Tag: DQP

Former President Nasheed denounces DQP’s economic criticism of GMR contract

Former President Mohamed Nasheed on Sunday slammed a pamphlet released by the Dhivehi Qaumee Party (DQP) which claims to detail the financial loss caused to the country through leasing the international airport to Indian infrastructure giant company, GMR.

“I assure you that no loss at all would be caused to the Maldivian people through having a foreign company manage the airport,” Nasheed assured the crowds of over 1500 supporters gathered at Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP)’s rally grounds Usfasgandu on Sunday night.

During his speech, Nasheed broke down the figures published in the book titled “Loss and Challenges of the long-term leasing of Male’ International Airport to GMR” written by current Special Advisor to the President, Dr Hassan Saeed. He further emphasised the inconsistencies that those figures held in comparison with the values he put forth with reference to external sources and the GMR contract.

“I am inclined to think that these people who have written this book must have studied their mathematics in an opium field in Afghanistan’s Kandahar. There is no other way that they could have gotten their arithmetic so completely wrong,” Nasheed said.

Nasheed said that while the book cites the MDP government’s estimation of a profit of MVR 45 billion in the next 25 years if GMR managed the airport, it went on to state that if the government took over management, they stood to receive a profit of MVR 60 billion (US$3.9 billion).

Elaborating on what the book had provided as backing for the said claim, Nasheed said “The first estimate they’ve made is that airport growth will increase by 25 percent every year. However, the IFC, World Bank, and other relevant international entities tell us that the rate of growth will be between 3.5 and 4.5 percent.”

“What is being said here is that the number of people coming to our airport far exceeds the number of tourist beds in the country. Even taking this to account, I see that they have sneaked in MVR 12 billion (US$778 million) to reach this 60 billion,” Nasheed said.

Nasheed added that the book had failed to consider the expenses that the Duty Free shops would pose, instead noting only estimated earnings.

“Usually expenses add up to 75 percent of earnings. Therefore, MVR 19.5 billion (US$1.26 billion) has been sneaked in to reach that 60 billion figure,” Nasheed stated.

“They also say that GMR is to invest MVR 4.8 billion (US$311 million) [over the lifespan of the contract] but I can without a doubt tell you that in accordance with the contract, GMR is to invest MVR 8.9 billion (US$577 million),” he further said.

Nasheed also pointed out that while the book claimed the government would finance the airport through a direct loan, they had omitted payment of any interest on the loan.

“In their accounting, they have not put down any expenses for the Maldives Airports Company Limited (MACL). These expenses are at least a MVR 110 million (US$7.14 million) per year, so again MVR 2.7 billion (US$175 million) needs to be taken out from this said MVR 60 billion.”

“In conclusion, the actual figures show that if MACL manages the airport, the government will receive MVR 18 billion (US$1.16 billion) over the next 25 years. Whereas if GMR manages it, the government will receive MVR 45 billion (US$2.92 billion) – that is MVR 1.6 billion (US$103.7 million) per year,” stated Nasheed.

Nasheed further claimed that under the contract, the Passenger Service Tax (US$18 US from foreigners and US$12 from locals) which used to be paid to MACL was now paid directly to the government.

“Thus in addition to the figures I’ve just shared, an additional MVR 324 million (US$21 million) will go into the government budget,” Nasheed claimed.

“No truth in government’s claims to nationalise airport”: Nasheed

Nasheed said that statements regarding “reclaiming” the airport from GMR were “highly irresponsible”, stating that such words from a government could cause irreparable damage to the country.

“Most of us citizens will doubtless understand that putting up banners with slogans all over the streets of Male’ and raising voices against India holds no benefits at all for the country,” Nasheed said, criticising the current ‘Airport Week’ being marked by the unity government parties.

Nasheed further alleged that airport nationalisation was a topic currently being used by political actors for their own personal interests .

“They are talking about the airport, and the religion of Islam, nationalism, national heritage and patriotism for the sole purpose of pulling the wool over people’s eyes and to orchestrate the coup,” Nasheed continued. “Even today they are not really trying to take the airport back from the GMR. This talk about the Adhaalath Party and Waheed’s government nationalising the airport has no amount of truth in it,” he said.

“I remember one mutinying officer on February 7 saying that he was there because the MDP government had sold the airport his father and grandfather had built. I want to say that the airport is still there. The only difference is that it roof is no longer leaking,” Nasheed said.

