Tag: anti corruption commission

MDP will not respect separation of powers, says President Yameen

The Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) did not respect separation of powers during its three years in government, President Abdulla Yameen has said, urging voters to consider the track record of former President Mohamed Nasheed’s administration before choosing parliamentary candidates.

Speaking at the Progressive Coalition’s parliamentary campaign launching rally on Thursday night, President Yameen strongly criticised the opposition party’s campaign slogan – “Vote for the scale [of justice] for separation of powers” – contending that an MDP-controlled parliament would exert undue influence on other state institutions.

“Our rival opposition party is saying that they are coming to the People’s Majlis to separate powers. No doubt separation of powers is important in modern democratic systems. Separation of powers is a basis we all believe. But let us consider how responsibly and the extent to which powers were separated during the three years of the MDP government,” he said.

“We have to learn from past experience and they have shown very well, in much detail, during their three years how they want to separate powers in the future.”

The state of affairs that prevailed in the country at the end of the MDP’s three years in government should not have been what it was if the party had ruled democratically, Yameen argued.

Yameen said he “could not believe” that national debt could rise from MVR5 billion (US$324 million) to over MVR30 billion (US$1,195 million) during a democratic government.

MDP in office

President Yameen claimed that the MDP government attempted to merge the three powers of state during its time in office.

Yameen referred to the military’s controversial detention of Criminal Court Chief Judge Abdulla Mohamed in January 2012, which he contended was prompted by “verdicts or punishments not being delivered the way the president wanted.”

Moreover, the arrest of two opposition MPs in June 2010 “showed the extent to which political space was offered” to members of the People’s Majlis, Yameen said.

Following the en masse resignation of Nasheed’s cabinet on June 29, police arrested then-MP Yameen and MP Gasim Ibrahim over allegations of bribery and treason. Both MPs were subsequently released by Judge Abdulla.

Yameen also referred to the delayed appointment of the Anti-Corruption Commission’s (ACC) President Hassan Luthfy, who was eventually sworn in 24 months after parliament approved him for the post.

After President Nasheed recalled Luthfy’s name and proposed a substitute nominee in late 2009, parliament rejected the substitute and approved Luthfy to the commission.

The President’s Office delayed swearing-in the new commissioner as it sought a Supreme Court ruling. Yameen alleged that the appointment was held up to prevent the ACC from functioning.

MDP MPs have not shown “even a small example of separating powers,” Yameen continued, accusing opposition MPs of obstructing the government and blocking development projects.

“Dark clouds” on horizon, warns vice president

Yameen also accused the opposition party of refusing to cooperate with the government on confirming the appointment of a new prosecutor general.

“So I have to say that it might be that they are obstructing [the appointment] because there are cases involving [opposition MPs]. This is why I am saying they are not trying to separate powers. What we are seeing is the merging of powers,” he said.

In his speech at the rally, Vice President Dr Mohamed Jameel Ahmed contended that MDP MPs contesting the upcoming parliamentary elections endorsed former President Nasheed’s alleged “inhumane activities” and “insults” to Islam and the Prophet Mohamed (pbuh).

Voting or campaigning for such MPs was “without a doubt aiding and abetting sin and strife,” he said.

Repeatedly urging voters to consider the MDP’s track record before voting on March 22, Dr Jameel called on the public to vote for coalition candidates to empower citizens, defend the constitution and protect Islam.

Reiterating a central theme from last year’s presidential campaign, Dr Jameel insisted that the MDP would pursue an agenda to eradicate Islam from the Maldives.

The vice president also said he could see “dark clouds gathering” on the horizon, warning of arson in the capital Malé and judges “tied with rope and dragged through the streets.”

Former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom – figurehead and leader of the ruling Progressive Party of Maldives – meanwhile praised the candidates fielded by the PPM and its coalition partners Jumhooree Party and the Maldives Development Alliance.

Gayoom stressed that the Progressive Coalition must “work together” in the parliamentary campaign to secure a majority in the People’s Majlis, adding that government supporters contesting as independents would split the vote and benefit the MDP.

