Category: News in Brief

Artificial beach to host World Cancer Day awareness event Friday

The Cancer Society of Maldives will be hosting a number of awareness programmes and events in the capital tomorrow (February 1) to mark the occasion of World Cancer Day.

Starting from 4:00PM at the artificial beach area of Male’ with a run/walk around the capital, the non-profit organisation will also be hosting simultaneous entertainment and awareness programmes for participants of varying fitness levels throughout the evening.

The events, which will run between 4:30pm until 6:00pm, include special exercise programmes tailored for children, yoga sessions for the public and question and answer sessions on issues surrounding cancer, according to the Cancer Society of Maldives. The event will also be attended by local performing artist Unoosha, while healthy snacks and drink stalls will also be provided from stalls operating in the area.

The evening will conclude with a three hour music show starting from 9:00pm, organisers have said.

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Budgetary constraints temporarily halt efforts to bring in foreign experts for CoNI report review

Efforts to bring in two international legal experts to review the Commission of National Inquiry (CoNI) report have been put on hold due to budgetary constraints, local media has reported.

The parliament’s Government Accountability Committee had attempted to seek the legal experts in order to look into the report of the controversial transfer of power in February 2012.

Parliament Secretary General Ahmed Mohamed was quoted as saying that there were no funds available to the committee in order to bring in the foreign experts.

The committee had earlier chosen a legal expert from Denmark’s Copenhagen university and two lawyers to review the report, who were scheduled to start on Friday and work for seven days, local media said.

Maldivian Democratic Party MP Ali Waheed said that the committee will make a decision and set a date based on “what is decided by the Parliament Speaker on the budgetary issues”.

Parliament Speaker Abdulla Shahid is currently abroad and is expected to return next week, according to local media.

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MTCC records MVR 24.1 million profit for 2012

The Maldives Transport and Contracting Company (MTCC) has made a MVR 24.1 million (US$1.5 million) profit for the year 2012.

The company’s records – according to local media – show that it made MVR 597 million (US$38.5 million) in sales last year and declared MVR 12 million (US$77,7201) as taxes.

Sun Online reported that in 2011, MTCC lost MVR 8.03 million (US$518,000) and failed to distribute dividends to its shareholders for that year.

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Case against Customs Director for “conferring undue advantage” sent to PG

The Prosecutor General’s Office (PG) has received a case against Customs Director of Finance and Accounts Ismail Hamdhoon, alleging he used the “influence of his position” to “confer undue advantage to a particular group,” reports local media.

The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) released a statement today (January 30) saying that they previously investigated two 2009 incidents.

“Customs had placed an order for the production of MVR 57,000 (US$3,696) worth of shields, without any prior announcement for submission of estimations,” Sun Online reports.

“An order worth more than MVR 25,000 (US$1,621) was placed for the production of a number of awards, which was also done without prior announcement for estimation,” local media added.

The Public Finance Act states that an announcement must be made to “seek parties for estimates” when spending above MVR 25,000 (US$1,621), according to local media.

The customs transactions Hamdhoon is being prosecuted for were carried out with his permission after “the customs tender committee informed employees not to make such transactions without proper announcements,” ACC said to Sun Online.

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Cabinet takes measures to manage 2013 budget to avoid “enormous challenges” later in the year

The Cabinet is to take austerity measures to manage the MVR 15.3 billion (US$992 million) budget passed in parliament for 2013.

According to the President’s Office website, the cabinet noted that should measures not be put in place to control the budget, the country would face “enormous challenges”.

The cabinet took the decision after discussing a paper submitted by the Ministry of Finance and Treasury. The Ministry of Finance intends to inform government offices of the austerity measures.

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Civil Court rules no need for ACC apology to Nexbis

A ruling passed by Civil Court has stated there is no need to order the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) to apologise to Nexbis.

The Malaysia-based mobile security provider claimed that ACC had publicly made defamatory statements regarding the agreement between the company and the immigration department, local media reported.

The case brought forward by Nexbis asked to determine whether statements made by ACC in the media were against the constitution and laws of the state.

Nexbis had also asked for an order to be issued upon ACC to refrain from making statements regarding the agreement until all court cases are settled and to publicly apologise for their actions.

Civil Court ruled it was not proven to the court that the ACC had acted outside the boundaries of the constitution or any laws of the state, local media reported.

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“STEP” program launched for training youth

The Education Ministry in collaboration with the Tourism Ministry, Human Resource Ministry, and partner resorts have launched a training and education program for ‘O’ level graduates, reports local media.

The first three months of training will include an orientation of all resort fields, followed by six months of training in the field of their choice, Deputy Human Resource Minister Abdulla Rifau explained to Haveeru.

An internationally recognised certificate will be granted to students who complete the training program.

Food, accommodations and an allowance will be provided to participants, Education Minister Dr Asim Ahmed said.

Fifteen resorts have signed up for the “STEP” program thus far, he added.

The government plans to expand the program to include construction, agriculture and fisheries sectors, according to local media.

Yesterday, Minivan News spoke with representatives from the Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) and the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), who both agree income inequalities are being fueled by vested interests, faulty government policies and a lack of educational training opportunities for youth.

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Police “abruptly” stop providing security for Drug Court

The Maldives Police Service (MPS) has stopped providing security for the Drug Court as of January 20, according to local media.

The court said police had abruptly terminated providing security services without giving a reason for doing so.

Police Media Official Hassan Haneef told local media that police had not stopped providing security for the court, but had rather changed how that security was provided.

“Previously security was provided by placing police officers at the court and now the security is provided by the officers who patrol the city,” Haneef told Sun Online.

The court has taken the issue to Chief Justice Ahmed Faiz Hussain, stating that the current situation is “worrying”.

The Drug Court has repeatedly requested security from police last year before it was eventually provided, reports Sun Online.

State security forces are mandated to provide court security, as stated in Article 95 of the Courts Act.

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Fined container ship permitted to leave

A container ship that ran aground off the east coast of Male’ in early January and was fined MVR 61.6 million for damage to the area’s reef has been permitted to leave after providing a bank guarantee, reports local media.

During an investigation into the incident, the Maldivian Transit Authority prohibited the Auguste Schulte from leaving the country.

The ship’s operator, Silver Company, has said it plans to carry out its own investigation into damage sustained to the reef before paying the fine, transit authority Chair Rasheed Nafiz has previously claimed.

“As keeping the ship here would cause major losses to the company, we have given the green light for the ship to leave after the bank guarantee was given,” Nafiz explained to Haveeru.

Previously, a ship operated by Delmas – the same company local media reported as owning Auguste Schulte – was stranded in the same area for 20 days.

Mohammed Nabeel, Managing Director of Silver Company, told local media that the compensation claim for that previous ship was set at MVR 4.5 million (US$ 291,828), adding that the contrast between the two figures is “remarkable”.

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