Nasheed ended his speech sharing his wish that the airport was developed by a capable company and that it would in future become the best of its kind across Asia.

Minivan News tried contacting Hassan Saeed, but he was not responding to calls at time of press.

DQP Secretary General Abdulla Ameen, President of the Adhaalath Party (AP) Sheikh Imran Abdulla, and Minister of Islamic Affairs and AP Member Sheikh Mohamed Shaheem Ali Saeed were also not responding to calls.

The Adhaalath Party has previously called on President Mohamed Waheed Hassan and other coalition parties to not conduct any communication with GMR which might disrupt the government’s push for airport nationalisation, a push it praised as “national jihad”.

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MP Riyaz Rasheed threatens to sue Finance Minister, Attorney General over state benefits to former President Nasheed

Dhivehi Qaumee Party (DQP) MP Riyaz Rasheed threatened to sue Finance Abdulla Jihad and Attorney General Azima Shukoor at parliament today for providing state benefits to former President Mohamed Nasheed under the Privileges and Protection for former President’s Act of 2009.

Riyaz’s remarks came during introduction of a bill the MP for Thaa Atoll Vilufushi has submitted to bring amendments to the 2009 law, specifying circumstances where the financial benefits could be denied to ex-Presidents.

Riyaz contended that former President Nasheed was not eligible for financial benefits under the law as he had not completed a full five-year term.

While the government had initially questioned Nasheed’s eligibility, the Finance Ministry began providing the financial benefits to the former President in May 2012.

“Even though the Finance Minister is doing it [releasing the funds] based on legal advice from the Attorney General, they have to answer for this,” Riyaz said today. “There will come a day when these two will face a lawsuit over this. We are waiting for the day when this government ends. We will sue the Attorney General and Finance Minister on that day.”

He however added that it was “not easy to proceed with this now” as the DQP was part of the ruling coalition.

Riyaz’s amendments meanwhile state that ex-Presidents would not be eligible for state benefits if they committed or participated in an unlawful act or encouraged such an act.

Moreover, former Presidents would be deprived of all privileges and protection if they commit or encourage an act that threatens the country’s independence; commit an act that leads to the loss of Maldivian territory; commit or encourage an act of terrorism, join a terrorist organisation or call for others to join such a group; and commit, encourage or call for “an act that could pulverize the country’s economy”.

If a former president is convicted of corruption, embezzlement or misappropriation of public funds during his or her tenure, Riyaz’s amendments state that he or she would be deprived of state benefits for a period of 10 years.

If the amount embezzled or misappropriated exceeds MVR 10,000 (US$650) the amendment proposes extending the period by one month for each additional MVR 1,000 (US$65).

In addition, if a former president is convicted of a criminal offence committed while in office, state benefits would be discontinued for a period of 10 years.

If a former president is convicted of a criminal offence committed after leaving office, he or she would be deprived of state benefits for five years.

During today’s debate, MPs of the formerly ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) claimed that the purpose of Riyaz’s amendments was to terminate state benefits to former President Nasheed, accusing him of personally targeting the MDP presidential candidate.

Government-aligned Jumhooree Party (JP) MP Alhan Fahmy – former vice president of MDP before defecting to the JP – agreed with his former colleagues that the bill was “politically motivated” and submitted “out of personal animosity.”

Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) MP Ilham Ahmed however supported the amendments and suggested that Nasheed should not receive state benefits based on the former President’s disrespect of courts, alleged sale of national assets and call for a tourism boycott.

Meanwhile, the office of former President Nasheed last week accused the government of “negligence” in providing the legally mandated monthly allowance to cover expenses of the office.

In a press release on Thursday, the former president’s office noted that article 8 of the Privileges and Protection for Former President’s Act (Dhivehi) states, “In the event that a former president wishes to conduct social work beneficial to the community, the state shall provide up to MVR175,000 (US$11,350) a month to arrange for an office, employees and other matters.”

Article 128 of the constitution states that a former president “serving his term of office lawfully without committing any offence, shall be entitled to the highest honour dignity, protection, financial privileges and other privileges entitled to a person who has served in the highest office of the land.”

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“The word coalition is not meaningful in the Maldives”: DRP Deputy Leader

Deputy Leader of the Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP), Dr Abdulla Mausoom, has dismissed reports in local media that the party’s alliance with the Dhivehi Qaumee Party (DQP) is being reconsidered.

