President Mohamed Waheed has appointed Mohamed Ibrahim as Minister of State for Transport and Communications after removing him from his Managing Director post at Maldives Airports Company Limited (MACL).
Replacing Ibrahim as MD of MACL is Dr Ibrahim Mahfooz, who has served as the Chief Internal Auditor of State Trading Organisation (STO) for the last 16 years.
Mohamed Ibrahim will be taking over from Acting Transport Minister Mohamed Nazim.
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(0)Attorney General (AG) Azima Shukoor has claimed that a loan guarantee provided by the former government to infrastructure group GMR would have allowed the company to obtain finance without limitation.
According to local media, the attorney general has alleged that such a loan agreement would have contravened the country’s financial regulations unless approved by parliament at the time.
However, her claims have been dismissed by former Attorney General Ahmed Ali Sawad, who claimed that the agreement was conducted within state laws. Sawad helped oversee the agreement between GMR and former President Mohamed Nasheed’s government back in 2010.
GMR’s concession agreement was terminated by the Maldives government late last month after it decided – citing legal advice – that the sovereign contract was invalid from the outset.
Speaking to Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee yesterday (December 19), Shukoor revealed that the Maldivian state had agreed under the cancelled contract to act as a guarantor for all loans obtained by GMR under its agreement to develop Ibrahim Nasir International Airport (INIA).
According to the attorney general, this provision had been approved despite not being part of any senior finance agreement.
Shukoor added that under the primary agreement between the state-owned Maldives Airports Company Limited (MACL) and GMR, should MACL fail to make any repayments, the Maldivian state would have to cover any resulting costs.
“[The state] is not part of the senior agreement, thus to act as guarantor for loans obtained by another group – whether this was done with approval or not – would be to give a ‘blanket’ guarantee. I don’t think this can be permitted. I don’t believe that even the Public Accounts Committee would do that,” local media reported Shukoor as saying.
The agreement, which states that the Maldivian government is responsible for all loans obtained by GMR, was made with the approval of former Attorney General Sawad, Shukoor said.
According to Shukoor, Sawad had permitted the agreement in writing, concluding at the time that the deal would not result in any legal problems.
She also claimed that approving the agreement without parliament’s approval was in violation of the Finance Act.
“Financial guarantees given by the state should have limits. We are signing an agreement allowing future groups to obtain as much money as they want under our guarantee – I don’t believe that this is a valid legal concept,” Shukoor was reported to have said.
Responding to Shukoor’s comments, Sawad today told Minivan News that he “did not believe” there had been a violation of any law whilst he held the position of attorney general.
“I deny her claims, although I’m not actually sure what her claim is. I don’t think she knows what her claim is,” he said.
“She [Shukoor] needs to figure out if it was a guarantee or not a guarantee, because in the meeting she said that it ‘was a guarantee’ and then said that it was like a guarantee’. Regardless of whether or not it was a guarantee, the whole thing is irrelevant as she has stated the GMR contract is void ab initio (invalid from the outset),” Sawad claimed.
GMR’s tender agreement to develop INIA was overseen at the time by legal and financial experts including the International Finance Corporation (IFC) – a World Bank entity. The deal also obtained the certified approval of former Attorney General Sawad.
Attorney General Shukoor was not responding to calls from Minivan News at time of press.
Speaking to the committee yesterday, local media reported Shukoor as stating that Singapore’s Axis bank had permitted GMR to obtain loans worth $386 million, of which GMR had taken $165 million. Shukoor highlighted that should GMR fail to repay this loan, then the government would have been required to meet any resulting costs.
She stated that if the government found itself unable to pay back these loans, the image of the state will be damaged, leading to potential implications for securing future finance.
“When we think about taking legal action in relation to this matter, we see that the head state prosecutor has advised that signing that agreement should not cause any legal problems. So it becomes something the state has to honour,” she added.
Despite the former Attorney General approving the agreement, Shukoor stated that government has a strong legal argument over the loan issue, whereby under the Public Finance Act, the government cannot act as a guarantor without the parliament’s approval, which was allegedly not obtained.
“The State is acting as the guarantor to the loans taken based on the transactions between GMR and Axis Bank. I believe that is not something permitted under the Finance Act. It is like a blanket sovereign guarantee. We may not be able to classify it as a sovereign guarantee. But we are seeing an assurance given by the State,” Shukoor was quoted as saying by local newspaper Haveeru.
GMR bid qualification
Meanwhile, Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of GMR Airports Sidharath Kapur today rejected comments made by President’s Office Spokesperson Masood Imad in Indian media alleging that the company did not originally qualify as a bidder to develop INIA in a technical evaluation process.