“Our three parties are working together as one party. We are working towards one objective. So there is no doubt that candidates contesting from our parties will have the full support of the other two parties,” said Gayoom.

“That is why I am saying that the foundation of the efforts we are commencing is working together, helping one another, and cooperating with each other.”

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Corruption case against former director of Southern Health Services Corporation

The Anti Corruption Commission has sent for prosecution a corruption case against a former Director of Southern Health Services Corporation (SHSC) Ibrahim Sabry.

The ACC stated that the case against Sabry is for the abuse of power to provide an undue advantage or benefits to a particular group.

The commission stated that it had found Sabry to be guilty of corruption in an investigation they conducted after receiving complaints that the SHSC had employed a group to build eight rooms in the Hithadhoo Regional Hospital without providing any information about the matter.

It detailed that the bid had been received a day after the deadline of August 28, 2011. After the bidders had failed to submit the proposal by the deadline, Sabry had unilaterally extended the deadline by a day. According to the ACC, Sabry admitted to it while providing a statement for their investigation.

The ACC further states that while two of the three parties who had submitted proposals had failed to meet the requirements, the SHSC had proceeded to accept and evaluate them. They stated that Sabry had also admitted to having advised the evaluation committee to score them as they saw fit even though the proposals did not meet with the defined requirements.

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ACC orders re-evaluation of overseas student loan scheme

The Anti- Corruption Commission (ACC) has ordered the Ministry of Education to reevaluate the vetting procedures for a tertiary student loan scheme.

The scheme was opened in August 2013 for students seeking higher education abroad for courses that are not available in the Maldives.

However, in awarding points, the ministry’s Department of Higher Education had failed to cross-check if courses listed in applications were indeed not available in the Maldives, the commission said. Some applicants were awarded extra points for courses that are in fact available in the Maldives.

Further, one applicant was allowed the opportunity to change their application during the vetting process, the commission said.

Of the 614 students who had applied for higher education abroad, the ministry had chosen 250. On the ACC’s orders, the loan awarding ceremony on December 15 was called off minutes before it was scheduled to begin.

In a statement published today, the ACC said one applicant had applied for funds to study abroad for a law degree and was initially given zero points as a law degree is available in the Maldives.

However, the same applicant was later given the opportunity to change their field of study to international law – a course not available in the country. When the final list was published, the applicant had been awarded 10 points. The same opportunity had not been given to other applicants, the commission noted.

The ACC will investigate the case further as it constitutes awarding undue advantage under the prevention of corruption regulation, the statement said.

If a field of study is not available in the Maldives, applicants were not required to clarify the specific course or the institute or the country in which they intended to study, allowing applicants opportunity to make up any course in the application, the ACC said.

In December, the ACC also found issues with government vetting procedures in applications for the Veshifahi Malé programme after an investigation revealed that officials had violated the programme’s publicised processes when grading applications.

The commission subsequently ordered the Ministry of Housing and Infrastructure to invalidate applications for the programme.

In a recently released corruptions perception poll by local NGO Transparency Maldives, land services was revealed as the area in which most respondents had paid a bribe. In contrast, the education system was regarded as the least corrupt sector.

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Malé City Council ordered to suspend projects

The Finance Committee of the People’s Majlis has ordered Malé City Council to suspend all projects except for basic service delivery, pending an investigation into the council’s conduct in leasing land.

“The Finance Committee has received reports the Malé City Council is acting in the interest of certain individuals in renting out land and awarding contracts for development of land,” the Finance Committee said in a statement today.

The decision passed with the unanimous support of the five members present and voting.

Meanwhile, the Anti- Corruption Commission (ACC) announced today that it has recommended charges be filed against two of the nine Malé City councilors and three council staff for conferring undue advantage in the awarding of a contract in the Vilimalé Safe Beach Project.

The two councilors are Deputy Mayor Ahmed Samah Rasheed and Ibrahim Sujau. The staff are Assistant Directors Mizhath Naeem, Aishath Jumana Mohamed Rasheed, and Abdulla Rameez.