“I think the media report is the opinion of one person,” said Mausoom.

Mausoom was responding to quotes from the Secretary General of the DQP, Abdulla Ameen, suggesting that a failure to strengthen the party’s ties since its initial agreement in February 2011 had made the coalition redundant.

“The coalition was formed to make the then government more accountable to its people. The other reason was to create an environment for the opposition parties to work together,” Ameen told Haveeru.

“But former President Mohamed Nasheed’s government fell in a way that we had not even expected. Now we have to function in a different manner altogether. So the circumstance under which the coalition was formed has changed drastically,” he added.

Ameen went on to say that the issue was one which would have to be discussed by the parties’ respective councils – he was not responding to calls at the time of press.

Mausoom, however, was keen to point out that the nature of the agreement with the DQP was more akin to an election strategy than a traditional coalition.

“The word coalition is not very meaningful in the Maldives,” he said. “Nasheed used a coalition to get into power and that fell apart.”

“We has an understanding – rather than a coalition per se – that Qaumee party would support DRP’s presidential candidate in 2013,” he explained.

Mausoom went on to suggest that legislation would be needed to enforce coalition arrangements before they could become a serious feature of Maldivian politics.

This view reiterates a point previously expressed by the DRP, who view the current alliance of political parties in support of President Dr Mohamed Waheed Hassan as a national-unity government rather than a coalition.

A no-confidence motion, seemingly backed by politicians from within the pro-government group, against President Waheed is currently awaiting inclusion on the Majlis agenda.

Ameen went on to argue that the two parties differ significantly on major issues, in particular the development of Ibrahim Nasir International Airport (INIA) by the Indian company GMR.

Both parties appear to oppose the deal, though DRP leaders have been more vocal about the need to take the issue through the courts and to protect investor confidence in the country.

The DQP, however, released inflammatory literature likening the airport’s development to colonisation. The party’s leader, Dr Hassan Saeed, has this week released a book arguing for the unilateral invalidation of the agreement.

Hassan, also Special Advisor to President Waheed, compared cancelling the deal to “taking bitter medicine to cure a disease” or “amputating an organ to stop the spread of cancer.”

The DRP has stated its intention to provide voters with an alternative to the divisive and personality based politics offered by the other parties.

Vilufushi MP Riyaz Rasheed – the DQP’s sole MP -in June threatened to walk away from the party should it continue to its ties with the DRP, after the abstention of a DRP MP allowed the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) to pass a motion to debate police brutality in the Majlis.

The firebrand MP was reported by one local media outlet to have resigned from the party last week before telling another that the supposed resignation letter was simply one outlining current issues of concern he had about the party.

The DRP currently holds 13 seats in the Majlis and has 26,798 registered members, making it the second largest party in the country. The DQP has one seat and 2,199 members.

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“We will celebrate liberation of airport on February 7”: Sheikh Imran

Adhaalath Party President Sheikh Imran Adbulla has said that the people of the Maldives will celebrate the liberation of Ibrahim Nasir International Airport (INIA) on the first anniversary of the resignation of the previous government – February 7, 2013, local media has reported.

The comments were made at a press conference held by a coalition of NGOs and political parties opposed to the deal with the Indian infrastructure company GMR – signed by former President Mohamed Nasheed’s administration – to develop and manage the country’s international airport.

Imran predicted there would be “some unrest and damage” on the day the deal is annulled, but urged people to come out and support the calls for nationalisation  – although the GMR deal is actually a 25 year lease arrangement and the airport still belongs to the government.

Minivan News was unable to gain further comment from the Adhaalath Party members at the time of press.

Imran said the Maldivian population would be able to endure economic hardship should the deal be annulled, before threatening “a completely different activity” should the government fail to resolve the issue to the coalition’s satisfaction.

“February 7 this year should suffice to make this clear [to the government],” Imran was quoted as saying by Haveeru.

“We were talking about a particular thing and a particular person completed it. Therefore, when the Maldivian people carry out these activities, too, in a certain way, the people who completes it will decide it a certain way. I hope the President has the courage, ability and steadfastness to take such a measure on behalf of the people,” he continued.

Imran’s comments are symptomatic of the incendiary rhetoric surrounding the airport, the nationalisation of which the Adhaalath Party has previously described as a “national jihad”.

