Category: News in Brief

Finance Committee debates prompt investigation of government finances

The Majlis Finance Committee has decided to table the issue of the alleged embezzlement of MVR24million ($US1.5million) by the Disaster Management Centre (DMC) as an emergency issue tomorrow, local media has reported.

Following the release of the Auditor General’s report on the DMC’s 2010 finance, released last week, there have reportedly been two arrests in relation to the case.

Head of the committee Ahmed Nazim called into question the government’s accounting system, as did the Auditor General, Niyaz Ibrahim, who criticised those in charge at the DMC.

Ibrahim has also decided to expedite the audit of the government’s finances after being questioned in the Finance Committee about an allegedly unauthorised MVR300million ($US19.4million) loan, taken by the government from the Bank of Maldives in June.

That is an assignment we had planned for this year. But after the MPs raised questions over the matter, we have sped up that process and the assignment has commenced and is ongoing. This exercise is intended to carry out a comprehensive public debt audit of the State,” Haveeru quoted Ibrahim as saying.

He said that the audit will cover five years of spending and admitted that it was his office’s responsibility to determine legality of state debt.

“Based on the ratios, it is the responsibility of the Auditor General to determine the vulnerability of the State. If you look at the practice of the rest of the world public debt audits will cover such issues,” Niyaz added.

“Debt is a highly sensitive issue. It is related to the sustainability of the State. In addition to determining the authenticity, there are some vulnerability ratios we look for in a public debt audit,” reported Haveeru.

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DRP too small to take to court: Umar Naseer

Vice President of the Progressive Party of the Maldives (PPM) Umar Naseer has decided to withdraw the case challenging his dismissal from his former party, reports local media.

Naseer told Sun Online that it did not make sense for the VP of the country’s most popular party to take a smaller party to court – the PPM is currently the second largest party in the Majlis and the third largest in the country by membership.

Naseer’s dismissal from the Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) in 2010 preceded the eventual split of the party. Former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom’s decision to leave the political party – the country’s first – resulted in the creation of the PPM in 2011.

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President Waheed inaugurates new Dhiraagu HQ

President Dr Mohamed Waheed Hassan yesterday opened the new head office of local telecommunications group Dhiraagu in Male’, a construction the company claims is the first its kind in the capital to be built to meet specific technical requirements.

President Waheed spoke at a special opening ceremony, playing up the importance of the country’s communications sector to wider development in the Maldives.  He attended the ceremony alongside dignitaries including Minister of Economic Development Ahmed Mohamed.

Dhiraagu itself is one of the country’s largest service providers, dominating the internet and telecommunications sector alongside its main competitor, Wataniya.

According to the company, its new headquarters has been designed to comply with international safety standards, whilst also providing accessibility to wheelchair users and incorporating what it has called advanced energy saving and environmental friendly technologies.

These technologies include the use of 100 percent LED lights across the building, motion sensors, heat reflective glass and ozone friendly refrigerant within the office’s air conditioning units.

On the outside of the structure, Dhiraagu claims that a silver colour PVDF cladding has also been used over a highly reflective glass surface that serves to further reduce heat entry into the building.

Set up back in 1988, the company has said it presently employs over 600 staff across the Maldives, 99 percent of whom are said to be local workers. Dhiraagu’s leading shareholder is presently Cable and Wireless Communications (CWC).

CWC took a controlling stake in Dhiraagu in 2009 when former President Nasheed’s government sold 7 percent of its shares, giving the British-based firm a controlling stake in the company.

Then-opposition parties criticised the sale in local media, arguing that the acquisition of large stakes of domestic companies by foreign investors was bad for the country.

Similar arguments have been levelled against the development of Ibrahim Nasir International Airport (INIA) by Indian company GMR, sparking fears that foreign firms will be deterred from investing in the Maldives.

CWC now controls 52 percent of Dhiraagu’s shares,with the government holding just under 42 percent as of March this year.

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DRP will not contest late PPM MP’s Ungoofaaru seat

After extensive discussions, the Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) has decided not to field a candidate in the December 1 Ungoofaaru by-election for the Majlis seat vacated by the late Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) MP Dr Afrasheem Ali.

“The best thing is to leave the remaining term of the seat to the party which was represented by the late Dr Afrasheem. The decision was also made in light of the fact that Afrasheem had won the seat on this party’s ticket and hence out of respect and admiration for the late MP,” Haveeru reported a DRP statement as saying.

The Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) was said to be preparing to contest the election.  Meanwhile,  it has been reported locally that Dr Afrasheem’s brother, Ibrahim Ameem, would contest in the PPM’s primary for the Ungoofaaru constituency next Thursday.

