “They discovered the girl went inside the room of visiting football star Ahmed Mohamed, and so they phoned the girl’s family.’’

A short while later, members of the alerted family went to the house and peeped through an opening in the wall.

“Her brother knocked on the door and tried to kick down the door, but it was locked. They were both stuck inside the room,’’ the witness said. “In the meantime, Ahmed called a group in the island and a second group of  men armed with sticks and knives arrived at the place to stop the girl’s family members.’’

After the girl’s family demanded that she come out, he continued, a person with a key to the room opened it and the girl came out leaving Ahmed inside.

“The girl’s brother then assaulted her, leaving her with bruises,’’ the islander said. “The man left that same night.”

According to the islander, Ahmed Mohamed was staying on the island to play for a football tournament held during the Eid holidays.

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“Do we really need political parties?”: Dr Mausoom

A bill on political parties presented to the parliament by the government yesterday triggered debate over the merits of the political system in the Maldives.

Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) MP Ahmed Abdulla presented the bill to the parliament on behalf of the government, with the stated aim of strengthen the democracy of the country and to provide a peaceful way to participate in political activities.

The bill contained aspects such as what a political party should and should not do and how members should be disciplined, how political parties can legally earn money and how a person can resign and join another political party.

Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) MP Abdulla Mausoom said that the country was “now in chaos because of the invention of political parties.”

”The peacefulness and unity among us has changed,’ ‘Mausoom said. ”The question in our hearts is: ‘Do we really need political parties?’.”

He proposed to amend the article 18 of the bill in the committee stage.

Independent MP Ahmed Amir said that the question on his mind was why MPs were not included in the list of people “who cannot be a member of any political party.”

Amir claimed that the majority of the population “does not support political parties in the country.”

“More than 50 per-cent of the population of above the age of 18 is not involved in any political party,” he said.

DRP MP Rozaina Adam said that now it was too late to make bills governing the conduct of political parties.

Rozaina proposed to add a article whereby the Elections Commission (EC) was obligated to provide places for political parties to hold their meetings.

”When the opposition tries to hold a meeting we don’t usually get a place,” she claimed. ”So I suggest we design the bill in a way that political parties would have to get permission from the EC to hold meetings and they provides a place.”

She said that she had noticed that the screening of private phone calls was now very popular.

”I see they regularly screen our private phone calls – I wonder if this would not be spying, a power that the government has,” she said. ”I wish that when the bill gets passed there would be a solution for these types of things.”

MDP Chairperson and MP Mariya Ahmed Didi said she recalled a time when political parties were not registered, on the assumption that the invention of a political party system would disperse society.

”But people sought in their own ways to express their opinions and raised their voice for a political party system,” she said, ”and after listening to their voices parliament made a law permitting parties.”

She said that independent MPs also work together as a political party.

”They also holds meetings among them and speak one word,” she said.

DRP MP Ahmed Mohamed said he was against party system “now and then.”

”Forming a political party in a such small country is like playing with fire,” Mohamed said.

”I say, we hold a vote to see if people like or dislike having political parties,” he said. ”Like other MPs have said, the majority of the population does not belong to any political party.”

”In a family, Mum, Dad and their kids are in different parties, so the unity among them gets ruined,” he said.

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Hithadhoo patients complaining of missing gynaecologist, physician and X-ray machine

Seenu Hithadhoo regional hospital is missing its gynaecologist, physician and x-ray machine, leading to many complaints from patients.

The hospital’s head, Ahmed Mohamed, said the hospital’s only gynaecologist had not shown up for work for a week, while the X-ray machine was damaged and the only physician had departed after completing his contract.

”We have informed the health ministry and they said they will fix all the problems as soon as possible.”

He said there were a lot of patients waiting for the gynaecologist and a lot of complaints from patients due to the broken X-ray machine and missing physician.

He said the nurses and senior medical officers at the hospital were taking care of the women waiting for gynecologist.

”There is a private hospital in this island where they can take X-rays,” he said, ”and people who need to X-ray have to use the machine in that hospital.”

He said that more than 15,000 people lived on the island and more than 150 patients came to Hithadhoo Regional Hospital every day.

Deputy director general of ministry of health Abdul Samad Abdul Rahman said the ministry had received information about all the issues.

”The gynaecologist has told us that she will come out for work tomorrow,” Rahman said, ”and we have been trying with the ADK hospital to fix the X-ray machine.”

He said the ministry was trying to hire a physician and a doctor from abroad, both of whom have been scheduled to arrive next month.

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