The Civil Coalition of NGOs joined with the seven now-government aligned parties to campaign against the former Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) led administration, most famously gathering on December 23 last year to defend Islam against what it perceived as irreligious tendencies in the Nasheed government.

The Coalition explained that it was to conduct a week of activities between November 3 – 9 in opposition to the deal, referred to as “airport week”, rather than the mass protest that had previously been planned.

Sun Online reported that the decision had been made owing to clashes with school exams and the government’s plans to celebrate the anniversary of 1988’s attempted coup on November 3.

The paper also reported that the week would be accompanied by the launching of songs and a special logo in support of the movement.

A large balloon has appeared in recent days over the skies of Male’ reading “GMR go home.”

However, previous attempts to organise demonstrations in opposition to the development met with disappointing results when a September protest was poorly attended.

One government-aligned party, the Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP), refused to join the September protest, arguing that the dispute ought to be resolved through the courts.

DRP leader Ahmed Thasmeen Ali has previously expressed his concerns that reneging on the GMR deal might have detrimental effects on investor confidence in what is already a perilous financial situation for the Maldives.

Abdulla Jabir, Deputy Leader of the Jumhoree Party (JP), has also been vocal about the economic impact of politicising the deal, criticising the Adhaalath Party.

“Sometimes they are religious experts, sometimes they are financial experts. But everyone loves Islam here. Right now, foreign investors are finding it difficult to understand the climate here,” Jabir told Minivan News earlier this month.

“This is not a perfect time for this issue to be happening with GMR,” he added. “I think these protests [against GMR] are unrealistic.”

The JP were, however, represented at the press conference, with State Minister for Fisheries and Agriculture Fuad Gasim reportedly suggesting that senior government figures were being pressured into silence over the deal.

Official government opposition to the deal is currently taking the form of investigations of the $511million deal via the country’s Anti Corruption Commission (ACC) as well as through a Singapore court of arbitration as agreed in the original contract.

However, the Attorney General has asked the Supreme Court to rule on whether the matter might be dealt with within the Maldivian court system.

Earlier this month, INIA CEO Andrew Harrison told Indian media that the company had received no official word from the Maldivian government concerning a resolution to the dispute.

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Conflicting reports over DQP MP Riyaz’s resignation from party

Various local media sources have published conflicting reports over the resignation of Dhivehi Qaumy Party (DQP) Parliamentary Group Leader and MP Riyaz Rasheed from the party.

Secretary General of the DQP Abdulla Ameen told local news outlet ‘Sun’ that Riyaz had sent a letter informing the party of his decision to resign.

Newspaper Haveeru also reported that Riyaz had sent a resignation letter to the party.

However, Riyaz told Haveeru that he had not left DQP and that the letter was sent to highlight some of the issues within the party.

During today’s parliament sitting, Riyaz implied that he meant he had left the DQP. After he made the remarks in parliament, Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) MP Ali Waheed asked Speaker Abdulla Shahid if Riyaz had left the DQP, to which the Speaker replied that Riyaz had not officially informed parliament of such a move.

Riyaz is known for having a close association with the Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) led by Former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom. Reports on social media suggested that Riyaz was going to leave the DQP to join the PPM. However, these reports were dismissed by Riyaz.

DQP Leader Dr Hassan Saeed, Secretary General Ameen and Riyaz were not responding to calls at time of press.

MP Rasheed earlier this year became known for his criticism of the Commonwealth and Queen Elizabeth.

During a speech on DhiTV in March, he argued that the British public had funded the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) in return for the establishment of churches in the Maldives, and also alleged that the UK hated the Maldives for gaining its independence.

Rasheed went onto criticise Queen Elizabeth stating, “After 50 years, the English Queen, she is physically challenged. But she is still the Queen, and if she wants she can remove the Prime Minister. Where is democracy? Where is democracy? That is not a democracy.”

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MDP submits no-confidence motion against President

The Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) has submitted a no-confidence motion in parliament against President Dr Waheed Hassan Manik.

According to MDP, the no-confidence motion was submitted to the parliament in response to orders from by Waheed to attack citizens and MDP MPs, and to carry out acts of inhumanity on February 8 which were executed by the army and police.

The MDP alleged that President Waheed had destroyed the sensitive economy of the nation and that his handling of the economy has destroyed foreign investor confidence in the Maldives.

