Tag: corruption

Transparency Maldives announces extensive election monitoring program

Transparency Maldives has said it will conduct an extensive program of election monitoring during the 2013-14 elections in a bid to ensure the polls are fair and credible.

The Elections Commission (EC) announced this week that presidential elections would be held on September 7, with any run-off election to be held later the same month if required.

Transparency conducted domestic election monitoring during the 2008-2011 cycle of elections, including the country’s first multi-party presidential, parliamentary and local council elections. The results of these elections were widely accepted both locally and internationally – a notable outcome given the high temperature of the country’s politics.

“However, the current political polarisation and the tense, sometimes violent, political environment have strained and continue to further threaten the democratic gains of the previous election processes,” Transparency Maldives warned.

“The next round of elections is currently headed to unfold against this polarised background that appears to deteriorate in terms of political and economic problems,” it added.

In addition to nationwide election monitoring, Transparency Maldives will deploy observers to monitor the entire campaign period, as well as conduct a pre-election technical assessment that includes a focus on voter education.

“Educating voters is a crucial component of a credible election. Voter education is important to instil the values of civic responsibilities and prevent electoral violations such as vote buying and patronage, and change the attitudes of the general public to encourage wider public participation in increasing the integrity of the electoral system,” Transparency said.

The organisation will also run an online complaints mechanism, and perform media monitoring of the country’s heavily polarised fourth pillar.

Behind the “buy-elections”

Election results in the Maldives since 2008 have been widely declared credible by local and international observers, in large part due to a crackdown on practices such as photographing ballots with camera phones, and ‘assisting’ elderly or infirm relatives to vote. However, undemocratic activities in the lead up to polling – such as vote buying, patronage and intimidation – are rampant.

Minivan News observed many such activities first-hand during the Kaashidoo by-elections in April 2012.

“The people of this island will vote for money, they don’t have any principles,” confided a 21 year-old islander at the time. “The problem is that people want to force you to vote for who they support. Everyone should have the right to vote for whoever they want. Arguments within families have gone to the point that people are losing face.”

All sides were guilty of handing out cash, he said, in the guise of extending assistance for medical care: “Some people even use the money for drugs.”

In another instance, Minivan News observed a group of youths openly warning an elderly man in a cafe that they would cut of his cigarette supply unless he voted as they wished.

Other practices are more subtle – youth clubs or island NGOs may receive sizeable donations of cash or equipment in exchange for leaders influencing their members to vote in a certain manner.

During voting day on Kaashidoo, Minivan News observed that both candidates had set up exit poll booths under wide parasols, and were crossing off people who had voted.

Many islanders Minivan News spoke to at the time were open about the assistance they had received, justifying it on the grounds that the campaign period was the only time they would ever see their elected representative.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

Police arrest former head of Disaster Management Centre over fraud investigation

Police have arrested former Immigration Controller and head of the Disaster Management Centre, Abdulla Shahid, in connection with a corruption case involving MVR 24 million (US$1.55 million).

Police Sub-Inspector Hassan Haneef told Minivan News that Shahid was arrested at 11:00am this morning.

‘’He was arrested in connection with an  MVR 24 million fraud case,’’ Haneef said. ‘’Police are conducting a joint investigation with the Anti-Corruption Commission.’’

During his tenure as Immigration Controller under the Nasheed administration, Shahid was a key opponent of the controversial Nexbis border control system, which parliament unanimously voted to terminate in December.

The case involving the Disaster Management Centre concerns an audit report produced by the Auditor General. In the report, the Auditor General alleged that the MVR 24 million was fraudulently obtained from the budget allocated for the Centre for the year 2009 and 2010.

The Auditor General’s special report into the case alleged that the Disaster Management Centre had photocopied, edited and reused ‘Credit Purchase Order Forms’ used in 2005, to withdraw the MVR 24 million from the Centre’s budget at the Finance Ministry.

The ‘Credit Purchase Order Forms’ were originally given to the Disaster Management Centre in 2005 to withdraw cash from the Tsunami Recovery Fund.

The Auditor General’s report also suggested that the Finance Ministry was complicit in the alleged fraud.

In March 2012, the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) sent a corruption case to the Prosecutor General’s Office concerning the Disaster Management Centre and a housing project carried out on Gan in Laamu Atoll, following damage suffered in the 2004 tsunami.

The ACC entered the Disaster Management Centre with a police escort in October last year during the investigation process.