The Vilimalé Safe Beach Project had sought a contractor to keep the Vilimalé beach area, jetty, and lagoon clean and promised to provide adequate workspace.

The winning bidder had asked for two beachfront blocks to build administrative offices and establish a business at the site in order to sustain the project.

However, the ACC said it does not believe the Malé City Council’s promise of workspace allows for land to be granted to carry out for-profit activities.

The commission notes that all bidders except the winning bidder believed the workspace simply meant land on which to store equipment.

The bid evaluation committee justified their decision by arguing that the winning bidder had proposed a much lower price. However, the commission said that if other bidders had known the promised workspace could be rented out or used for profit, then it is possible that they may have proposed lower prices as well.

Hence, “other bidders did not receive opportunity to compete fairly,” the ACC said.

The ACC recommends the Prosecutor General pursue criminal charges for conferring undue advantage under Article 12 (a) in the Prevention and Prohibition of Corruption Act of 2000.

A study conducted by advocacy NGO Transparency Maldives has found 83 percent of people surveyed felt corruption had increased or stayed the same during the past two years in the Maldives.

According to the survey, the most common area in which bribes were paid was said to be land services, with the most frequent reason for giving bribes being ‘to speed things up’.

Earlier in December the ACC alleged corruption in the award of apartments to individuals as part of the Veshifahi Malé housing programme, ordering the invalidation of 139 of the 448 successful applications.

Elections for the Malé City Council are to be held on January 18.

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Corruption case against former media council members continues

The Anti-Corruption Commission has forwarded the cases of seven former members of the Maldives Media Council (MMC) accused of ignoring a directive to return allowances deemed illegal, local media has reported.

Sun Online has reported that charged are being pursued against a total of 10 former MMC members.

A 2011 Auditor General’s report revealed that members took almost Rf 900,000 in additional allowances – fees which the MMC subsequently asked to be returned.

The report stated that the living allowance was an illegal expense, despite parliament having approved the MMC’s budget which included the allowance. It was noted that the MMC had behaved inappropriately for an institution that was required by nature to have the trust and confidence of the public.

The following year’s audit report revealed that 13 of the MMC’s members had failed to return the MVR7,500 (US$478).

A recent survey conducted by local NGO Transparency Maldives revealed that only 12 percent of those interviewed believed public officials and civil servants to be free from corruption.

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Week in review: December 8 – 14

This week saw the repeatedly delayed budget introduced to the People’s Majlis. Coming in at MVR17.5billion rufiya, the budget – purportedly revised to incorporate President Yameen’s austerity measures – eclipses all previous spending programmes.

A report from the World Bank made clear the tough task the new government faces in nursing the economy towards good health. The report stated that the Maldives continues to spend “beyond its means”.

Noted areas of excess include a high civil service wage bill, with the World Bank suggesting that the government’s short term financing measures risked further damaging the economy.

The exploitation of the country’s persistent shortage of dollars by criminal elements was exposed this week as police reported the activity of thieves masquerading as legitimate exchangers of currency.

When accused of illegally obtaining a budget support loan, recently reappointed Finance Minister pleaded desperation. Abdulla Jihad argued that he had sidestepped the onerous approval procedure to avoid a financial catastrophe in May 2012.

Yameen took fitful steps towards fulfilling his campaign’s austerity pledges this week, ordering the reduction of salary for two grades of state minister – though the cut was only around 12.5 percent instead of the 30-50 mooted before the election.

Similarly, the new government appeared to have reneged on its pledge to provide cash-handouts to old-age pensioners – opting for an insurance scheme instead.

Government performance

Former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, however, appeared pleased with his half-brother’s performance thus far, praising his handling of Indo-Maldivian relations while the Defence Minister discussed enhanced military cooperation with Indian counterparts.

The indistinct ‘National Movement’ this week suggested ulterior motives in the bureaucratic thwarting of its plan to celebrate the eviction of Indian infrastructure giant GMR, whose deal to develop the international airport was prematurely terminated twelve months ago.

Elsewhere, the coalition member Adhaalath Party, quashed rumours that it had parted ways with Yameen’s government this week, despite previous reports that it intended to campaign independently in the upcoming local and parliamentary elections.