Masood was quoted in the Business Today publication as claiming that the technical evaluation committee during the bidding process acted under pressure from former President Mohamed Nasheed, who then qualified the GMR Group for the project.
In response, Kapur said that the company had won the project in an “open and transparent” bidding process, stating that GMR had qualified in the technical, financial and legal evaluations.
Kapur noted that the bidding process was supervised by the International Finance Corporation (IFC), and that the IFC had successfully handled such public-private partnerships in the airport sector in many countries.
“While other bidders opted for the ‘earn and pay’ route, the GMR consortium adopted a ‘pay and earn’ strategy, and hence paid $78 million up front to the Government of Maldives,” he added.
Kapur also attacked the present government’s handling of the GMR issue, alleging that the resulting arbitration case to decide on compensation owed to the company from the contract cancellation could have serious financial ramifications for the nation.
“Compensation believed owed to GMR due to the illegitimate cancellation of the contract by the government of Maldives may put a significant and avoidable financial burden on the people of Maldives,” he stressed to Business Today.
(0)Dislikes(0)Parliament’s Finance Committee is to put the controversial issue of the Nexbis border control system (BCS) before parliament to vote on whether to halt use of the project.
The MVR500 million (US$39 million) project finally moved ahead this year after a series high-profile court battles and delays that led Malaysia-based Nexbis to last year threaten legal action against the Maldivian government should it incur losses for the work already done on the project.
However, 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 continuously alleged of corruption in the bidding process.
Nexbis has continued to dismiss accusations of corruption within its deal with the Maldives government.
The vote has been scheduled after Parliament’s Finance Committee earlier this month also revealed that the Maldivian government had agreed to waive taxes for Nexbis. The committee noted in a letter sent to President Dr Mohamed Waheed Hassan that there was a potential financial burden facing the state due to the BCS deal agreed with Nexbis.
Despite the allegations, the border control system is currently active at Ibrahim Nasir International Airport (INIA) after a Supreme Court ruling in early September favouring Nexbis ended almost two years of efforts by the ACC to block the project.
Speaking about the BSC project, Majlis Finance Committee member Ahmed Hamza said today he believed parliament would halt the project as “most members” were of the impression the contract is not financially beneficial to the country.
“The nature of the contract means that both the government and Maldivian people will suffer heavily from a financial point of view,” Hamza told Minivan News today.
In September, the ACC informed the committee that the deal would cost the Maldives MVR 2.5 billion (US$162 million) in potential lost revenue over the lifetime of the contract.
A member of Parliament’s Finance Committee member told local media yesterday (December 18) that the project is “laden with corruption allegations” and could have been carried out at a much lesser cost.
When asked if there was a sufficient system to take over from Nexbis, Hamza revealed today that there was a “worry” within the immigration department that their own system will not be sufficient.
Furthermore, Hamza stated that there is a “possibility” that human trafficking could increase should the Nexbis contract be cancelled, and to combat this parliament will need to provide a “sufficient solution to deal with these problems”.
Under the ‘build operate and transfer’ (BOT) agreement with Nexbis, the government is obliged to pay Nexbis US$2 for every foreign passenger processed and US$15 for every work permit for the 20 year lifespan of the contract. Nexbis remains responsible for the upgrading, servicing and administration of the system.
Former Immigration Controller Abdulla Shahid has expressed concern earlier this year over both the cost and necessity of the project, calculating that with continued growth in tourist numbers, Nexbis would be earning US$200 million in revenue over the 20 year lifespan of the agreement.
At five percent, royalties to the government would come to US$10 million, Shahid said, when there was little reason for the government not to be earning the revenue itself by operating a system given by a donor country.
“The option was there to establish the system for free,” stated ACC President Hassan Luthfee, revealing that the US government had offered a free system in 2009.
“Even the Indian government had offered to do it for free. On the other hand this could have been done for MVR2.3-2.5 million. So we can’t believe that this should be done at such a high cost,” Luthfee told the committee.
Minivan News today contacted Immigration Controller Dr Mohamed Ali over the developments regarding the BCS agreement with Nexbis.
“I am not aware of any recent decisions from the parliament over this matter,” Dr Ali claimed, before declining to comment further.
Back in July, Dr Ali claimed that with the Maldives having signed up to conventions pledging to try and more effectively combat Transnational Organised Crime like human trafficking, new systems were needed to help meet these aims.
