Tag: maldives news

MVR22 million fine issued for ship stranded on Thilafushi reef

A cargo ship which ran aground on the reef near Thilafushi earlier this month has been fined MVR22 million (US$1.4 million), the Transport Authority has told local media.

The MV Mutha Pioneer – registered in Dominica – became lodged on the reef to the north west of the industrial island on December 10, with an analysis by the Environmental Protection Agency revealing it had caused damage to 588 square meters of reef.

After spending around ten hours stranded on the reef, the Maldives National Defence Force was able to free the 1,900 tonne cargo vessel.

At the start of the year (January 7) a 27,000-tonne vessel called Auguste Schulte became stranded in shallow water while attempting to make a turn near the coast of the Raalhugandu area in Malé.

After assessing the damage caused by this incident, the government claimed damages of MVR 62.7 million (US$4 million).

Source: Haveeru

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Civil Court Judge Aisha Shujoon resigns

Civil Court Judge Aisha Shujoon has given her letter of resignation to the Judicial Service Commission (JSC), reports Haveeru.

Shujoon, a founding member of Maldivian Democracy Network (MDN), was recently re-elected to UN subcommittee on the prevention of torture and other inhuman treatment or punishment.

Earlier this month, the seven member Civil Court bench condemned the removal of two Supreme Court Judges, including the chief justice, saying the JSC was “forced” to deem the two judges unfit for the bench through an “unconstitutional” amendment to the Judicature Act.

A subsequent case challenging the decision was removed from the Civil Court’s jurisdiction by the Supreme Court.

In February, JSC launched an investigation into Shujoon after she announced on state television that she was once offered a US$5 million bribe, which she refused.

Source: Haveeru; Sun Online

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ACC sends Rathafandhoo Island Council corruption case to PG

The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has submitted a case against Gaaf Dhaal Rathafandhoo council President Ahmed Fauzee and three others to the Prosecutor General’s Office.

Haveeru reported that the commission has accused Fauzee and three others of using the influence of their positions while assigning security work, suggesting that the members of the proposal evaluation committee had allocated points in violation of set standards.

According to the paper, an ACC statement explained that documents and testimonies collected during investigations proved the accused had acted in violation of the State Finance Act to provide unlawful benefit to a third party.

The others implicated alongside Fauzee are Fathuhulla Basheer, Abbas Haneef, and Fathuhulla Ahmed – all members of the proposal evaluation committee.

Source: Haveeru

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Environmental NGOs call for action as images of turtle slaughter surface

Warning: This article contains graphic images.

Local environmental NGOs Ecocare and Bluepeace have condemned images circulating on social media showing a turtle being cut in half for its eggs and meat.

Both the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and police are now investigating the pictures.

Ecocare has demanded “immediate action from relevant authorities to stop such atrocities against protected marine species in the country”, in a statement which also said the NGO was “outraged by the lack of adequate enforcement measures in place”.

The pictures which were shared on Facebook show a group of people cutting open an adult sea turtle and extracting its eggs and meat. Local media outlet Sun Online has reported that the pictures were taken on the island of Maalhos in Alif Alif Atoll.

Maalhos Island Council has expressed concern over the incident but has said it was not aware that the pictures originated from the island.

Sun reported council Vice President Ahmed Sameeh as saying that it was common for islanders to hunt turtles and that the council has repeatedly requested citizens to stop.

Bluepeace Executive Director Rilwan Ali told Minivan News that the main obstruction to preventing such instances was poor institutional coordination between the Ministry of Fisheries and Agriculture and the EPA.

“The biggest problem is that turtle conservation comes under the fisheries law which is implemented by the fisheries ministry. The ministry has to share its resources with the EPA so that these kinds of events can be prevented,” said Rilwan.

Speaking on behalf the EPA, Director General Ibrahim Naeem said that these kinds of events could have a negative impact on the tourism of the country as well as long term effects on the economy, while highlighting the need for stricter punishments for such environmental crimes.