The ‘roadmaps’ for the first one hundred days of the government continued to be drawn this week, with comprehensive lists now produced in the areas of  transport, health, and immigration.

Whilst the Transport Ministry has promised finished plans for the redevelopment of Ibrahim Nasir International Airport, the health minister talked of significant changes to the IGMH public hospital.

The police service also joined in the policy pledging, with its own promises to improve its service and to build public trust in the institution. The Police Integrity Commission this week suggested that the prosecutor general assist in this task by prosecuting two officers it had found to have been negligent during the arson attack which destroyed Raajje TV in October.

The vacancy at the head of the PG’s Office did not stop the filing of charges in the 8 year old ‘Namoona Dhoni’ case. Pro-democracy activists – prevented from reaching Malé for a national demonstration – now face fresh charges of disobeying lawful orders.

Trust between the Supreme Court and the judicial watchdog appeared scant this week as the Chief Justice baulked at the JSC’s re-shuffling of a number of senior judges. Members of the JSC were later reported to have rejected Chief Justice Faiz’s legal objections.

Corruption and human rights

Confidence in the transparency of the public in public institutions also appeared to be on the wane this week, as Transparency Maldives’ Global Corruption Barometer (GCB) survey revealed that 83 percent of its sample felt corruption to have increased or stayed the same over the past two years.

Despite only appearing mid-table in the list of organisations perceived as being corrupt, the MNDF reacted disproportionately to the local media’s reporting of the survey, labelling CNM’s article on the survey “highly irresponsible journalism”.

The Anti Corruption Commission announced the discovery of graft in the capital’s largest housing programme. The highest number of bribes reported in the GCB was in the area of land services.

International human rights day was observed by the government and civil society in the same week the president ratified the country’s first anti-human trafficking bill. Whilst welcoming the new law, both the Human Rights Commission and the immigration department suggested that institutional strengthening would need to accompany a successful anti-trafficking policy.

Finally, this week saw the release of a United Nations Population Fund report, calling on the state to review existing practices related to sexual behaviour within the judicial process, law enforcement, education and health sectors.

The report stated reproductive health services ought to be expanded to non-married couples as evidence makes clear that the assumption sex does not, or should not, occur outside of marriage is increasingly out of step with social realities.

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Transparency Maldives reveals growing perception of corruption

Transparency Maldives’ Global Corruption Barometer (GCB) survey has revealed that 83 percent of people surveyed felt corruption had increased or stayed the same during the past two years.

The survey of 1,002 people – randomly selected and interviewed by telephone – showed respondents to perceive the People’s Majlis as the country’s most corrupt organisation, with 60 percent feeling the legislature to be ‘extremely corrupt’.

Religious organisations were perceived as the least corrupt organisation, with 37 percent of those asked stating definitively that these organisations were ‘not corrupt’.

Speaking at today’s launch event, President of the Anti-Corruption Commission Hussain Luthfy expressed concern at the indicators, noting a clear lack of trust in state institutions.

With local council elections fast approaching, Luthfy pointed out that a failure to reform local government could also be considered corruption.

“In the past five years, the governance system has been so expensive it has impacted the basic public services. Harbors and schools are falling into disrepair.”

Luthy suggested that the current model “bleeds” MVR800 million from the state’s expenditure each year – nearly five percent of the most recently proposed budget.

When submitting the 2014 budget – currently undergoing revisions – Finance Minister Abdulla Jihad urged the state to reduce the size of local level government.

The current model of more than 1,000 elected councillors established by the Decentralisation Act passed in 2010 by the then-opposition majority parliament was branded “economic sabotage” by the incumbent Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) government, which had proposed limiting the number of councillors to “no more than 220.”

Luthfy went on to urge more transparency within government companies in order to foster an atmosphere in which corruption can be addressed proactively. He suggested that government owned companies often pass resolutions to obstruct the ACC’s investigations.

In a separate statement today, Luthfy argued said the biggest obstacle to the ACC’s fight against corruption was the absence of an anti-corruption bill. He called upon the Majlis – currently considering such a bill – to take the initiative in fighting corruption.

