Tag: maldives news

Afternoon deadline set for MPs’ budgetary amendment proposals

MPs had been given until 4pm this afternoon to recommend amendments for the 2011 State budget after the completion of a parliamentary joint committee evaluation on Thursday, Ahmed Nazim, the Deputy Speaker of Parliament has said.

Nazim has said that following a multi-party evaluation that took place last week by both members of the country’s finance and economic committees, the 2011 budget is expected to be tabled tomorrow in front of parliament, with discussions expected to take a few days.

The passing of the annual budget is constitutionally required to be completed before the end of the previous calendar year, with the government said to be keen on spending cuts as part of plans to try and reduce the country’s budget deficit to about 16 per cent.

There had been concern over when the evaluation process was set to be completed; however, it is thought that there will be a few days worth of debate as within parliament as members attempt to ensure amendments within the final expenditure document before passing it through the Majlis.

The government is under considerable pressure from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to reduce the budget deficit, which President Mohamed Nasheed last month said was around 26.5 per cent.

Acting finance minister Mahmood Razee today said that he believed there had been “no major changes” to the main objectives of the budget during the evaluation, particularly in regards to the predicted deficit.

“We believe that the 16 per cent figure will be maintained,” said Razee in relation to the government’s stated aim of trying to cut the deficit.However, with a deadline on member-supported amendments set for this afternoon in parliament, Razee added that there could be a number of recommended changes yet imposed on the final budget.

“Any potential changes will now depend on amendments being supplied by MPs,” he said. “We expect the final vote to take place about December 29.”

However, there has been some criticisms of the budget – both among opposition MPs like Ahmed Nazim and independent members like Mohamed ‘Kutti’ Nasheed – over claims that there is insufficient detail about the exact nature of certain government spending projects.

Nasheed, an independent MP who was not involved with the evaluation committee, said last week that he had identified some preliminary concerns over spending allocation, particularly in areas such as decentralization, despite stating optimism the budget would be passed before the New Year deadline.

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MJA condemns protesters’ blockade of journalists

The Maldives Journalist Association (MJA) has said that two journalists and a cameraman from the Maldives National Broadcasting Corporation (MNBC) were verbally attacked and obstructed from covering a protest by the Adhaalath Party in Male’ last Friday .

The MJA has claimed that protesters had been found to have deliberately obstructed MNBC staff, as well as allegedly “verbally attacking”  its journalists.

”As freedom of gathering and freedom of journalism are rights guaranteed under the constitution, any act that obstructs from gaining these rights are not acceptable,” said MJA.  “And we condemn any person that encourages such actions.”

The MJA said that despite any considered bias in MNBC’s broadcasts, ”we call on everyone not to obstruct the work of any journalists working in MNBC, and it is not something this organisation will support.”

During Friday afternoon, the Adhaalath Party held a protest against the government’s decision to transfer all the students to the land of EPS School until the new Arabiyya School building was finished.

Arabiyya school was closed after cracks in the building’s wall led to it falling, a development which was linked to the structure’s age.

Some students were forced change to other schools because the capacity in the building they were transferred was inadequate for all the students.

However, parents and students were unhappy because of a wish to study in Arabic.  Arabiyya is the only such school in the country thought to offer such a service, according to protesters.

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President Nasheed discharges councillors ahead of local elections

President Mohamed Nasheed has today terminated the positions of appointed councillors ahead of local elections set to take place in February.

Nasheed claimed that the decision to discharge the councillors reflected an attempt to ensure February’s local council elections will be contested in an as “free and fair” manner as possible. The decision was first announced by the president back in September, according to a statement released from his office.

“The people will place one of the biggest responsibilities in national development on the local councils to be elected in February 2011,” read the statement.

“Accordingly, with respect to the powers vested on him under Article 115 of the Constitution, the President has decided to discharge all councillors appointed by him, effective from 26 December 2010.”

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Umar Naseer pursues dismissal validity case within DRP: report

Umar Naseer, a Former Deputy Leader of the Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) Deputy Leader who was dismissed earlier this month by its disciplinary committee, has filed a case to try and have the decision declared invalid, Haveeru has reported.

Naseer has reportedly filed a case to the DRP’s council as opposed to appealing to its disciplinary committee after he was not sure whether he “would get justice”, the former Deputy Leader told the paper.

“I filed the case in the council because it is the highest element of the party. The council has the authority to declare a committee decision invalid. The charter does not state that the council cannot invalidate a Disciplinary Committee’s decision,” he was reported as having said.