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Nasheed permitted to leave country for energy award ceremony

Former President Mohamed Nasheed will be allowed to leave the country on October 16 in order to take part in a ceremony for the Zayed Future Energy Award in Abu Dhabi, reports local media.

Nasheed had been restricted from travelling by Hulhumale’ Magistrate Court following the issue of a warrant after Nasheed missed the first hearing in the Abdullah Mohamed detention case.

Nasheed – a world-renowned figure in the fight against climate change – appeared on the judging panel for last year’s Zayed award and has been invited to do so again next year, reported Haveeru.

“Nasheed will leave after completing every legal process,” an immigration official told the paper. “Other than being in the Judges panel there is nothing else scheduled during the visit to Abu Dhabi.”

The US$4million of prizes – named in commemoration of the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan – are described as the largest annual prize in renewable energy and sustainability.

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‘China – Maldives ties model of friendship’: Chinese President

Speaking on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the Maldives and China, President Hu Jintao has described ties between the nations as the “model of friendship between a big country and a small one.”

The Press Trust of India (PTI) reports President Hu Jintao as saying that “China stands ready to work with Maldives to promote the friendship between the two nations to a higher level.”

A Chinese embassy opened in Male’ in time for the opening of the SAARC summit last November, reciprocating the opening of a Maldivian mission in Beijing in 2007.

Chinese state news agency Xinhua reported Hu as saying that China was ready to take the relationship to a higher level.

China leapfrogged the United Kingdom in 2010 to become the number one source of arrivals for the country’s travel industry.

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Criminal Court fines five for obstructing police duty

The Criminal Court has sentenced five men to each pay a fine of MVR 3000 within one month on charges of obstructing police duty.

The case against the five men was based on charges that they had broken through police lines on a protest held on the afternoon of 16th March 2012 near the Republican Square.

The five men who were charged are Hussain Niyaz of Handhaan, K. Huraa, Abdulla Saeed of Zamaanee Villa, G.Dh. Gahdhoo, Hussain Afeef of Dhondhun’burige, S. MaradhooFeydhoo, Ibrahim Ahmed of M. Ogum and Ibrahim Shareef of ShakeeleeHiya, R. Hulhudhuhfaaru.

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Belgian ambassador presents credentials to President Waheed

President Dr Mohamed Waheed Hassan has today received the credentials of Belgium’s new ambassador to the Maldives, Pierre Vaesen.

The ambassador, who is based in the Embassy of Belgium in New Delhi , took part in a ceremony at the President’s Office this morning.

Vaesen discussed measures to increase bilateral ties between the two countries, whose diplomatic relations were established in 1977. The Maldives joint embassy to Belgium and Mission to the European Union was established in Brussels in 2010.

Belgium, which has sent around 3,500 tourists to the Maldives this year, provided over $1.3million to the country in financial assistance following the 2004 tsunami.

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Adaaran resorts chief eyes significant expansion within Maldives

Aitken Spence Hotels has announced plans to expand its operations within the Maldives through its Adaaran resort brand in anticipation of increased tourist interest in the country, according to Sri Lankan media.

Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Adaaran Resorts, Upul Pieris, told the Sri Lanka-based Daily News publication that the hospitality company was considering creating an additional 400 rooms in the Maldives – either by developing new properties on uninhabited islands or through taking over an existing resort.  Negotiations on the proposed expansion were already said to be under-way in the Maldives.

As well as the potential for developing new resort properties, Pieris said that the company was also looking to expand the amount of high-end accommodation types like water bungalows that it presently offered in the Maldives at properties like its Adaaran ‘Prestige’ Vadoo resort.

The resort, which is the company’s latest property to be opened in the Maldives, consists solely of 50 water villa properties that are all based over the waters surrounding the island.

Having been operating in the Maldives since 1993, Pieris claimed that a decision to re-brand Adaaran’s operations in 2005 towards trying to provide a more high-end travel experience had “exceeded” the company’s expectations in terms of revenue.

Tourist demand

Despite growth in arrival numbers to the Maldives over the first eight months of 2012, the total occupancy rate for resorts, hotels, guest houses and safari boats was down 1.2 percentage points in total to 70.8 percent over the same period.

On a year-on-year basis, total average occupancy for August 2012 fell one percentage point to 68 percent.

Addressing this decline, Pieris said that higher occupancy rates were expected in the Maldives over the next quarter in line with plans to attract one million visitors to the country during 2012.

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