The ACC asked the Prosecutor General’s office to prosecute the two deputy heads of the DMC, and a senior official of the Ministry of Finance and Treasury.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

India and US were never going to donate border control system: Immigration Controller

Controller of Immigration Dr Mohamed Ali has dismissed claims that India and the US had proposed to donate a border control system to the Maldives.

According to local media, the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) had previously stated that India and the US had proposed to set up a border control system free of charge.

The current border control system project contract has been awarded to the Malaysian company Nexbis for a period of 22 years by the previous government, however last month parliament voted unanimously to terminate the agreement over allegations of “foul play”.

Speaking on Television Maldives (TVM), Ali said the Foreign Ministry had confirmed that neither America nor India had proposed to donate the border control system.

“No country has proposed such a system free of charge. I have written to the Foreign Ministry last week and have got it in writing. They said that no country has made such an offer,” Ali was quoted as saying in Sun Online.

According to Ali, the Maldives is currently using US$2.3 million worth of passport reading machines installed in 2003. However the machines are incapable of reading the required software, so Nexbis had won a bid to upgrade the current system.

“The meaning of border control is that, when a foreigner enters the country, we are able know his whereabouts, know when he checks out of one hotel and checks into another, and know how long the person has stayed so that all this will be notified to MIRA, and whatever taxes the person owes can be duly collected.

“For the construction worker, we need to know who brought him into the country, and the site where he is currently working. [The system] has to provide all this,” Sun Online quoted Ali as saying.

Last week the Ministry of Foreign Affairs stalled the handover of 8000 passports to their respective High Commissions claiming that details regarding the owners’ whereabouts still needed to be obtained by immigration authorities.

State Foreign Minister Hassan Saeed said the Foreign Ministry would only deliver the passports to the respective consular authorities once immigration clarified the location of the owners, a task described as “huge” and “difficult” by Immigration Controller Dr Mohamed Ali.

In December last year, parliament voted unanimously to instruct the government to terminate the border control project agreement with Nexbis.

All 74 MPs in attendance voted in favour of the Finance Committee recommendation following a probe into the potential financial burden placed on the state as a result of the deal.

Presenting the Finance Committee report to the floor, Committee Chair MP Ahmed Nazim explained that the “main problem” flagged by the ACC was that the tender had not been made in accordance with the documents from the National Planning Council that authorised the project.

The documents were changed to favour the chosen party and facilitate the deal, Nazim said, which the ACC considered an act of corruption.

Nexbis is “systematically denying” any allegations of corruption, according to a company source, adding that if there was any foul play within the contract “we were unaware of it”.

Earlier this month, Vice President for Nexbis Nafies Aziz told Minivan News that “intelligence” received by the company suggested groups backing the country’s lucrative human trafficking industry could be seeking to stymie the introduction of its border control system to undermine national security controls.

Meanwhile, a source with knowledge of the present immigration and border control system said that should parliament’s termination decision be upheld, the Immigration Department would be returning to “a pen and paper system” for monitoring arrivals to the country.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs inaugurated an initiative targeted at raising awareness of the issue of human trafficking in the Maldives at the beginning of January.

The Maldives has come under strong criticism internationally in recent years for the prevalence of human trafficking, and the country has appeared on the US State Department’s Tier Two Watch List for Human Trafficking three years in a row.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

Human traffickers sabotaging border control deal: Nexbis

The Malaysian IT company at the center of legal wrangling over a deal to provide a border control system (BCS) to the Maldivian government has alleged “criminal elements” could be behind efforts to scupper the agreement.

Vice President for Nexbis Nafies Aziz told Minivan News that “intelligence” received by the company suggested groups backing the country’s lucrative human trafficking industry could be seeking to stymie the introduction of its BCS to undermine national security controls.

The comments were made following an appeal hearing held at the country’s Supreme Court on January 9 to block an unanimous vote by parliament to terminate Nexbis’ agreement with the government over allegations of “foul play”.

The country’s Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) said that regardless of its concerns about human trafficking in the Maldives, a case regarding the Nexbis’ deal had been submitted to the Prosecutor General (PG’s) Office under the previous government.

Meanwhile, a source with knowledge of the present immigration and border control system said that should parliament’s termination decision be upheld, the Immigration Department would be returning to “a pen and paper system” for monitoring arrivals to the country.