Naseer also reiterated his belief that a DRP Deputy Leader could only be removed by at least a two thirds vote against them by the party’s congress, a requirement he has claimed is outlined in its charter.

Naseer told Minivan News after a visit to Malaysia last week that former party leader and national president, Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, had personally backed him in the dismissal dispute.

“Mr Gayoom believes that the dismissal was illegal and he wants the party to abide by its own constitution and still believes that I hold the office,” he claimed.

Naseer added that he was confident that the Maldives’ general election commissioner would in time rule that his dismissal by the party was improper.

“There will be nothing to renegotiate, the position is illegal and I believe this will be supported by the election commission,” he said.

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Opinion divided over budget evaluation deadline

Acting Finance Minister Mahmood Razee has said progress is being made within an ongoing multi-party evaluation of the 2011 State Budget, despite claims by Ahmed Nazim, the Deputy Speaker of Parliament, that talks “have not gone well” due to a lack of details on planned state spending.

Opinion appears divided within the ongoing parliamentary joint committee evaluation, which is being overseen by members from both the country’s finance and economic committees, upon how near the budget is to being agreed upon by parliament before the deadline of the New Year.

Razee, who was allowed to present the budget this month despite ongoing battles in the Majlis over cabinet appointments, said he was confident the government could still meet its aims to cut the country’s budget deficit to about 16 per cent, despite allowing for concessions requested by opposition MPs.

The government is under considerable pressure from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to reduce the deficit, which President Mohamed Nasheed last month said was around 26.5 per cent.

Speaking to Minivan News today, Razee claimed that the parliamentary joint committee was generally “committed” to trying to find an agreement that would allow for reductions of the budget deficit. He therefore hoped to have the evaluation completed by Sunday, December 27.

“The basic principles [of the budget] remain the same, the budget deficit needs to be reduced and this is accepted by most parties,” said Razee. “We maybe will need to make some adjustments during the evaluation. A budget deficit of 16 per cent is what we are targeting given the current circumstances.”

Ahmed Nazim conceded that a need to meet a looming New Year deadline to approve the 2011 budget would require members within the parliamentary committee to put aside their political differences and “let bygones be bygones”.

However, the parliament Deputy Speaker claimed that the finance Ministry has “not been communicating” with the Majlis on the budget, a situation he said that was reflected within the evaluation process.

Nazim cadded that anticipated delays in providing information on the budget could make the discussions “go right to the wire” in terms of meeting an evaluation deadline of December 30.

“We are not looking for concessions, the government has a mandate to pursue its own economic policies,” he said. “But there are so many problems with the budget, which is lacking details regarding a number of projects and figures.”

As the evaluation process has continued, Nazim claimed that Information had been arriving “in bits and pieces” to help provide greater detail on budgetary spending, however he said expected that the evaluation process will ultimately take a “long time” to complete.

“We are looking for a reasonable budget,” said Nazim. “Reasonable, like for example, with housing funds, where the government is looking to sell land in Male’, but where is the land that can be sold? They have gone on to say it will actually be land in Huhlumale’ and other islands.”

Due to the levels of cost involved, the Deputy Speaker added that the evaluation committee has “asked for breakdowns” regarding individual expenditure – pointing to an apparent lack of funding in the budget for the Maldives National Broadcasting Corperation (MNBC), despite the government admitting it will be providing money.

“There is no budget [for MNBC], yet they have given Rf54 million [to the broadcaster],” claimed Nazim.

Mohamed ‘Kutti’ Nasheed, an independent MP who is not involved with the evaluation committee, said that despite holding some preliminary concerns over spending allocation, particularly in areas such as decentralisation, he believes the budget will be completed within its New Year deadline.

“I think it will be done, there is willingness,” he said.

However, Nasheed claimed that he had been concerned that the initial budget had failed to outline any finance plans for local councils once they are expected to be formed following February’s elections.

IMF concerns

Beyond trying to outline funding of the state for the year of the ahead, the passing of the annual budget within a constitutionally mandated deadline of the end of the calendar year is also being seen as vital to groups such as the IMF.

Back in November the IMF delayed its third disbursement to the country because of the government’s inaction on the matter of the budget deficit during 2010, pending the release of the 2011 budget.

While the IMF program itself is worth US$92.5 million, other foreign donors and investors consider the IMF’s opinion of a country’s fiscal policies when making decisions.