The MDP also noted that Dr Waheed’s government had not taken appropriate measures to curb gang violence in the country.

The party also raised the government’s recent loan of MVR 300 million (US$19.5 million) from the Bank of Maldives (BML) without the consent of the parliament as legally required.

Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) MP Ahmed Nihan told Minivan News that he was “very confident all PPM MPs are with Dr Waheed and this no-confidence motion vote will fail in parliament.”

Nihan said the MDP’s objective was to obstruct parliament from conducting its work, to waste parliament’s time, and to disturb President Waheed.

‘’MDP also have it on their agenda to split the coalition parties,’’ he added. ‘’They are doing this just to pressure the parliamentarians at a time when the people of the nation are in need of the parliament.’’

Nihan reiterated that many of the important bills submitted to the parliament by MPs have been sitting in parliament for ages without being passed.

He also criticised the MDP for saying that Dr Waheed had destroyed the economy of the state, and said that MDP was responsible for ‘’bringing [Indian airport developer] GMR to the Maldives, and selling Dhiraagu shares to Cable and Wireless.’’

Dhivehi Rayithunge Party (DRP) MP Dr Abdulla Mausoon said the party had not discussed the matter, but said the DRP would not follow the MDP.

“Although we haven’t officially decided on the matter our view on it is already known. We will not support any irresponsible issues created by MDP,’’ Dr Mausoom said. “All the DRP MPs that have already met me have joked about this. We will not dance to the beat of the MDP,’’ he said.

He also said he believed the MDP was trying to drive media attention away from former President Mohamed Nasheed’s ongoing trial.

Jumhoree Party (JP) MP Alhan Fahmy recently said that he would submit a no-confidence motion against President Dr Waheed Hassan and said he was receiving cooperation from MDP and other parties in parliament.

Later his party’s leadership dismissed the comments he made and said the party was in support of Dr Waheed.

Parliament figures show that MDP has 30 MPs, Dhivehi Rayithunge Party (DRP) has 13 MPs, Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) has 17 MPs, Jumhoree Party (JP) has 5 MPs, Dhivehi Qaumy Party (DQP) has one MP, People’s Alliance Party (PA) has 3 MPs, while 7 MPs remain independent.

It takes a two-thirds majority to win a no-confidence motion against the President or Vice President.

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Membership of PPM increases to 17,533, other parties face decreases

The statistics revealed by the Elections Commission (EC) show that the number of members registered for all major political parties have decreased apart from the Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) headed by President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, which has increased its membership base  to 17,533.

The Elections Commission reported political party membership fluctuations over a two week period from September 9.

During this period, 130 new members joined PPM within the 14 days, while the largest party – the opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) – lost 49 members.

The MDP had 48,516 members at the start of the period, decreasing to 48,483 on September 16, and to 48,467 by Sunday.

Meanwhile PPM had 17,403 members registered at the commission on  September 9 which had dropped 19 to 17,384 by September 16, but had increased its membership to 17,533 by Sunday.

The second largest political party in the Maldives, the Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) led by MP Ahmed Thasmeen Ali, had 27,065 members registered at the commission as of September 9. However according to the statistics, during last week 87 members registered at the commission had left DRP.

The religious Adhaalath Party led by Sheikh Imran Abdulla had 5804 members registered at the Elections Commission as of September 9 but the number subsequently increased to 5828. Statistics showed that 24 new members joined the Adhaalath Party in the two weeks after September 9.

The Jumhoree Party (JP) led by MP ‘Burma’ Gasim Ibrahim had 6321 members registered at the Elections Commission as of September 9. According to the statistics 83 new members were registered by September 16.

The Gaumy Ithihaadh Party (GIP) founded by the current President Dr Waheed Hassan Manik had 2513 members registered as of September 9, dropping to 2508 by the end of the reporting period.

The Dhivehi Qaumy Party (DQP) led by Waheed’s Special Advisor Dr Hassan Saeed meanwhile decreased by six members to 2206 by the end of the two weeks..

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Dr Hassan Saeed slams the “Island President” with new book

Dr Hassan Saeed, Special Advisor to President Dr Mohamed Wahhed Hassan and Leader of the government-aligned Dhivehi Quamee Party (DQP) has this week published a book entitled, “Democracy betrayed: behind the mask of the island President”.  The publication is written about former President Mohamed Nasheed, who contends that he was removed from office in a “coup d’etat” earlier this year.