The Maldives has come under strong criticism internationally in recent years for the prevalence of people trafficking, and the  country has appeared on the US State Department’s Tier Two Watch List for Human Trafficking for three years in a row.

In a statement to Minivan News, Nexbis Vice President Aziz said that the company was now awaiting the Supreme Court’s decision concerning its appeal hearing on January 9.

“The ACC in the previous Supreme Court hearing submitted that there was no implication on Nexbis or any corruption whatsoever in the contracting state of the Border Control System project,” he said. “The Border Control System is fully implemented and is operational in Male’ International Airport.”

Responding to allegations of wrong-doing in its signing of a border control agreement with the Maldives government, Aziz alleged that “criminal elements supporting human trafficking” had been identified through its “intelligence” as potentially funding a campaign to halt its agreement.

“Stakeholders across the political spectrum have in the recent past all highlighted the growth of human trafficking in the Maldives and pointed out to hundreds of millions of dollars of illegal gains made by the criminal elements behind the growth of human trafficking in the Maldives who stand to lose out the most from the full implementation of the Maldives Immigration Border Control System,” he claimed. “To that end, as the public can clearly see, there is an elaborate amount of money that is being spent to campaign against the Border Control System and the security it will bring to the country.”

Aziz also contended that any attempts to weaken border controls in the country would only serve detrimental to the nation due to not only an “influx of illegal immigrants to the country,” but also the nation’s international standing.

“In addition to this, the Maldives has been on the US State Department’s Tier 2 Watch List for Human Trafficking for three years running now and may possibly be re-classified this year into Tier 3, which is the worst category, if proper controls and systems are not put in place,” he said.

“The implications are far reaching and would again impact the people of Maldives as countries around the world begin imposing stringent visa requirements on Maldivians.”

Aziz said it had become “imperative” for Maldives’ national security that supposed efforts by human traffickers to sabotage its agreement did not succeed.

“The full implementation and operation of the Nexbis BCS will undoubtedly help curb issues of human trafficking, identity fraud as well as weak enforcement controls. The Border Control System encompasses a total end-to-end solution for a Build, Operate, Transfer (BOT) contract term as stipulated by the National Planning Council,” he said.

“This is a proven and internationally certified system, and shall provide the required border control capabilities including foreign worker management and mobile enforcement features, which will increase the efficiency of the current immigration processes. The biometric capabilities of the system are certified to be of the highest performance worldwide for speed and accuracy,” he said.

Immigration Controller Dr Mohamed Ali was not responding to calls at the time of press.

However, a source with knowledge of the current immigration and emigration system – who asked not to be identified – told Minivan News that border control authorities were facing “lots of problems” in performing their function. These problems were said to have arisen due to ongoing wrangling over the Nexbis deal.

While not wishing to comment on Nexbis’ allegations of possible criminal involvement in efforts to halt the project, the source claimed that a failure to implement a BCS like that being offered by the Malaysia-based firm would “strengthen the hand” of human traffickers operating in and out of the country.

The source said that the biometric systems included within Nexbis’ system were a step towards curbing a common practice of returning illegal immigrants – in some cases with criminal convictions – to the Maldives under new identities.

With the Supreme Court yet to decide on the legality of parliament’s decision to terminate the Nexbis agreement, Minivan News understands the company’s BCS is still being used at Ibrahim Nasir International Airport (INIA) to screen arrivals.

However, the source said that Nexbis technical staff who had implemented the border system had been removed from the project, meaning that any bugs or issues with the technology were unable to be resolved.

“We need the system to capture biometric details from passengers in cases where people are changing names. This would make it impossible to create false passport under separate names as people are doing right now,” the source said.

The same source also said the automated system would allow authorities to run background checks on passengers on incoming flights.

A decision to uphold parliament’s decision to cancel the Nexbis agreement – a stance the government has said it will honour – would see immigration officials having to use “a pen and paper system” for monitoring immigration, the source claimed.

ACC view

The MVR 500 million (US$39 million) BCS project moved ahead last year after a series of high-profile court battles and delays that led Nexbis to last year threaten legal action against the Maldivian government should it incur losses for the work already done on the project.

The Malaysia-based mobile security provider has come under scrutiny by political parties who claim that the project is detrimental to the state, while the Anti-Corruption Committee (ACC) has alleged corruption in the bidding process.

Despite Nexbis’ claims that “no implication” of corruption had been registered by the ACC, the corruption commission’s President Hassan Luthfee said his department would only have previously sent a case to the PG’s Office if it held concerns with the agreement.