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Islamic Ministry has “no issues” with government despite Shaheem resignation: Mohamed Didi

The Permanent Secretary for the Ministry of Islamic Affairs has claimed that both himself and Minister Dr Abdul Majeed Abdul Bari have no “major issues” with the government despite today’s resignation of Islamic State Minister, Mohamed Sheikh Shaheem Ali Saeed.

The resignation, which has not yet been officially confirmed by the President’s Office, has been linked by figures within government to alleged differences of opinion between the State Minister for Islamic Affairs and President Mohamed Nasheed, particularly in relation to recent protests that have taken place in the country concerning the work of an Israeli NGO.

Permanent Secretary for the Ministry of Islamic Affairs, Mohamed Didi, said he had been taken by “surprise” this afternoon after being informed of the State Minister’s decision to resign by a colleague within the ministry.

“This is a complete surprise to me, I wasn’t aware of the decision until I saw some news reports and a member of staff here then told me,” he said.

Speaking to Minivan News this afternoon, Didi said that although he had yet to speak with Shaheem about his decision to resign, the Ministry of Islamic Affairs would continue to function as normal as Dr Bari remained in his position.

“I don’t see any differences as a result of the resignation while the Minister is still here,” he said.  “As part of the Ministry’s policy, there is no difference of opinion between us and the government.”

Dr Bari is a member of the religious Adhaalath Party along with Shaheem.

In looking to at the long term status of the Adhaalath Party in the Islamic Ministry, Didi said it was “a bit early” to tell what sort of action, if any, might be taken as a result of the resignation.

While the President’s Office confirmed that it had received a letter from Shaheem today, it was unable to disclose the contents of the document until they had been seen by the President himself, who is currently away on a visit to the country’s northern atolls.

Press Secretary for the President, Mohamed Zuhair, told Minivan News that in light of a recent number of protests against government policy that had allegedly involved Shaheem, “it was possible that the State Minister may have decided his position was untenable”.

Zuhair claimed that there had perhaps been concern that as both a prominent member of the Islamic Ministry and the religious Adhaalath Party, Shaheem had appeared to “overstep boundaries” by allegedly using his Friday sermons to incite “political protest” and “demonstrations” against the government he worked for.

“Things came to a head this morning when a group of parents from Arabiyya School came to the President’s Office over concerns about funding, a  political advisor then held a meeting with them about their concerns,” he said.  “Protests then took place outside containing a number of individuals considered to be members of the Adhaalath Party.”

Zuhair claimed that “well wishers” to the government, said to include members of the Adalaath Party, had suggested that some of these protestors may have “met last night with Shaheem”.  He claimed that if this was true, then this could have amounted to “provocation” against the government from one of its own state ministers, making Shaheem’s position difficult to maintain.

Both Dr Bari and Shaheem were unable to respond to calls from Minivan News at the time of going to press.  However, Shaheem last week spoke at a mass protest meeting gathered against eye surgeries being conducted in the country by an Isreali medical NGO called Eye from Zion, which had met with the president during their visit.

According to Haveeru, the speech given by Shaheem “warned of ‘direct action’ if the government continues with its ‘anti-religious’ policies.”

“The President’s Office sent me a letter giving a warning to not to speak about Islamic studies,” the paper quoted him as saying during his speech.  “Where is their shame? What is the meaning when they ask to keep quiet in response to the head of Islamic affairs in the Maldives?”

Correction: The article had originally incorrectly stated that Permanent Secretary Mohamed Didi was a member of the Adhaalath Party.  Minivan News apologises for the error.

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PA leader Yaameen reportedly considering presidential bid with DRP

People’s Alliance (PA) leader Abdullah Yaameen has told local reporters that he would stand as presidential candidate for the opposition Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP), if a primary is held for the position.

Speaking to the DhiTV channel, Yaameen, brother of the former president and DRP leader Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, said that he would consider standing as a single presidential candidate representing a “coalition” of opposition parties.

The comments were made amidst claims of a divide among some in the DRP concerning supporters of current party head, Ahmed Thasmeen Ali and those of former Deputy Leader Umar Naseer, who was dismissed on December 2 this year by a party disciplinary committee. Naseer has moved to claim that this dismissal was illegal under the DRP constitution, a claim rejected Thasmeen.

