Tag: Home Minister Umar Naseer

Fifty inmates selected to begin work on Thilafushi road construction in a week

Deputy Minister of Home Affairs Mohamed Hanim has stated that fifty of the “best disciplined” inmates have now been chosen to take part in the ministry’s government’s labour programme.

The first project for which the inmates have been selected is the construction of roads in industrial island Thilafushi.

The government has still not revealed the amount of pay inmates will be entitled to after completing the work, although Hanim echoed Home Minister Umar Naseer’s statements that half of each inmate’s pay will be taken for the development of the prison system, while the other half can be saved or sent to the inmates’ families.

Hanim revealed that prison guards will be overseeing the work of the prisoners, as well as accompanying them on the transfer trips to and from Thilafushi to Maafushi, where the prison is located.

“We have selected the best of the inmates for this work. This is a very special initiative taken by the Home Ministry to contribute to finding a solution to many problems faced by the nation, including the need to employ foreign labourers,” Hanim is quoted as saying to local media.

“When we make inmates do work that would otherwise be done by immigrants, it also has huge benefits to our economy. Additionally, this gives the opportunity for inmates to financially assist those who have to take care of them,” he said.

Minivan News was unable to contact Deputy Minister Mohamed Hanim for comments.

Minister of Home Affairs Umar Naseer initially announced the project in late December 2013.

“There is no country in the world where inmates are not made to work. This administration’s aim is to make inmates in our jails work in various government projects. To bring them out of their current situation,” Naseer had said then, at an event announcing the government’s policies on youth development.

While the labour program is voluntary, detainees will be selected based on their disciplinary records during the time in detention and their suitability for the work to be conducted.

Naseer predicted that by the end of 2014, 400 out of 730 inmates will be working on some project, thereby preparing them for reintegration into society.

In order to prepare detainees for such work, the ministry further plans to introduce vocational training programs in Maafushi Island prison in the near future. The program will desensitise them to work environments and hone a number of skills, he said.

Umar Naseer was not responding to calls at the time of press.

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Home Minister to introduce obligatory government service for school leavers

Minister of Home Affairs Umar Naseer has revealed plans to introduce a “one or two year program under which every school leaver must serve the government”.

Naseer’s policy was revealed during a speech given at the inauguration of the police organised camp “Blues for Youth” on Sunday.

This is the second in the series of camps targeted for adolescents, with the current batch including youth from capital city Malé.

The first camp was held in Addu City and Fuvahmulah in late December, and police have announced that a second round of activities will be organised in these areas in the near future.

The current camp will be held from January 5 to 9, and has a total of sixty four participants between the ages of 15 and 18.

“The purpose of organising these camps is to contribute to future generations of school leavers becoming individuals who are aware of the ways of the world and skilled participants of the community,” a police media official told Minivan News today.

In addition to Umar Naseer, Minister of Youth and Sports Mohamed Maleeh Jamal, Commissioner of Police Hussain Waheed, Deputy Commissioner of Police Ahmed Saudhee and other senior police officials joined today’s inauguration event.

Commending the initiative by the commissioner of police in organising the camp, Home Minister Naseer stated that the ministry will broaden the camp at national level.

“This government’s policy is to ensure that every school leaver spends at least a year serving the government. God willing, we will extend the Commissioner’s initiative to the level where each school leaver is obligated to engage in national service for two years, or at the very least for one year,” he stated.

He described youth as being highly intelligent and capable of conducting work to improve community matters more effectively. He claimed that the government will be conducting special work to ensure that youth become well-disciplined and responsible by the time they reach the age of graduation.

Home Minister Umar Naseer was not responding to calls at the time of press.

The youth minister and commissioner of police also addressed the camp’s participants in Sunday’s event.

Minister Jamal, highlighting the importance of similar camps to empower and increase opportunities for youth, described the young generation as “the biggest treasure that any nation can possess”.

He stressed upon the importance of creating responsible youth if a bright future is to be established for a nation.

Earlier in January, speaking at a National Day event, the Youth Minister unveiled plans to find employment for all youth by the end of the coming year, 2015.

Commissioner of Police Hussain Waheed stated that there was a crucial need to increase participation of adolescents in the work to create a responsible youth generation.