However, Luthfee also conceded his department had been made aware of issues regarding human trafficking in and out of the country.

“We have received complaints about people smuggling to the country, but we have not been able to start an investigation as the size of such a case is beyond our capacity,” he claimed, adding that the ACC was not tasked to investigate such matters.

“This is just too big a case. [For example] there have been some claims that ships from Sri Lanka and India are travelling to the Maldives around 20 kilometres from Male’ and transferring people to fishing vessels, and from there they are distributed as laborers across the country. These are reports I have received.”

Migrant concerns

Speaking on January 13 at a ceremony to celebrate National Day, President Dr Mohamed Waheed Hassan Manik stated the Maldives was being “forced” to take measures against changes to the “national character” due to the rising number of migrant workers in the country.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs earlier this month inaugurated an initiative targeted at raising awareness of the human trafficking issue in the Maldives.

The strategy, entitled ‘Blue Ribbon Campaign Against Human Trafficking’ is expected to include activities to try and raise awareness among students and the business community.

The Foreign Ministry announced that it had signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with multiple local media outlets in the country as part of the campaign’s aim to raising awareness of human trafficking and other related issues.

Meanwhile, late last year, Indian authorities told Minivan News that tightened restrictions on providing medical visas to Maldivians was a “signal” for the country’s government to address a number of concerns about the nation’s treatment of migrant workers.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

Maldives legal system “inaccessible” to migrant workers: Transparency Maldives

Migrant workers suffering poor treatment from their employers are giving up on taking their cases to court due to the “inaccessibility” of the Maldives legal system, an official from Transparency Maldives’ Advocacy and Legal Advice Centre (ALAC) has claimed.

ALAC Communications and Advocacy Manager Aiman Rasheed told Minivan News today that a large number of human rights abuse cases in the Maldives are “potentially” going unreported due to foreign workers not taking their disputes to court.

Rasheed claimed that both defects within government bodies and corruption were to blame for the human rights abuses affecting migrant workers.

“We are finding that a lot of the issues raised at our ALAC mobile camps involve employees not receiving their wages, having their passports confiscated by employers or are living in sub-standard living conditions,” Rasheed said.

Because of the perceived inaccessibility to the legal system in the country, Rasheed claimed that a lot of injustices involving migrant workers were not being taken to court.

“Getting involved in a legal case is a very costly process. It is very hard for a normal person to afford the services and the process can take a very long time.

“The problem is that we [ALAC] appear to be the only agency providing free legal advice to migrant workers, despite authorities recognising there is a need for free advice,” Rasheed claimed.

Since being launched back in 2012, ALAC has been providing free legal advice and training to victims and witnesses of corruption through mobile camps in Vaavu Atoll and Addu City.

So far, ALAC has assisted with 64 ongoing legal cases related to migrant rights abuses in just six months, whilst further providing advice and training to over 3,000 individuals, Rasheed claimed.

“While we cannot provide financial support to these individuals, we can offer guidance through our lawyers making the entire legal process a lot easier to navigate,” he said.

“We are wanting to further strengthen our partnership with state departments, because this is a national problem.”

While state departments have begun to introduce initiatives targeted at raising awareness of human rights abuse, in particular the ongoing issue of human trafficking, Rasheed claims that there has been no “serious action” taken to address the problem.

“There is a good reason as to why we are on the US State Department’s Tier Two watch list for human trafficking for [three] years in a row,” he added.

Blue Ribbon Campaign Against Human Trafficking

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs Yesterday (January 9) inaugurated an initiative targeted at raising awareness of the human trafficking issue in the Maldives.

The strategy, entitled ‘Blue Ribbon Campaign Against Human Trafficking’ is expected to include activities to try and raise awareness among students and the business community.

The tourism industry, which employs the largest number of foreign staff in the country, was identified as another key focus of the initiative.

The Foreign Ministry announced that it had signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with multiple local media outlets in the country as part of the campaign’s aim to raising awareness of human trafficking and other related issues.

India’s concerns

Last month, Indian authorities raised concerns about the treatment of migrant workers in Maldives, stating that the tightened restrictions over providing medical visas to Maldivians was a “signal” for the Maldivian government to address the their concerns.

The commission spokesperson added that the introduction of the tighter regulations was imposed as a clear “signal” from Indian authorities that the concerns it had over practices in the Maldives such as the confiscation of passports of migrant workers, needed to be brought to an end.

