Category: News in Brief

Attorney General Shakoor in London for CMAG meeting

Attorney General (AG) Azima Shakoor is representing the government during the latest round of Commonwelath Ministerial Action Group (CMAG) talks being held today, local media has reported.

Speaking to Haveeru, the AG said that she had travelled to the UK following an invitation to attend the event. She added that the Commonwealth’s special envoy to the Maldives, Sir Donald McKinnon would also be in attendance.

CMAG has previously called for early elections and an investigation into the transfer of power on Februray 7 and will give a press conference immediately after the meeting’s conclusion today.

Minivan News was unable to contact AG Shakoor or Special Advisor to the President Dr Hassan Saeed at the time of press.

Dr Saeed is reported as having claimed in local press that the Commonwealth would hold off from further calls for early elections until the Committee for National Inquiry (CNI) had completed its investigation.

The CNI committee, assigned to look into the events of the presidential changeover by President Dr Mohamed Waheed Hassan, is due to publish its results by the end of May.

The party of former President Mohamed Nasheed has nonetheless refused to work with the CNI, arguing it lacks impartiality.

International groups, including the Commonwealth, have strongly urged that the committee to feature an international element but progress on this front has been slow.

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President discusses nutrition, agricultural challenges during Thaa Atoll visit

The Maldives must step up local agricultural production in order to improve food security and nutrition standards across the nation, President Mohamed Waheed Hassan said during a visit to Thaa Atoll over the weekend.

Speaking from Veymandoo, the president claimed that the island was a positive example for how “starchy staples” and other produce could be grown in the country.

According to the President’s Office website, President Waheed used his address in Thaa Atoll to raise concerns about nutrition and wider health standards across the nation.

Dr Waheed claimed that over the past several years, considerable efforts had been taken to improve public health nationally and at island level. However, he claimed that the privitisation policies of the previous government – under which he served as vice president – had negatively affected the health sector.

Earlier this month, senior medical experts and NGOs speaking to Minivan News identified concerns about the level of malnutrition in the country, particularly amongst children and pregnant women.

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Mixed fortunes for pro-government parties in island council voting

There were mixed fortunes for government aligned parties in island council by-elections held yesterday in contrast to the national unity government’s success in simultaneous parliamentary polls.

In polls for the vacant seat on the Haa Dhaal Kumundhoo Island Council, PPM candidate Mohamed Shafy received 257 votes to beat MDP rival Aishath Hassan and the Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party’s (DRP) Abdul Hakeem. The polls saw the MDP lose its majority on the local council.

Hassan ultimately finished in second place having secured 164 votes, followed by Hakeem with 123.

In the Thaa Gaadhifushi Island Council contest, MDP candidate Mohamed Irushad won the seat, which is based in the Thimarafushi constituency, by securing 223 votes against PPM’s Hussein Ziyau.  PPM candidate Ziyau tallied 169 votes.

Though yesterday’s by-elections saw the first contest for parliamentary seats since the controversial transfer of power that bought President Mohamed Waheed Hassan to power in February, an island council by-election was held in Noonu Maafaru on March 17.

MDP candidate Abdulla Majid Ali took the Noonu Maafaru seat with 240 votes, winning by a margin of four against PPM candidate Muslih Mohamed, who tallied 236 votes.

The seat was previously held by a DRP councillor.

Five by-elections have now been successfully concluded since February 7, with the MDP telling local media today that it accepted that outcome of all recent local by-elections. The MDP’s position comes as the party pushes ahead with calls for early presidential elections.

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Former President Gayoom to attend by-elections victory celebrations in Guraidhoo

Former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom is to reportedly visit Guraidhoo in Thaa Atoll this evening to celebrate the victory of government-aligned political parties in yesterday’s parliamentary by-elections.

The by-elections were held to elect MPs for the constituencies of Kaashidhoo and Thimarafushi – both seats were won by parties in the national unity government of current President Mohamed Waheed Hassan.