Naseer told Minivan News that he travelled to Malaysia this week with a number of party representatives to discuss both Gayoom’s and his own political future within the DRP, including an offer for the former president to stand once again for the nation’s top political  position. He added, that no decision had yet been taken by Gayoom

Naseer claimed however that Gayoom had committed to begin travelling around the Maldives during next year’s local council elections to try and win voter confidence, as well as personally backing him in the dismissal dispute.

“Mr Gayoom believes that the dismissal was illegal and he wants the party to abide by its own constitution and still believes that I hold the office,” he claimed.

DRP Deputy Leader Ibrahim Shareef said at the time that the party has not sought to talk with Gayoom or contact him regarding the rival faction in the party, and added that he was not concerned over the potential involvement of the “honorary leader.”

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Maldives’ sustainability success requires emissions action post-Cancun: WWF

The impacts of climate change talks concluded earlier this month in Cancun, Mexico, which have been praised by President Mohamed Nasheed for supporting the Maldives’ own sustainable commitments, remain as yet “too vague” to discuss in terms of success, the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) has said.

Martin Hiller, who heads Climate Policy Communications and Campaigns for the WWF environmental NGO, told Minivan News that despite the “positive” outcomes from the Cancun talks in terms of encouraging “cohesion” between nations, it remained too early to assess any long term impacts upon sustainable initiatives.

“Success will be when emission reductions are happening, and so far they are not yet,” he said. “Success will be when adaptation action is happening, and is financed. [Climate change talks in] Durban next year needs to result in concrete commitments.”

The Cancun talks have aimed, alongside other initiatives, to secure emissions reductions from every developed and developing nation, while also raising US$100 billion in funding each year to aid sustainability initiatives based on low-carbon developments for smaller economies from 2020.

Although conceding last week that Cancun alone would not be enough to aid national commitments on becoming carbon neutral by 2020, the President’s Office said it believed the talks “anchored” Nasheed’s green commitments as outlined under the Copenhagen Accord.

Despite not yet having outlined a “masterplan” for how the Maldives can actually begin to meet it aims of being completely carbon neutral in less than a decade, Nasheed said last month that failure to meet these goals would be a “disaster” for the nation and wider global arguments for developing sustainable economies.

Hiller agreed that “the Maldives had promised something and it now needed to deliver”.

However, he claimed that beyond domestic sustainability initiatives that will required by every nation, groups like the WWF are trying to establish an international system that better supports carbon neutral efforts made by nations like the Maldives – not just in terms of finance, “but technology transfer, logistical support and training.”

“In the end, we are looking at a huge transformation on this planet – either we manage that transformation ourselves and have a possibility to say what it should look like, or temperatures get out of hand, and nature will react and change the world according to the laws of physics and biology,” he added.

In considering the Maldives’ commitments on trying to develop into a low carbon economy, Hiller said he believed that it will be vital to find a “holistic” national sustainability strategy. He said such a strategy could then be used to adopt a wide selection of sustainable intiatives beyond one particular focus, helping to ensure a greater likelihood of sustainable efficiency in both cost and output.

Ultimately, Hiller claimed that the Maldives and its president had become “important players” in publicising and representing sustainable commitments like the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

He added that this importance could be seen particularly in the way the country has acted as a leader in the cause of Small Island States and all other countries perceived as being vulnerable to the potential impacts of climate change.

“The Maldives have an important role to play in the multilateral politics around climate change. They are definitely a figurehead,” Hiller added. “I’d also want to watch the progress of [the] country’s low carbon development, as this will help all us others to learn.”

Business concerns

However, not everyone has been convinced that the potential impacts of climate change on rising sea levels within low lying nations like the Maldives are a vital issue to address, at least in terms of business sensibilities.
Andrew Harrison, who was recently appointed CEO of GMR Male’ International Airport, said that at least from the viewpoint of insurance companies, the risk of sea levels increasing to a point that disrupted operations at the site were not even considered in its premiums.

“When we became involved in the bid process, we engaged three leading companies who are at the forefront of analysing geophysical activity, climate change and the impact rising sea levels,” he said. “Insurers are notorious for considering even unimaginable risks, so I can tell you that if no insurance company considers this in any of their policies for the Maldives, we think that the risk is pretty low.”

Speaking to Minivan News last month, environmental organisation Greenpeace said it believed the Maldives acted more as a symbol than a practical demonstration of how national development and fighting climate change can be mutually exclusive.

Wendel Trio, Climate Policy and Global Deal Coordinator for Greenpeace International, believed that the Maldives can nonetheless play an iconic role in promoting the potential benefits of adopting alternate energy programmes.