Education

Today’s GCB launch was accompanied by the introduction of a corruption education pack, including five booklets intended to spread awareness of corruption and its impacts on society.

Whilst the GCB figures showed a strong belief that ordinary people could make a difference in the campaign against corruption – with 84 percent agreeing to this statement – the results revealed a lack of will to take action.

Asked if they would be willing to sign a petition asking the government to do more to fight corruption, 86 percent of those surveyed said they wouldn’t. 70 percent said they would not take part in demonstrations against corruption, whilst 61 percent refused to even to raise awareness of corruption through social media.

The most common area in which bribes were paid was said to be land services, with the most frequent reason for giving bribes being ‘to speed things up’.

Earlier this week the ACC alleged corruption in the award of apartments to individuals as part of the Veshifahi Malé housing programme, ordering the invalidation of 139 of the 448 successful applications.

891 GCB respondents stated that they would report an incident of corruption, although only 3 percent admitted to having personally paid a bribe. 85 percent of those who admitted to being asked to pay a bribe said they had refused.

The sample of people interviewed were predomantly male (66 percent) and from urban settings (65 percent). One quarter of respondents worked in the public sector, with 63 percent described as earning a ‘medium’ scale income.

Transparency Maldives, the local chapter of Transparency International (TI)describes the GCB as one of the tools it uses to better understand corruption.

The group’s most widely used indicator – the Corruption Perceptions Index  – was released last week. For the second consecutive year the Maldives was not ranked after TI was unable to gather the necessary data.

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ACC requests former Home Minister be charged over prisoner transferred from Sri Lanka

The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has sent a case to the Prosecutor General to charge former Acting Home Minister Ameen Faisal for his role in setting free a Maldivian man sentenced to life by a Sri Lankan court for drug smuggling.

The ACC in a statement said that a man – identified as Ibrahim Adam Manik of Gomashige in Mahchangolhi, Male’, son of Male’ City Councillor ‘Sarangu’ Adam Manik – was sentenced to life by the High Court of Sri Lanka in Negombo and brought to Male’ on March 29, 2009.

According to the ACC, the Sri Lankan  Ministry of Justice and Law Reform agreed to send him back after the Maldivian Home Ministry gave assurances that his sentence would be implemented in a Maldivian prison.

The ACC said that their investigation had found out the letter from Maldivian Home Ministry was sent by the then Acting Home Minister Ameen Faisal – a senior member of Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) who had filled a number of senior government portfolios.

In the letter, Faisal had agreed that the Maldivian Home Ministry would take responsibility for implementing Ibrahim Adam Manik’s sentence.

The ACC said that the prisoner was brought to the Maldives before asking for legal advice from the then-Attorney General, and that the then-Acting Home Minister had not clarified whether there was a legal procedure whereby Maldivian prisoners  abroad could be transferred to the Maldives to complete their sentence.

On February 12, 2008, the Maldives and Sri Lanka signed an agreement to transfer prisoners, although the two countries have not exchanged documents regarding the implementation of the agreement and have no legal procedure on how to transfer the prisoners, the ACC said.

Moreover, the ACC said that Ibrahim Adam Manik was brought to the Maldives a few days after the Sri Lankan High Court had sentenced him to life whilst there were many other Maldivians serving life sentences at foreign prisons.

The ACC concluded that this action in the case constituted abuse of public power for private benefit, which is considered a crime under the Anti-Corruption Act’s article 12(a).

When contacted for a comment regarding the matter, Faisal told Minivan News he said he was busy and asked to be contacted later. He was not responding to further calls at the time of press.

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Former fisheries minister faces corruption charges over lease of Thun’bafushi to Champa Moosa

The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has asked the Prosecutor General’s Office (PGO) to press corruption charges against former Fisheries and Agriculture Minister Abdulla Kamalludheen for alleged abuse of power to unduly benefit a third party.

The ACC said in a press statement on Wednesday (October 2) that Kamalludheen renewed the lease for Kaafu Thun’bafushi in November 2006 despite multiple violations of the agreement by the leaseholder – business magnate ‘Champa’ Mohamed Moosa.