On November 26, 2o12, a public notice had been issued by the Maldives Immigration Department requesting no employer in the country should be holding passports of expatriate workers.

Back in October, a senior Indian diplomatic official in the Maldives had expressed concern over the ongoing practice of confiscating passports of migrant workers arriving to the country from across South Asia – likening the practice to slavery.

The high commission also claimed this year that skilled expatriate workers from India, employed in the Maldives education sector, had continued to be “penalised” due to both government and private sector employers failing to fulfil their responsibilities.

Individuals wishing for free legal advice from Transparency Maldives’ Advocacy and Legal Advice Centre can contact the organisation for free on (800) 3003567

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

PG asks High Court to void dismissal of Deputy Speaker Nazim’s corruption cases

The Prosecutor General (PG’s) Office today requested that the High Court void a previous Criminal Court dismissal of four corruption cases against People’s Alliance (PA) MP and Deputy Speaker of Parliament Ahmed Nazim.

Nazim had been cleared by the Criminal Court of all four corruption charges against him on February 23, 2012. The decision was taken 16 days after the controversial transfer of power on February 7, with the court ruling that Nazim’s “acts were not enough to criminalize him.”

All four cases concerned public procurement tenders of the former Atolls Ministry, which were alleged to have been secured through fraudulent documents and paper companies.

The state prosecutor during today’s hearing claimed that the Criminal Court had acted in contradiction to the procedures normally applied in criminal cases.

The prosecutor also alleged that in passing the ruling to dismiss the cases, the Criminal Court had failed to consider any of the evidence provided by the state.

During today’s appeal hearing, the PG’s Office stated that the dismissal of the cases had breached the constitutional decree of equal treatment to all citizens. Concerns were also raised that the Criminal Court had acted against the norms of procedure in similar cases by ruling that two counts of fraud cases against Nazim could not be prosecuted.

Considering these grounds, the state asked the High Court to rule void the Criminal Court’s dismissal of the four cases, and to order the court to rule on the cases anew.

Nazim dismissed the state’s allegations in court today, local media reported. Speaking on his behalf, his lawyer alleged that the state’s appeal case was “based around a lie”.

Nazim’s lawyer responded to the state’s allegation that the Criminal Court had not followed procedures by claiming that the court had presented the state with an opportunity to present their case during hearings.

The defendant’s lawyer also alleged that the witnesses named by the state had not been presented in court as they were not believed to be fair or impartial witnesses.

Last month, Nazim slammed PG Ahmed Muizzu in parliament, stating that he had failed to either come to a decision on or forward to court some 72 percent of cases submitted to his office by the Maldives Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC).

The criticisms levelled by Nazim were dismissed at the time by the PG himself, who said that the claims were inaccurate.

PG Ahmed Muizzu and MP Ahmed Nazim were not responding to calls at the time of press.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

Auditor general alleges several inconsistencies in Ministry of Human Resources 2010 audit report

Auditor General (AG) Niyaz Ibrahim has alleged that several inconsistencies in spending have been identified in the Ministry of Human Resources, Youth and Sports’ 2010 audit report.

The discrepancies highlighted in the report (Dhivehi) include a failure to prepare the ministry’s financial statements in accordance to legal standards, as well as certain spending on a number of projects and events.

Speaking to Minivan News today, former Minister of Human Resources, Youth and Sports Hassan Latheef questioned how complete the AG’s research had been, adding that the documents identified as missing in the audit report would have been available.

Latheef who was in charge of the ministry until the controversial transfer of power in February last year, claimed that the AG’s report was misleading.  Although he did not dismiss the report’s conclusions outright, Latheef maintained that the AG’s findings were incomplete and would have been more accurate if it had consulted with staff working at the ministry during his tenure.

Copies of the AG’s report are to be sent to President Waheed and parliament, as well as other relevant authorities. The AG has also called on to the authorities to investigate the findings of the report and take action against those who are found responsible.

In the report, which was released on Thursday (January 3), the AG’s office stated that it did not believe the Human Resources Ministry had spent its budget in compliance with the Public Finance Act (Act No. 3/2006) and Public Finance Regulation.  The findings therefore included recommendations to reclaim the sum of money believed to have been spent outside of the regulations.