Speaking to local media at the book’s launch at the studios of private broadcaster Villa Television (VTV) this week, DQP Secretary General Abdullah Ameen claimed the publication detailed reasons why Nasheed had to resign during February’s controversial transfer of power.

According to the Sun Online news agency, Ameen said the reasons mentioned in the book included the controversial detention of Criminal Court Chief Judge Abdulla Mohamed and allegations that Nasheed wished to “destroy the values of Islam” in the country.

Both Ameen and the book’s author, Dr Saeed were not responding to calls from Minivan News at the time of press concerning the publication.

However, DQP MP Riyaz Rasheed told Minivan News today that he would be able to discuss the book upon his return to Male’ next week.

Previous publications

In the months running up to the controversial transfer of power on February 7 that saw Nasheed resign from office – a decision he later claimed was made under duress – the DQP had published a pamphlet about the former president entitled ‘President Nasheed’s devious plot to destroy the Islamic faith of Maldivians’.

The former government slammed the publication at the time for containing “extremist, bigoted and hate-filled rhetoric”. The publication also led to successive attempts by the Nasheed administration to arrest two senior members of the party and sparked a debate on freedom of expression and hate speech in the Maldives.

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Government must assess financial, investor impacts of airport renationalisation: Thasmeen

The Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) has called on the government to consider the potential financial repercussions and impact on investor confidence should it renege on a contract with Indian infrastructure group GMR to develop Ibrahim Nasir international Airport (INIA).

DRP Leader Ahmed Thasmeen Ali today said the party had asked the current government to assess the possible implications of cancelling the GMR agreement in three key areas before his party decided on whether to agree to proceed with renationalising INIA.

An agreement now thought to amount to US$511M was signed between GMR and the previous government of Mohamed Nasheed in June 2010 to manage and build a new airport terminal by 2014, as well as renovate the existing airport facilities in the meantime

The deal, the largest single financial investment in the Maldives’ history, has since faced several protracted legal disputes resulting this month in the infrastructure giant referring a disputed US$25 Airport Development Charge (ADC) included in its contract to a court of arbitration in Singapore.

Several pro-government parties – including the DRP, the Dhivehi Qaumee Party (DQP), People’s Alliance (PA) and Jumhoree Party (JP) – advised President Waheed in June this year that they continued to endorse an agreement signed in June 2010 calling for the airport to be taken back from GMR and nationalised.

The agreement endorsed six main points which included taking legal action to prevent the government’s decision to award the contract to GMR.

Thasmeen’s comments today about assessing the potential impacts of terminating the contract were made as Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) Deputy Leader Umar Naseer alleged in local media that the DRP was now the “main obstacle” to the state resuming management of the airport.

The PPM is a coalition partner of the DRP in the government of President Dr Mohamed Waheed Hassan.

According to newspaper Haveeru, Naseer contended that an invitation from Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to meet with Thasmeen this week was directly related to the GMR airport dispute.

With the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) and the PPM respectively holding the majority and minority leadership roles in parliament, he questioned the reason for Thasmeen’s invite other than discussing the airport case.

“I do not think this trip is related to anything else. The DRP not the main opposition anymore as everyone knows. Even if it is taken in an official manner, the parliament minority leader is from PPM,” Naseer was quoted as saying.

Naseer also claimed that President Mohamed Waheed Hassan’s government wanted to reclaim the management of the airport from GMR – a pledge he hoped would be carried out even without the support of the DRP.

An Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) investigation into allegations that DRP Leader Thasmeen and Parliamentary Speaker Abdulla Shahid accepted US$1 million in bribes from GMR was last year reported to have “investigated thoroughly”, both men were cleared of wrongdoing over the case.

Thasmeen, Shahid and GMR have all vehemently dismissed the allegations of bribery.

Responding to Naseer’s claims today, Thasmeen told Minivan News that his recent visit to India was the result of a long-standing invitation by the Indian government to discuss a number of issues including the current political situation in the Maldives. He added the visit had not been related to GMR’s dispute with the government.

Thasmeen was not drawn into whether the issue of the GMR contract formed part of discussions, adding only that the prime minister had shown a desire for long-term stability in the Maldives during the talks.

“He was clear in his desire to see a resolution to the current political problems in the Maldives,” he said.