According to the fisheries regulations, the “catching, fishing, collecting or killing” of sea turtles is illegal throughout the country. The collection of sea turtles and eggs is also illegal, but only in 14 of the country’s 1,192 islands.

The current moratorium is set to last until 2016 thoug reports of turtle slaughter persist. Earlier this year, one source estimated that up to 180 turtles were killed from a single island in Shaviyani Atoll in 2013.

“There is a well-known nesting island and every night a group is going and hunting the turtles. It is so obvious, every day since January one or two are killed,” said the informed source. “They wait for them to nest on the island, or go snorkeling to hunt them.”

While speaking to Minivan News in April this year, Sam Hope – Marine Discovery Centre Manager at Four Seasons Kuda Huraa – said that the biggest threat to turtles is egg collection and trade.

Meanwhile, turtle conservation expert Dr Agnese Mancini has reported a decline in the population of  the majority of turtle species found in the Maldives.


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Widespread ‘secret’ slaughter of endangered sea turtles despite ban; “very tasty” say killers

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Chinese cultural items gifted to Maldives

China has today gifted a number of cultural items to the Maldives, following discussions between the countries’ respective first ladies during President Xi Jinpeng’s visit in September.

During a ceremony held at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs this morning, Chinese Ambassador Wang Fukang signed an official certificate marking the handing over of the gifts, which included books, ethnic costumes, musical instruments, and Chinese crafts.

“During the meetings, both our countries’ leaders have made a decision to build a future-oriented, all-round, cooperative friendship,” Sun Online reported Wang as saying during the ceremony.

“We each promote our bilateral relations to new heights. So from our Chinese government we are very satisfied with our bilateral relations.”

Source: Sun Online

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Hulhumalé Central Park to be completed, land reclamation to begin next month

The Housing Development Corporation (HDC) has revealed that Hulhumalé Central Park will be completed next month, while phase two of the island’s reclamation is also due to begin.

Speaking to local media, HDC Managing Director Suhail Ahmed said that the park – now under construction – will benefit the population of Hulhumalé

“God willing, we are aiming to finish construction of the park sometime next month. The park is believed to provide relaxed atmosphere for the people in Hulhumalé. We designed the park so that people could sit in the park,” said Suhail.

While a section of the main road in Hulhumalé has been blocked for its contruction, Suhail said that even after the park is completed, much of it would not be accessible to motorized vehicles.

Suhail also said that phase two of the Hulhumalé land reclamation project is also due to begin next month, with a dredging vessel from Belgium’s Dredging International company arriving in early January.

Sun Online reported that a US$30 million loan has been approved by the bank of Ceylon for the project which will see 240 hectares of land being reclaimed near Farukolhufushi.

Developing a ‘youth city’ in Hulhumalé with a population of 50,000 is a key aim of President Abdulla Yameen’s administration, with modern facilities and light industry designed to attract young persons from the atolls.

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Over one third of Malé City Council staff transferred to Housing Ministry

The opposition dominated Malé City Council (MCC) has expressed concern after 377 of its employees were transferred to the Ministry of Housing and Infrastructure.

Malé City Mayor Mohamed Shihab has said that all council employees working in the road maintenance department had now been transferred to the housing ministry without any prior notification.

“The council received a letter from the President’s Office saying that cabinet had decided to transfer management of the the roads to the housing ministry,” said Shihab. “The letter also read that all public squares and parks would also be transferred to the Housing Ministry”.

A statement from the ministry earlier this month said that it had taken control of 13 plots of land formerly controlled by the council and transferred the majority of the council’s public services division staff to the ministry.

The council’s jurisdiction of the city’s roads was removed in November.

Deputy Mayor Shifa Mohamed said today that the council was given two hours to provide a list of all employees to the government after which 345 employees were transferred.

“Since then they have even started requesting that certain individuals be transferred,” said Shifa. “We are unsure as to how the wages of the transferred employees will be paid, whether it will be paid by the housing ministry or not.”