Inconsistencies

Amidst the AG’s findings, the report claimed that the Human Resources Ministry had failed to prepare its financial statement for 2010 as stipulated in the Public Finance Regulation.

“The Ministry of Human Resources, Youth and Sports’ financial statements were not prepared in accordance with the standards set by the International Public Sector Standards (IPSAS) board,” the report stated.

AG Niyaz also alleged that the ministry had failed to recover funds owed to the state by different parties from several outsourced projects, including a project to set up and run a canteen at the Maafannu Cricket Stadium.

The AG claimed that a sum of MVR 487,875 (US$ 31,639.15) was owed to the state as a result of the project, which included rent and fines.  The report added that the Human Resources Ministry had failed to take adequate measures to recover the outstanding sum of money.

In an another claim, the AG alleged that the ministry had failed to recover a sum of MVR 237,000 (US$ 15,369.65) owed to the state as both rent and fines from “Ekuveni Canteen”.  The report recommended the ministry recover money from the parties, calling on authorities to take action against those found to have failed to comply with the laws and regulations.

Illegal transfer of funds

The report also highlighted several cases where funds were transferred by the Human Resources Ministry to projects that the AG claimed were carried out in contradiction to national laws. Included among the highlighted cases was a transfer of MVR 130,000 (US$ 8,430.60) to the Cricket Control Board as a payment for work carried and payment of MVR 14,500 (US$ 940.33) for another company.

The report also raised concerns over sums of MVR 75,000 (US$ 4,863.81) and MVR 50,000 (US$ 3,242.54) transferred to two NGO’s said to have close ties with an unidentified senior ministerial figure. Another issue was a sum of MVR 153,274.80 (US$ 9,940.00) that had been provided to a music band who had not even requested for the money “according to the documents”.

Spending on travel expenses of a parliament member

The AG’s report stated that the Human Resources Ministry budget had also been used to cover an MP’s travel expenses during a trip with then Minister Hassan Latheef to watch the finals of 2010 AFC Challenge Cup held in Sri Lanka.

According to the report, the Ministry spent a total of MVR 15,280.60 (US$ 990.96), which  included a sum of MVR 12,057.60 (US$ 781.95) for pocket money, incidental allowance, accommodation and meals.  The remaining MVR 3,223 (US$ 209.01) was used to cover the MP’s air ticket to watch the football match.

The AG’s office recommended that the ministry bring its budget spending in accordance with the Public Finance Regulations. The report also raised questions as to what capacity the MP had travelled with the minister, as well as the grounds for the government to cover the subsequent travelling expenses.

According to the report, the ministry was advised to retrieve all monies spent by the MP, referring again to measures within public finance laws and regulations.

Former Minister’s response

Responding to the AG’s Office report today, former Human Resources Minister Hassan Latheef said that the MP who travelled with him, as mentioned in the report, was Hamid Abdul Ghafoor of the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP).  According to Latheef,  Ghafoor – formerly a state minister in the ministry prior to his election to parliament – was accompanying him as a “technical consultant” on the trip.

“Actually it was not just simply a final match. I went there to meet the President of Asian Football Association (AFC) Mohammed bin Hammam. I had sent a letter to Hamid Abdul Ghafoor to accompany me as a technical consultant because I do not possess the technical knowledge of football. So I had requested Ghafoor in official capacity. I even can assure you that a copy of the letter would also be there,” he explained.

Latheef contended that after looking at the numbers, it would be clear that the ministry had spent the minimum required amount for travel expenses and had not intended to “award [MP Ghafoor] a stack of cash”.

“It was neither carried out in a politically motived way nor as a friend. He went as a technical consultant. Now people would ask why Ghafoor was selected. I believe the minister would have the discretion to decide who he would take,” he added.

“This is not something new. For instance, a person who is not even in the government or even in politics went as a chief guest to attend the SAARC Youth Camp held in Addu City in 2011. But it will be our ministry who would be giving his accommodation and travel expenses. How can that be called corruption or politically motivated?”

According to Latheef, the AG had been requested to audit the Human Resources Ministry’s operations back in 2008 shortly after he assumed his position under the government of former President Mohamed Nasheed. According to Latheef, the AG had at the time said that it had already audited the former Employment Ministry and could therefore only look at the youth and sports operations.

“When it was getting delayed, I even sent a letter in 2009 as well asking the AG to audit the ministry” he said.