“From our own experience, we have found people being trafficked back into the country even after they have previously been deported,” he claimed at the time. ”A system like this should put a stop to that.”
Minivan News was also awaiting a response from Nexbis at the time of press.
Nexbis has previously claimed that allegations of corruption in its deal with the government was “politically motivated” and had “wrought irreparable damage to its reputation and brand name.”
(0)Dislikes(0)The Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) has called for the release of its Chairperson ‘Reeko’ Moosa Manik’s son-in-law Abdulla Jaavid, who has been arrested in connection to the murder of MP Dr Afrasheem Ali earlier this year.
On Sunday (December 16) the High Court upheld a Criminal Court order to extend Javid’s detention claiming police had a phone call recording as evidence to support their accusation of his involvement in the murder.
The MDP accused the police of attempting to pin Afrasheem’s murder of MDP members instead of going after those guilty of the crime, a statement seen by local media has read.
The party further reportedly stated that police had detained two of its members Mariyam Naifa and Alli ‘Smith’ Hashim for an extended period of time before releasing them without any charges.
The statement, according to local media, read: “If someone is being detained on such allegations, there should be enough evidence to file charges. Smith was kept in detention until the Ungoofaaru by-election was over. He was released less than 24 hours after final voting results were announced. All these things show us that the police are trying to frame MDP for the murder of Dr Afrasheem.”
Police Commissioner Abdulla Riyaz, who earlier stated that the motive behind the murder was political, was also accused in the statement of not having any evidence to back up his claims.
(0)Dislikes(0)Minister of State for Finance Abbas Adil Riza has accused Parliamentary Speaker Abdulla Shahid of “challenging” the Supreme Court after he tabled a no-confidence motion despite an injunction from the court.
Riza’s comments follow parliament’s announcement last week that a no-confidence motion against Defence Minster Colonel (Retired) Mohamed Nazim has been tabled despite a Supreme Court injunction ordering parliament to halt all pending no-confidence votes.
Speaking at the artificial beach on Monday (December 17) Riza, who is also a National Movement Steering Committee member, said that Shahid’s decision to “challenge” the Supreme Court was a “cowardly act”.
“Unless Shahid immediately ceases his efforts to violate the constitution while holding the post of Speaker of Parliament, the National Movement will ensure that this comes to a stop,” local media reported Riza as saying.
Furthermore, Riza warned that should the parliament try to violate the constitution, the National Movement will “break up” the parliament.
Last week, the People’s Majlis secretariat revealed that Defence Minister Nazim has been given the required 14-day notice and his ministry also duly informed by Speaker Abdulla Shahid.
Repsonding to Riza’s comments, Majlis Deputy Speaker and fellow PA MP Ahmed Nazim said that the Parliament has not challenged the Supreme Court’s injunction, noting that it has given the full 14 days notice to the court as per stated by the law.
“We believe there is still time for Supreme Court to lift the temporary injunction, and I believe they will not see this as the parliament challenging the court.
“After 14 days, the motion will be put up on the agenda for discussion by party leaders. If the injunction remains then there is a possibility for party leaders to challenge the court,” Nazim told Minivan News.
Article 101(a) of the constitution states, “At least fourteen days notice of the debate in the People’s Majlis concerning a motion under article (a) shall be given to the concerned member of the cabinet, and he shall have the right to defend himself in the sittings of the People’s Majlis, both orally and in writing.”
When asked if there was concern from parliament over Riza’s comments, Nazim revealed that the institution as a whole did not feel threatened, however there had been “concern” expressed by individual parliamentary members.
“The institution is protected by the constitution and we have protection from the Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF), however at least one individual has told us he feels threatened and believes that security needs to be increased.
Abbas Adil Riza was not responding to calls at time of press.
On December 3, parliament voted 41-34 to approve amendments to the parliamentary rules of procedure to conduct no-confidence votes to impeach the President and remove cabinet members through secret ballot.
MPs of the government-aligned Jumhooree Party (JP) and Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) joined the formerly ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) to vote the amendment through.
The no-confidence motion against Defence Minister Nazim was submitted by the MDP earlier this month on the grounds that he misused his authority as acting Transport Minister by using the military to influence termination of commercial contracts.
No-confidence motion against Home Minister Dr Mohamed Jameel Ahmed
Meanwhile, a no-confidence motion has again been submitted against Home Minister Dr Mohamed Jameel today (November 17).
The Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) submitted the same motion to parliament on a previous occasion, but withdrew it at the last minute after the voting was scheduled for parliament.
An MP told local media that this latest motion was submitted with 17 signatures including the signatures of MDP MPs, however this has yet to be officially confirmed.