The council originally had 900 employees working under it, including migrant workers, the council explained.

Mayor Shihab said that the council has only been operating within the powers granted to it by the Decentralisation Act, adding that the current government has been persistently making its work difficult.

He explained that the council has decided to file a case at the Civil Court regarding the government’s stripping of its responsibilities, and the subsequent distribution to different government ministries.

Last month, nearly all services at the council came to a halt after police confiscated important documents and several hard drives, including the server system necessary for daily operation.

Police searched and confiscated the council’s office on the night of November 26 after a search warrant was requested from the Criminal Court regarding a corruption case against council staff.

However, the council denied the corruption allegations which alleged some staff had used documents sent by the housing ministry to gain unlawful advantages.

Speaking at the time, Maafannu Hulhangu constituency councillor Shamau Shareef said the incident was one of many intended to intimidate the council and to prevent it from providing the services to the people of Malé.

Shifa has previously suggested that the government was plotting to “destroy decentralisation” after the housing ministry seized numerous plots of land from the council including two parks, artificial beach, carnival area, south harbour area, Usfasgandu, Dharubaaruge, and land near the T-Jetty in May.

In October, she complained that poor allocation of funds for road development projects under the council was one of the main reasons behind the severe floodings on the western side of the capital island during heavy downpours. The council’s jurisdictions over the roads was subsequently removed.

October also saw masked individuals wielding machetes cut down over 30 council-owned areca palm trees along the capital’s main thoroughfare, Majeedhee Magu.

Meanwhile, former President Mohamed Nasheed alleged police involvement in the chopping down of the palm trees while naming several Special Operations officers after the council had requested that the public submit any information about the issue.


Related to this story

Malé City Council close to shut-down after police confiscate documents and server system

Malé City Council helpless as housing ministry takes over all land, public services staff

Can decentralisation take root in the Maldives?

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Jumhooree Party submits over 1,000 membership forms to EC

The Jumhooree Party (JP) has announced that it has sent over 1,000 new membership forms to the Elections Commission (EC).

JP spokesman Ali Solih told Haveeru the membership drive was intended to inject new vigour into the party ahead of its upcoming congress, though the exact date has not been revealed.

The party currently holds 13 seats in the People’s Majlis after the signing of the formerly independent member Muaz Mohamed Rasheed earlier this month.

Party leader Gasim Ibrahim proved the kingmaker in last year’s presidential elections, leading his party into a short-lived coalition with President Abdulla Yameen’s Progressive Party of Maldives.

The JP was fined for the ninth time by the EC earlier this month for submitting fraudulent membership forms. The commission revealed that the party was fined MVR10,000 (US$649) after it discovered repeated fingerprints of 36 persons on 258 party membership forms.

Source: Haveeru

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Fenaka begins MVR35 million water project in Addu City

The state owned utility company, the Fenaka Corporation, has begun a MVR35 million (US$2.2million) project to provide potable water to all the residents of Addu City.

Inaugurating the project in Addu City last night, environment minister Thoriq Ibrahim said the state funded project will be completed by the end of 2015.

A sewerage system is to be established on Hithadhoo, and the government has taken a loan from the OPEC fund to establish sewerage systems in the remaining islands of the atoll, he said.

The total cost of establishing water and sewerage systems in Addu City amounts to MVR600 million (US$39 million), he explained.

The former Southern Utilities Limited (SUL) company, along with UK’s Biwater International Ltd had begun a US$42 million project to improve the atoll’s supply of drinking water and sewage treatment in 2010.

Biwater International was to establish desalination plants to provide potable water and install sewage treatment plants, pump stations, and pipe work systems.

SUL was to contribute US$15 million and Bywater was to invest US$27 million but the project soon stalled as a result of mismanagement, said Thoriq.

The Fenaka Corporation was established to take over from the seven utility corporations established during the administration of former President Nasheed.

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