“There is no pleasure any one can reap from frequenting scenes of crimes. It is by strongly staying away from crime and being responsible that real happiness can be achieved,” Waheed said.

He assured that the police force is ever willing to be of assistance to “bring youth to the right path” and to work for youth development.

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Inmates to work on Thilafushi road construction

Fifty inmates are to start work on a road construction project on industrial Thilafushi Island on Saturday as part of a re-integration program, the Ministry of Home Affairs has said.

Speaking at a Monday night event on President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom’s policies on youth development, Home Minister Umar Naseer said 70 percent of Maldivian prisoners fit into the youth demographic.

“There is no country in the world where detainees are not made to work. This administration’s aim is to make detainees in our jails work in various government projects. To bring them out of their current situation,” the Home Minister said.

When criminals remain in detention without work, society is deprived of major youth contribution, and forces the government to employ foreign laborers, Naseer said. Further, the state spends a high amount on prisoner care, while families of prisoners are driven to financially difficult situations, he said.

While the labour program is voluntary, detainees will be selected based on their disciplinary records while in prison and suitability for the work. They will be paid a stipend; half of which will be taken for development of the detention centers, and detainees will be given the choice to either save the remaining earnings or to send it to their families.

Naseer predicted that by the end of 2014, 400 out of 730 detainees will be working on some project, thereby preparing them for reintegration into society.

In order to prepare detainees for such work, vocational training programs will be introduced in Maafushi Island prison in the near future, he also said. The program will desensitize them to work environments, and hone a number of skills.

“Through these trainings we will be able to create electricians, air conditioning unit repairmen, and many other skilled workers. Our hope is that someday, society will benefit from services by those currently in our prisons,” he said.

DPRS to oversee detainee workers

According to the Home Ministry, the Department of Penitentiary and Rehabilitation Services (DPRS) are to oversee the program.

State Minister for Home Affairs Hussain Manik Dhon Manik said DPRS guards will keep watch over inmates and emphasized that special focus would be given to ensure that detainees do not have any opportunity to smuggle in illegal drugs or other contraband into the prisons.

“We will not be negligent in any aspect of guarding detainees. We will not allow any illegal acts to be carried out even in their work environments,” he asserted.

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MP Easa withdraws bill reducing penalty for refusal to provide urine

Opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) MP Ahmed Easa has withdrawn a bill reducing the penalty for refusal to provide urine from a one year jail term to 15 days in jail.

Easa proposed the amendment to the Drugs Act after the Criminal Court sought to prosecute MDP MPs Abdulla Jabir and Hamid Abdul Ghafoor for refusal to provide urine when they were arrested on Hondaidhoo Island in August 2012.

If convicted with a one-year jail term, the two MPs may lose their parliamentary seats.

At the time, the MDP accused the judiciary of “purging” MDP MPs from parliament in order to influence the party’s simple majority in parliament ahead of several no-confidence motions against ministers of former President Dr Mohamed Waheed Hassan.

Easa said he had withdrawn the bill due to criticism from his own party and because he believes the police will be more professional with the election of President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom.

The Criminal Court’s Chief Judge Abdulla Mohamed has sentenced Hamid to six months in jail for disobedience to order after he refused to obey court summons to attend a refusal to provide urine trial.

Hamid contends the court summons were issued in violation of the Parliamentary Powers and Privileges Act which prohibits the judiciary from scheduling hearings during Majlis work hours.

Hamid had sought refuse inside the People’s Majlis when the six month jail term was issued. The MDP then amended the parliament’s standing orders to allow an MP convicted of criminal acts to continue to attend Majlis sittings.

The Home Ministry transferred Hamid to house arrest in mid November and Hamid has now left the parliament after four weeks.

New Home Minister Umar Naseer has said enforcing Hamid’s jail sentence would be difficult as the Department of Penitentiary and Rehabilitation Department (DPRS) does not have the facilities to transport Hamid back and forth from Maafushi Island jail to Malé.

“We have to arrange a speed boat to bring him to every single session if he is kept in a jail outside Malé. We may have to bring him two or three times a day,” he told local newspaper Haveeru.

Furthermore, Naseer explained that incarcerating Hamid in the Malé City jail was not an option because the jail was at full capacity.

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