(0)Dislikes(0)J Hotel & Resorts owner MP Abdulla Jabir has responded to no payment allegations made by Aldihoo Resort staff, declaring “If they do not like it, they can leave”.
Staff at the resort revealed how both Maldivian and foreign workers had not received pay for four months and six months respectively, despite complaints made to management and various external government organisations.
Alidhoo Resort in Haa Alif Atoll is run by J Hotel & Resorts, a company owned by Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) MP Abdullah Jabir, the husband of former Human Rights Minister Dhiyana Saeed.
Five Alidhoo Resort workers living in the near-by island of Dhidhdhoo spoke to Minivan News – under condition of anonymity – of their frustration as management continues to withhold their pay.
The five workers claim that the Human Rights Commission of Maldives (HRCM) has “forgotten” about them, despite multiple complaints made to the institution.
“We [staff] complain every other week to the HRCM, but never receive any response. We contacted the Labour Ministry and they told us they would reply in November, but they still haven’t got back to us.
“Our verbal complaints never get us anywhere with management, usually they say ‘we can’t pay you right now”’even though the resort’s been at 100 percent occupancy the last few months,” alleged the staff.
Earlier this year the Tourism Employees’ Association of the Maldives (TEAM) released information revealing that Alidhoo’s management had not paid the resort’s 125 expatriate staff for six months, while the 85 local employees had not been paid since May.
“I am struggling more than the staff”: MP Abdulla Jabir
Responding to the no payment allegations, J Hotel & Resorts Chairman Abdulla Jabir explained that there was a delay in payment because of a “delay in making money”.
Jabir claimed that there had been less than 30 percent occupancy in the last year, despite staff claiming it being at 100 percent for the last two months.
“We have 250 staff [at Alidhoo Resort] and rather than go on leave and then come back during times of low occupancy they are telling us they want to stay.
“[The staff] are not struggling, that’s wrong. If they are struggling, they will not stay. They are staying and that means they are not struggling.
“I am struggling more than them,” he added.
Staff have gone on strike on three previous occasions over the salary issue, but have been met with harsh penalties including the dismissal of those staff involved in the strikes.
Sources from within the resort claim they face losing their jobs if they make a formal complaint to management and are therefore “trapped” over the payment issue.
Despite Jabir’s company owning Alidhoo Resort, the MDP MP distanced himself from allegations made by the workers claiming that he “is not involved in this” and that the media need to contact the people responsible for the matter, adding: “You don’t contact [Silvio] Berlusconi for every matter in Italy, you contact the respective ministers.”
“If I close the resort they don’t get pay, they don’t get food, they don’t get accommodation and they will be jobless.
“Maybe they get 10 days, 15 days delay in salary, or even a month’s delay in salary, but they are making it. It is not an issue,” Jabir told Minivan News.
“The staff can go home if they feel like not working for us.”
A mother from Baarah, Haa Alif Atoll who has worked at the Alidhoo Resort for the last four years, alleged to Minivan News that even when staff are paid late, they are rarely paid the full amount.
“In two months they will pay for just one month, and if pay is delayed for three months, we will still only get one month’s pay, that is how they operate,” she said.
“I went to Human Resources and asked why my salary has been cut off for the last four months and they said ‘we can only pay for one month’, and that’s MVR 3000 (US$ 195).”
Jabir has agreed to sell property to finance staff: Jabir’s wife Dhiyana Saeed
When the staff payment issue was raised back in June 2012, the now former Human Rights Minister Dhiyana Saeed – who is also the wife of J Hotel & Resorts chairman – said that no complaints had been made to her ministry.
Speaking to Minivan News over the recent claims, Dhiyana said that she was aware that her husband was having financial “trouble” and that there are outstanding payments to both staff and other people, however she claimed that Jabir is “doing his best” to repay the debts.
“We talk about these problems at home and [Jabir] has agreed to sell his property to finance staff and other people.
“It has been very hard for him to raise the money, but we are very close to making a deal with selling the property and clearing our debts,” said Dhiyana.
MDP members mark International Human Rights Day
Jabir, who recently switched from the Jumhoree Party (JP) to the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), joined the MDP’s Journey of Pledges tour as they visited neighbouring islands to Alidhoo Resort.
Minivan News raised the staff payment issue with MDP President Mohamed Nasheed moments after he had just completed a run to mark International Human Rights Day in Kulhudufushi earlier this week.