In addressing the issue of GMR, Thasmeen claimed that the DRP has already responded to a request by President Waheed for the views of his coalition government on how to proceed over the matter of the GMR case – but had yet to decide on possible renationalisation.

“In making a decision on this case and the GMR contract, there are three things to consider. These are the impacts on investor confidence from pulling out of such a deal,  the impact this will have on bilateral relations with friendly nations and the extent of the financial repercussions from terminating such a contract,” Thasmeen claimed. “What sort of compensation might there be for example?  The government is best placed to make such an assessment and we will wait for it to do so before making a decision on the case.”

While GMR has pledged to have the new terminal open by July 1, 2014 “irrespective” of outside issues, the Maldives government has pledged to back the will of parliament should it decide on re-nationalising the project.

The relationship between the airport developer and the government soured further late last month after the government temporarily called for a halt to work on the new airport terminal, alleging it had “violated rules and regulations” by not acquiring certain permissions from the Civil Aviation Authority.

In a statement, the infrastructure giant said the GMR Malé International Airport Private Limited (GMIAL) joint venture company had obtained “requisite approvals” under the regulations at the time construction commenced, but had since been asked to seek further approval from authorities.

“We have received a letter from Maldives Civil Aviation Authority asking us to seek its approval pursuant to a recent regulation, for the construction works related to the proposed new Passenger terminal building. Pending the approval, MCAA has directed stoppage of the said works,” GMR stated. “This has no impact on the operations of the airport at the existing terminal.”

Amidst claims by Attorney General Aishath Azima Shakoor that the “doors for dialogue” were still open over resolving the matter of the ADC case, a GMR spokesperson told Minivan News today that the company was not able to comment if fresh discussions with the government were taking place.  Shakoor was not responding to calls by Minivan News at the time of press.

The attorney general told Sun Online that the company could be waiting for up to two years for a resolution to the ADC court case in Singapore. She claimed that discussions between the company and the government remained the “best way” to resolve the issue therefore.

Compromise

Earlier this year, GMR said it had sought to compromise with the government by offering to exempt Maldivian citizens from paying the ADC. However, the Transport Ministry continued to demand that the infrastructure giant repay US$8.2 million deducted from the concession agreement.

Under the concession agreement, a US$25 Airport Development Charge (ADC) was to be levied on all outgoing passengers to part-fund the airport development.

However, while in opposition, the Dhivehi Qaumee Party (DQP), led by Dr Hassan Saeed, now President Dr Mohamed Waheed’s special advisor, and Dr Mohamed Jameel, now Home Minister, filed a successful case in the Civil Court in December 2011 blocking payment of the ADC on the grounds that it was effectively a tax not approved by parliament.

Nasheed’s government as a stopgap measure agreed to deduct the ADC from the concession fees payable by GMR, while it sought to appeal to verdict.

As a result, Dr Waheed’s government received only US$525,355 from the airport for the first quarter of 2012, compared to the US$8.7 million it was expecting, at time the country is facing a crippling budget deficit, a foreign currency shortage, plummeting investor confidence, spiraling expenditure, and a drop off in foreign aid.

According to financial statements sent to MACL and released to local media, in the second quarter of 2012, GMR deducted the ADC revenue of US$7.1 million from total revenues of US$5.6 million, leaving the government with a bill for US$1.5 million.

Managing Director of MACL Mohamed Ibrahim told local newspaper Haveeru at the time that the government would not pay the amount, alleging that GMR’s deduction of the ADC from the revenue was illegal.

In its defence, MACL has said that its board of directors had been reformed with the arrival of the new government, and a decision made to annul the old board’s agreement to deduct the ADC revenue.

The government meanwhile sought to invalidate the GMR contract – and the clause invoking arbitration – by challenging the handling of the bidding process by the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank group and the largest global institution focused on private development sector in developing countries.

“The advisory work was supported by AusAid (Australia), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands, and DevCo. DevCo is a multi-donor program affiliated with the Private Infrastructure Development Group and funded by the UK’s Department for International Development, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands, the Swedish International Development Agency, and the Austrian Development Agency,” the IFC explained, following a visit by the delegation in June to address the government’s concerns.

Following the first quarter deduction, GMR announced an employee benefits scheme converting 50 percent of employee salaries to US dollars from July onwards, and a one-percent profit-share.

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