“I know the AG would only base his report on documents, but if he had asked our collaboration, we would have helped. Things get confusing when you wake up the next morning to see a new government has taken over through a coup. Had we been there when the auditing took place, I am sure the documents which the AG had noted missing would have been found,” he explained.

Amidst other concerns identified in the report, Latheef dismissed claims he had failed to try and retrieve funds spent by the ministry. He added that the ministry, during his tenure, was working on retrieving funds from the said parties and some of the cases were being investigated by police in cases where the ministry had filed for non-payment of rent.

Responding additionally to concerns about providing payment to the band identified in the AG’s findings, Latheef claimed that the report had said it was the responsibility of the National Sports Council to set the procedures for which performers can be paid. Latheef however dismissed the claim, stating that it was the ministry’s responsibility.

“The sports council does not do that. It is the responsibility of the [Human Resources] Ministry.  The Sports Council can set the mechanism on how the sports associations are given money. They don’t have to do that for music bands,” he said.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

Maldives omitted from 2012 global corruption index due to “insufficient data”

The Maldives has been omitted from Transparency International’s global Corruption Perception Index (CPI) for 2012 after it failed to receive required data from one of the three sources used to determine how it fares against other nations in terms of transparency.

The CPI ranks 176 nations in terms of their perceived corruption. States such as Denmark and Singapore rate at the top, while nations such as Zimbabwe and Somalia fall at the bottom of the index.

Last year the Maldives found itself placed 134 on the CPI, a slight improvement on 2010, despite continued fears of a “systemic failure to address corruption” by Transparency Maldives, the NGO’s local affiliate.

Transparency Maldives Project Director Aiman Rasheed told Minivan News that the Maldives’ failure to be included within the 2012 CPI “would raise a few eyebrows” internationally.

However Rasheed said that he did not expect there to be a significant detrimental impact in how the nation was already perceived by financiers, investors and other development groups.

“We have been included [on the CPI] for the last few years in 2011, 2010 and 2009, so I don’t think the ranking for this year will have been a big departure from these,” he said, adding that the challenges facing the country as a result of corruption still existed in 2012.

Rasheed said the CPI was a composite index based on information from a number of sources including the World Bank. He explained that of the three sources on which the Maldives’ CPI position was determined, the Asia Development Bank (ADB) had this year not supplied the required information needed by Transparency Maldives to compile its findings.

“We don’t have any reason for why this has happened and I would not wish to speculate,” he said.

However, a source with knowledge of the matter told Minivan News on condition of anonymity that there could be a number of reasons for the ADB failing to provide information on the Maldives.  These reasons were said to include a possible failure by the government over the last 12 months to provide statistics and figures to the ADB.

The ADB was not responding to calls from Minivan News at time of press.

Questioned as to how the country’s omission from the 2012 index would reflect on Transparency Maldives’ own work, Project Director Rasheed said it would be vital to clearly communicate with international groups the reasons for not being included this year.

“It does present us with some challenges. We have to hope people understand that there was insufficient information received,” he said.

Transparency Maldives last year alleged that the Maldives continued to be rated as having more perceived corruption that many other neighbouring countries, a situation linked to what it claimed was a lack of accountability and transparency across the country’s judiciary, parliament and members of the executive. The NGO maintained that last December that there remained a “systemic failure” within the national mechanisms established to bring accountability to the branches of state.

Just last month, a senior legal official who served under the current and former administrations has claimed the country’s legal system is wide open to corruption by allowing individual judges to schedule court hearings at their whim.

The legal figure, who has been involved in some of the country’s highest profile cases heard in recent years, told Minivan News it was “quite evident” that the lack of a centralised system for scheduling legal hearings was not only resulting in massive inefficiency, but also allowing for corruption within the country’s court system.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

IPU’s findings of alleged human rights abuses against MPs to be revealed tomorrow

The Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) delegation sent to Maldives to tackle alleged human rights abuses of MPs will be holding a press conference tomorrow to discuss their findings.

The IPU’s human rights mission to Maldives comes after increasing reports of political intimidation and turmoil following former President Mohamed Nasshed’s removal from office earlier this year.

The three-day mission from November 20 to 22 includes Philippine Senator Pangilinan from IPU’s Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians and IPUS’s Human Rights programme head – along with two other IPU delegates – conducting several high-level meetings at the invitation of the government.

The talks will include discussions with President Mohamed Waheed, government ministers, the Speaker of the national parliament and other high level parliament and judicial authorities.

Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) MP for Galohu North Eva Abdulla, who participated in the meeting of IPU Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians on October 21, said that the IPU has already condemned the attacks and continued harassment of MPs, whilst “expressing concern” at the delay in the investigation and prosecution of wrongdoers.

“What this trip will highlight to the IPU is that MPs are under even more threat now. Not only has not a single case against the police has not been prosecuted, but instead we are seeing that almost every single MP who filed a case with the Human Rights Commission (HRCM) or Police Integrity Commission (PIC) are they themselves being prosecuted in return.

“In addition, the government is targeting the parliament as a whole, as well as individual MPs,” Eva told Minivan News.

According to a press release issued by the IPU on Tuesday (November 20), currently 19 Maldivian MPs from the MDP have lodged cases with the IPU Committee over allegations of “excessive violence, arbitrary arrests, intimidation and criminal charges believed to be politically motivated”.

The IPU also mission intends to address incidents involving the arrests and intimidation of other MPs in the past few days.

Two MPs, along with other senior figures in the MDP were recently arrested for the alleged possession of drugs and alcohol on the island of Hodaidhoo in Haa Dhaal Atoll.

Whilst police said that they had found large amounts of “suspected” drugs and alcohol upon searching the island, MDP alleged the arrests were a politically-motivated attempt to disrupt parliament ahead of a no confidence motion against President Waheed, and an amendment to voting procedure to make such votes secret.

Jumhoree Party (JP) MP Abdulla Jabir – who was arrested during the raid, but has since been released – alleged the way in which the police conducted the raid was like that of a “terrorist killing operation”.

A press release from MDP on November 19, regarding the treatment of former SAARC Secretary General and Special Envoy to former President Nasheed, Ibrahim Hussain Zaki, who was hospitalised as a result of the police operation, claims that the “attack” is part of a pattern which has seen opponents of Mohamed Waheed “regularly imprisoned and/or beaten by police”.

Speaking about the case, MDP’s international spokesperson Hamid Abdul Ghafoor – also arrested and allegedly beaten alongside Zaki – said: “The attack against Zaki is an attack against democracy and against India. It is a further example, if one were needed, of the Maldives’ descent into a police state – where the security forces are beyond criticism, and can act with complete impunity”.

In the build up to the vote on taking secret votes in no confidence motions against President Waheed Hassan Manik and other cabinet members, further allegations made by Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) MP Ali Azim claim that the president and other senior members of the executive had approached him, offering to cancel the court summons if he agreed to vote for the secret balloting in a way they preferred.

Days prior to the secret voting motion, DRP MPs Mohamed Nashiz and Azim had been ordered to appear in court over the the failure of Funaddoo Tuna Products to repay loans worth MVR 117 million (US$7.5 million) to the Bank of Maldives.

Azim alleged that in addition to Waheed, his Political Advisor Ahmed Thaufeeq and Spokesperson Abbas Adil Riza had called him and made similar statements.

The decision by the IPU to carry out the mission was decided at IPU’s 127th Assembly in Quebec City last month in a series of resolutions recommended by the IPU Committee.

According this week’s press release, the committee expressed “deep concern at reports of renewed ill-treatment, detention and harassment of the MPs by law enforcement officers as well as shock at the killing of MP Afrasheem Ali in early October”.

The press release further states: “Maldives has been in political crisis since February when incumbent President Mohamed Nasheed was replaced by his Vice-President Mohamed Waheed. Since then, there has been growing international concern at the political intimidation and serious outbreaks of violence in the country.”

In March, the MDP parliamentary group submitted cases alleging police brutality against the former ruling party’s MPs to the IPU’s human rights committee at the 126th Assembly held at Kampala, Uganda.

The cases concerned targeted police brutality against MDP MPs on February 7 and 8, in particular on the latter date during a heavy-handed police crackdown on an MDP protest march that left scores injured and hospitalised, including former MDP parliamentary group leader and Hulhu-Henveiru MP ‘Reeko’ Moosa Manik and Maafanu South MP Ibrahim Rasheed ‘Bonda’.

Three classified reports by the IPU concerning police brutality against MDP MPs have been shared with parliament and the executive since the transfer of presidential power on February 7, the party revealed last month.

The IPU is a global organisation of parliaments, established in 1889. It works to foster coordination and exchange between representative institutions across the globe. The IPU also offers technical support to affiliated nations. The Maldives has been a member of the organisation since 2005.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)