In looking specifically at the Maldives, the Greenpeace spokesperson accepted that the country is somewhat limited by its size in the role it can have as an advocate for more sustainable business and lifestyles.

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“Maldivian feel” central to flight group’s Gan to Hong Kong aspirations

The arrival of a new year is also expected to see a new local airline called Mega Maldives take to the country’s skies in what it has said is an attempt to bring a greater share of the lucrative tourist transportation market into local hands, at least should everything go to plan during its launch.

After today obtaining an Airline Operating Certificate (AOC) from the government that will allow it to operate flights both inside and out of the country, the new company has claimed that it hopes to launch the first of a number of scheduled services between the destinations of Hong Kong, Male’ International Airport and Gan Airport from New Year’s Eve.

The new airline said that although most of the paper work required to begin flight operations alongside the AOC has been completed, it expected to receive confirmation that it can commence flights between the Maldives and Hong Kong during the next 10 days or so.

Having obtained permission to fly, Mega Maldives has become the latest in a growing number of flight operators announcing services to try and tap interest in travelling to the Maldives from destinations across Asia to airports both in Male’ and Gan during the last 12 months.

Package companies such as India-based MakeMyTrip said they have been operating scheduled flights to Gan since early October, while budget airlines such as AirAsia and SpiceJet have also announced plans to begin flying to the Maldives by the first quarter of 2011.

Tourism officials in the country have claimed that tourist interest within the Maldives has begun to strengthen again in 2010 after a difficult 12 months in 2009, with official figures showing a 21.8 per cent rise in visitor numbers up to October.

Mifzal Ahmed, a board director for the 55 per cent Maldivian-owned Mega Maldives joint venture, told Minivan News that the company aimed to follow in the footsteps of operators such as Hawaiian Airlines by attempting to tap into interest for authentic local experiences and services – even from within an aeroplane.

The Maldives already has a national airliner under the Maldivian brand, which is operated by Island Aviation Services and currently operates services to Trivandrum, India, alongside its domestic services.

Maldivian has itself expressed interest in possible plans to expand to more international destinations upon an Initial Public Offering (IPO) of its stock, expected around halfway through the next decade.

However, Ahmed claimed that Mega Maldives has been created in an attempt to offer international passengers from across Asia “something different” in terms of travelling to the Maldives, aside from being one of a few international airlines currently flying to Gan.
“First of all we have a crew that is more than 50 per cent Maldivian, which reflects our aim to try and bring a Maldives feel to our services,” he said.

Alongside having a cabin crew that the airline said would be dressed in uniform that reflects traditional Maldives’ style, the company is also considering looking at incorporating elements such as local music, crafts and even possibly food dishes into its services, according to Ahmed, a Maldivian himself.

“We will try this, it will depend on in-flight catering, but to us this will feel like a Maldivian service.”
Mega Maldives is a joint venture company with 55 per cent of its operations owned by Maldives-based ZM Holdings and the other 45 per cent belonging to US-based group, W-Cap.

It is this Maldivian element within the business that Ahmed said had helped encourage the group to begin flying to Gan, where he claimed foreign rivals may, by contrast, have worried about the possible financial “danger” in travelling to a destination that is not as well supported by international flight services.

“On one side there is a cost aspect in flying to Gan,” he said. “On the other hand, there is strong interest in creating more services to the destination, the government and airport are very keen to have us flying there.”

Ultimately, Ahmed said that the service would not been bound solely to Gan Airport and would initially aim to fly between the southerly Maldives’ island, Male’ and Hong Kong as part of a multi-destination flight service.

As an entirely new flight provider, Ahmed claimed Mega Maldives was not too concerned about potentially going up against established flight groups already flying to the Maldives, such as Emirates, Qatar and Singapore Airlines, as they were looking to operate a different kind of service.  “We operate on a scheduled charter model by working with travel agents, which will allow us to provide more reasonable fares,” he said. “Much like all flight operators in the Maldives, most of our traffic will be through tourism, though we can develop special partnerships with travel agents to offer special and one- off routes to destinations like India.”

Ahmed claimed that this strategy could also allow Mega Maldives to put on occasional “one-off” services to allow Maldivians to travel to special sporting or religious events abroad in the future.

In the long-term though, Ahmed claimed that Mega Maldives does also have aspirations for regional expansion of its services.

“We have interest in other markets in Asia, though we know we have competition, so we are keeping our cards close to our chest at the moment,” he said.

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