“There has been so many human trafficking allegations and you mention a certain entrepreneur having not paid [his staff], but I keep on going to work sites all over the country and there are so many ex-pats unpaid and their working conditions are also so bad, that is human trafficking,” said Nasheed. “If you have appropriate standards across the board then you won’t have this opportunity of cheap labour.”
HRCM’s Investigation Officer Aishaph Afreen Mohamed revealed that a complaint had been lodged by Alidhoo Resort staff in September, and that an investigation by the HRCM into the complaint is “ongoing”.
When asked how long the investigation is expected to last, Aishaph stated she was “not sure” as the HRCM has to obtain information “from all relevant departments”.
Almost all staff have now been paid: Alidhoo GM Jadhulla Jaleel
General Manager of the Alidhoo Resort Jadhulla Jaleel, admitted there had been a delay in paying staff, but claimed that as of today “almost all” staff had been paid.
“Sometimes there is a delay, but we always pay. Our staff trust us that they will be paid,” Jaleel said. “Only today (November 11) we have paid almost all of the staff, we paid a total of MVR 500,000.”
When asked to further clarify how many staff come under “almost all”, Jaleel then stated: “All staff, both foreign and local have been paid.
“If you call your sources, they will confirm they have been paid. Some of the staff won’t be able to confirm it because they won’t have collected their money today,” Jaleel claimed.
A reliable source within the resort confirmed to Minivan News that as of November 11 they had been paid, but for only two out of the four months owed. The source also alleged that foreign staff members were yet to receive any of their six-months of missing payments.
(0)Dislikes(0)President Dr Mohamed Waheed Hassan has commenced a series of visits to islands in Gaafu Alifu Atoll as part of a tour designed to try outline the key concerns and issues faced by local residents, according to the President’s Office website.
Addressing islanders in Dhevvadhoo, Nilandhoo, Gemanafushi and Kan’duhulhudhoo, President Waheed noted that many islanders in the atoll were still waiting on the provision of basic facilities.
Clean drinking water, efficient sewerage systems and developed harbours were among many of the requests made, the President’s Office website stated.
Whilst noting that these facilities are basic rights, Waheed told the inhabitants of Dhevvadhoo that the government was committed to accommodate these needs.
However, speaking in Kan’duhulhudhoo, Waheed admitted that a lot of the time was given to less important things.
Waheed also noted the importance at present for Maldivians to minimise internal conflicts, lessen political colours and instead raise the national flag above all voices.
Waheed’s visit to Gaafu Alifu Atoll comes after the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) – including former President Mohamed Nasheed – recently completed their ‘Journey of Pledges’ to the northern Atolls of the country.
The MDP visited over 40 islands to hear the needs of people, and to find out how many of their pledges had been fulfilled both during Nasheed’s presidency and after his controversial transfer of power on February 7.
(0)Dislikes(0)Former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom has labelled the motion passed by the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) to overthrow the government through a revolution as a “criminal offence”.
Speaking to reporters at a ceremony held at the Progressive Party of Maldives’s (PPM) office, Gayoom – who is the interim President of PPM – insisted that the MDP would not be successful in overthrowing the present government.
“The constitution in any country won’t permit a government to be overthrown from the street. Even in the US, UK, France or India such a thing won’t be allowed, so it is a dangerous notion. In truth they have committed a criminal offence,” Gayoom was quoted as saying by the Haveeru news service.
According to Gayoom, the MDP’s announcement to commit the offence must carry the due penalty, stressing that the idea to bring about a revolution cannot be entertained.
“It is in offence to even speak of such a thing,” he added.
The MDP has insisted that the government of former President Mohamed Nasheed had been removed through a “coup d’etat” on February 7. However, Gayoom denounced these claims, adding that the then President, Mohamed Nasheed had resigned of his own free will.
“He wasn’t taken to a place, tied up and forced. He went home after resigning on television, in front of the people. That does not to constitute to overthrowing a government from the street,” he explained.
The ex-President further said that based on the present political environment in the Maldives “there were no means or chance” to bring about a revolution.
(0)Dislikes(0)Minister of Foreign Affairs Dr Abdul Samad Abdulla has been appointed as the Acting Minister of Health.
Samad was appointed the position by the President pending the return of Minister of Health Dr Ahmed Jamsheed Mohamed, who is on an official visit abroad.
Samad’s latest appointment follows on from Minister of Environment and Energy Dr Mariyam Shakeela last month being given a dual cabinet role as Acting Minister of Gender, Family and Human Rights.
Dr Shakeela has previously told Minivan News that she was confident of being able to effectively perform her duties for both ministries.
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