Based on documents from the fisheries ministry and the former minister’s testimony, the ACC found that Kamalludheen was aware that dredging, construction of a seawall, and reclamation work was done in Thun’bafushi without either conducting an Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) or seeking authorisation from the government.

Moreover, the island was used without a lease agreement from August 2004 to November 2006, the ACC noted, after the agreement expired.

The initial agreement signed in August 1999 authorised the government to reclaim the island with 15 day’s notice if any clauses were violated.

The ACC found that Kamalludheen informed the President’s Office in 2004 that the ministry did not invoke the clause to terminate the agreement as the illegal actions could not be undone.

The former fisheries minister told ACC investigators that, as senior officials and staff from the ministry frequently visited the island, “it cannot be said that the work carried out in Thun’bafushi was done without the ministry’s knowledge”.

While Kamalludheen claimed that the decision to renew the lease was made following consultation with the President’s Office, the ACC contended that the minister had to bear responsibility for “losses to the state” due to his culpability or negligence.

Abdulla Kamalludheen served as fisheries minister and home minister in the cabinet of former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom. He is currently a senior member of the Jumhooree Party (JP) and was involved in campaigning for JP presidential candidate, business tycoon Gasim Ibrahim.

“Environmental criminal”

In June 2011, the Environment Protection Agency (EPA) labelled Champa Moosa “an environmental criminal” and fined him the maximum penalty of MVR100 million (US$6.5 million) for irreversibly damaging the marine ecosystem around Thun’bafushi.

“This was originally a reef ecosystem with a small sand bank in the middle, but he has been dredging the island without any clearance and the changes are now irreversible,” EPA Director Ibrahim Naeem told Minivan News at the time.

After three surveys of the area, the EPA had assessed the damage as amounting to MVR2.2 billion (US$144.6 million), not including the impact of sedimentation from the dredging which can smother coral kilometres from the site.

A foreign consultant who was involved in surveying the island told Minivan News that the area “seems to have been used as a dumping ground.”

“There were what looked like hundreds of used car batteries, waste metals and oil drums leeching into the marine environment,” the consultant said.

Fine overturned

In November 2011, the Civil Court overturned the EPA’s MVR100 million fine on the grounds that the administrative action was not “lawful, procedurally fair, and expeditious” as required by article 43 of the constitution.

The judge ruled that the EPA had not given Champa Moosa adequate opportunities to respond to the allegations, which made the administrative procedure “unfair.”

Naeem however insisted that the EPA had given all necessary documents to Champa and that he had been given “more than enough time to prepare his appeal.”

Several days after Champa was issued the fine in June 2011, the then-Director General of the EPA Mohamed Zuhair suddenly resigned from the post, publicly stating on DhiTV – a private broadcaster owned by Champa – that his departure was due to “political interference” in the EPA’s fining of the tycoon.

Environment Minister Mohamed Aslam however claimed that Zuhair had decided to take a voluntary redundancy package three weeks before his sudden departure, which rendered him ineligible for the lump sum pay out.

“This is Champa building his court case by attempting to question the independence of the EPA,” Aslam alleged at the time, noting that as the EPA’s Director General, Zuhair’s signature was on all the correspondence with Champa, including the notice informing him of the fine.

Champa Mohamed Moosa with former President Gayoom
Champa Mohamed Moosa with former President Gayoom

Naeem meanwhile expressed surprise at Zuhair’s DhiTV appearance, noting that “[Zuhair] was the guy who signed the letter [fining Champa]. Why would he have done so if he was not happy about it?”

Zuhair’s sudden resignation following the fining meant he had forfeited his entitlement to the redundancy package he had applied for, Aslam noted.

“Thun’bafushi has been an issue long before we took office,” Aslam said, explaining that the previous administration had initially rented the island to Champa for MVR100 a year (US$6.40) under an agreement that stipulated that he “not do anything detrimental to the environment – he was allowed to grow trees and monitor the shifting of the islands. He was not allowed to reclaim or extend the island.”

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