The Thimarafushi seat was formerly filled by Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) MP Mohamed Mustafa, but the seat was yesterday won by Mohamed Shareef, a candidate for Gayoom’s Progressive Party of the Maldives (PPM).

The Jumhoory Party’s (JP) Abdullah Jabir meanwhile claimed the Kaashidhoo seat.

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Silicon Valley joins the Maldives on sea level rise threat list: Forbes

Silicon Valley, home to some of the world’s most prominent software groups and tech innovators, is joining the Maldives in trying to battle a potential rise in sea levels that could threaten to submerge both locations.

Writing for Forbes, Anthony Wing Kosner points to a new US$1 billion, 10 year fund raising plan launched Thursday by US Business Leaders and Senator Dianne Feinstein to try and prevent the California headquarters of Silicon Valley giants like Facebook from being submerged.

That $1 Billion that Facebook just paid for Instagram could have paid for updating the levees and restoring the wetlands in the drained former site of San Francisco Bay that is now Silicon Valley, home to Facebook, Google and billions of dollars of real estate. That the Valley has joined the Maldives (with somewhat less urgency) on the list of those threatened by potential sea level rise is actually a good thing.

Whether through floating architecture, alternative energy, better storm prediction or any number of other innovations, the future of humanity on earth is relying on the brain power of places like Silicon Valley to solve the problems caused by the planet’s increasing use of energy. The tech companies could move to higher ground, of course, an option not available in the Maldives, but the geographical web of social connections is so intense in the Valley that there are strong reasons to persist.

Read more

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PPM criticises MCC’s land allocation

The Progressive Party of the Maldives (PPM) had criticised the policies of Male’ City Council (MCC) over the allocation of land, arguing that the current policies are in violation of decentralisation laws.

The PPM claimed today that the Maldivian Democratic Party(MDP) have been granted land at surfer’s point an Usfangandi, whilst requests from other parties for space to use have been rejected, Haveeru has reported.

The MCC responded in local media that the land allocation complied with current regulations.

During the week it emerged that the Housing Ministry had issued a letter to the MCC informing them of their decision to take the Usfangandu area away from the Council’s control due to the continued political activity on the site. The MDP lease was due to run until the end of June.

The court case concerning the removal of the MDP from the surfer’s point area last month was dismissed this week after the judge ruled that MDP interim chairperon Moosa ‘Reeko’ Manik did not have the authority to submit the case on behalf of his party.

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Tourists and crew unhurt in safari boat reef collision

No injuries have been reported after a safari boat yesterday collided with a reef in Maldivian waters, military officials have confirmed.
Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) spokesperson Colonel Abdul Raheem said that crew and tourists aboard the crashed vessel had since been transferred to another diving boat.  The MNDf spokesperson said he was unsure as yet if the boat had been removed from the reef where it collided.
The Sun Online news agency reported that the collision occurred yesterday evening within the reef of  K. Fushidhiggaru and involved a boat called the Royal Manta.  According to the report, 23 tourists and 15 crew were on-board the vessel at the time of the crash.
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ACC appeals court ruling on Nexbis case

The Anti-Corruption Commission has appealed the Civil Court’s ruling against the commission’s decision to terminate border control system contracted to Malaysia’s Nexbis Limited in November 2010.

The court ruled in January 2011, that ACC does not have the legal authority to order the Department of Immigration and Emigration to terminate the project agreement.

ACC filed a court case against the Rf500 million (US$39 million) Nexbis system in November 2011, two days after cabinet decided to resume the project. The decision contradicted ACC’s  earlier command to terminate the existing agreement with Nexbis and re-tender the project with the cabinet’s consent.

In 2010, the ACC announced it had received “a serious complaint” regarding “technical details” of the bid, and issued an injunction pending an investigation into the agreement citing “instances and opportunities” where corruption may have occurred.

After the investigation, the commission deemed the procedure of awarding the project to Nexbis was corrupt, and ordered the Immigration Department to terminate the project.

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