Tag: maldives news

The Maldives will run for the UN Human Rights Council: Shaheed

Minister of Foreign Affairs Dr Ahmed Shaheed, has lauded the progress of the Maldives towards human rights, in front of an audience of world leaders at the 13th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva.

Speaking to the UN Council on 1 March, Dr Shaheed said although the situation of human rights in the country was moving in the right direction, it is “still very much a work in progress.”

Dr Shaheed added that the Council had played a very important part in the transformation of the Maldives, and this change could not have been possible without the “strong, mutually respectful and cooperative relationship with the Human Rights Council.”

In 2006, the first year the Human Rights Council met in Geneva, the Maldives was under constant criticism from international human rights NGOs.

“I have frequently addressed the Council since 2006,” said Shaheed, adding that, since then, the human rights situation in the country has become “unrecognisable” as so much progress has been made.

Dr Shaheed said it is “self-evident that much had been achieved” since 2006, thanks to the work the Council has provided for human rights in the country, the change in government and the ratification of the new constitution.

Dr Shaheed also announced the Maldives’ candidature for a seat in the Human Rights Council in the upcoming May elections to be held at UN Headquarters in New York.

“I am here lobbying for candidature,” said Shaheed. “We have very strong support and are very confident of winning [a seat in the Council].”

Besides the Maldives, Malaysia, Thailand, Qatar and Iran are also running in the elections for one of the four available seats in the Human Rights Council.

“The Maldives’ own positive experience with the international human rights system lies behind our decision to run for election” said Dr Shaheed. “We believe in the Council and the work that it does. We understand, through first-hand experience, its value and its capacity to bring about change”.

The minister also mentioned the new bills that are waiting for approval at the People’s Majlis, which he said will “enact a wide-array of crucial legislation in the field of human rights.”

These bills are: a bill on persons with disabilities, an evidence bill, a drugs and rehabilitation bill, a bill on the right to information, a prison bill, a bill on violence against women, and a new penal code.

Minister Shaheed acknowledged that “adopting new laws is not an end in itself” in making positive changes in society. He said the laws need to be enforced, perceptions need to be changed in the government, and the people need to be educated on what human rights mean in practise.

Dr Shaheed also informed the delegates of the Council of the government’s recent decision to withdraw the reservation on the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, which states that women can run for senior political office.

Dr Shaheed said today was the last day of the high-level address from dignitaries to the Council, and he will be joining the president’s delegation in Germany this Sunday for the rest of his European tour.

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President Nasheed speaks of development and politics in Noonu Atoll

President Mohamed Nasheed has said political rivalry in the islands should not impede their development.

Speaking at Noonu Manadhoo, in the final leg of his visit of the northern atolls, President Nasheed urged all parties to communicate in situations of disputes and disagreements.

He said the government would consider public opinion before implementing all its policies.

He spoke on the measures to be taken in improving the education system. He said school boards were formed in most of the schools and they were given considerable authority in the management of the schools.

The president noted the connection between educating the youth and the future development of the country.

President Nasheed also mentioned the transportation and housing projects being set up for Noonu Atoll.

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President submits decentralisation bill

President Mohamed Nasheed has submitted the revised Decentralisation Bill to the People’s Majlis.

The bill states that each of the administrative divisions stated in Schedule 2 of the Constitution—except Malé—will be administered by an atoll council elected in accordance with the Constitution.

It also provides representation to both men and women in the elected island and city councils.

The bill gives the president the authority to establish province offices to provide the services of ministries and coordinate government projects in different regions.

The president also proposed the 2nd amendment bill to Act 2/99 (Tourism Act), to make the industry more sustainable and increase the government’s revenue from tourism.

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Government debt reaches $553 million, a third of GDP

President Mohamed Nasheed has highlighted the financial problems the government is facing, mainly foreign debt and a gaping budget deficit.

In his speech President Nasheed reminded the Majlis of his address last year, when he said his “administration was prepared to provide equitable services to all citizens and to be accountable for the people.”

The president noted his administration had made “satisfactory progress in these endeavours,” but also mentioned some startling figures regarding budget deficit and debt.

In 2009 the government’s debt to foreign financial agencies and banks stood at US$553.8 million (Rf7 billion), which amounted to 37.6% of the country’s GDP. The government’s total expenditure for the same year was US$617.2 million (Rf7.9 billion).

The estimated government expenditure for 2010 is of US$648.4 million (Rf8.3 billion). The People’s Majlis approved a total of US$710.9 million (Rf9.1 billion) to be allocated for government spending.

The estimated revenue for 2010 is of US$781.2 million (Rf10 billion) and the estimated deficit for this year is of US$429.7 million (Rf5.5 billion).

Mr Rodrigo Cubero, IMF mission chief for Maldives, said in a press release issued in January 2010: “The Maldivian economy continues to face serious challenges. In particular, addressing the very large fiscal deficit is of paramount importance to secure a stable economy, equitable growth, and lasting poverty reduction.”

The government has said it plans to minimise the deficit by reducing government expenditure, including by cutting down the number of public servants and decentralising several government agencies. Both measures have encountered heavy opposition.

On this subject, President Nasheed said “the government will continue to make every possible effort to bring about a positive change to the salaries of civil servants and government employees.”

The government will also “include processes to increase revenues of the state.” This includes the proposed taxation bills—the bill on administration of taxation, the bill on business profit tax, and a newly submitted bill on taxing from sales of tourism service providers.

The president said he was “confident that this Majlis will work to ensure that these…bills are passed as soon as possible.”

Permanent Secretary for the Finance Ministry Ismail Shafeeq explained that most of the debt was owed to “loans from foreign institutions, banks and other agencies” as well as foreign and domestic borrowings, most of which are being used in the economic development of the Maldives.

“The loans will take a long time to pay back, some of them are for 40 years,” said Shafeeq, but added that the government is making the payments on time.

“The deficit is a problem. It means a shortage – the government has spent so much.”

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in partnership with the UNDP, will be hosting the IV Maldives Partnership Forum, also known as the Donor’s Conference, later this month. The forum seeks to find foreign investment for their development plans, which would help significantly in lowering government expenditure.

“Reducing expenditure and restricting unnecessary spending” are key to solving the country’s financial debt, according to Shafeeq.

The government is also following recommendations from the IMF and ADB, both of whom have given out significant loans to the government for the economic development program.

In a press release produced by the IMF in December 2009 Deputy Managing Director and Acting Chair of the IMF, Mr Takakoshi Kato, said:

“The authorities’ program, while subject to considerable risks, is strong, comprehensive, and well-focused, and deserves strong support of the international community. If fully implemented, it will put the Maldivian economy back on a path of macroeconomic stability and set the conditions for sustained economic growth and poverty reduction.”

President Nasheed said in his speech that “the government has embraced the advice of international financial agencies and begun the implementation of some of the measures suggested by these agencies. We have started enjoying the benefits of these measures.”

The IMF allocated a loan of US$92.5 million last December to go towards the economic recovery program.

The ADB has assisted with two loans, one of US$\1.5 million and one of US$3 million. Both are to go towards the economic recovery programme.

The Ministry of Finance could not provide Minivan News with the estimated debt for 2010 at time of publication.

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President Nasheed criticises judiciary for “carelessness”

President Mohamed Nasheed criticised the judiciary during a Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) rally at the artificial beach.

“When there’s Rf5 million in a bag underneath the bed and the judge doesn’t think it raises any kind of doubt, I wonder how they perform their duties as a judge,” said the president at the rally on Sunday.

He added that the government would not back down and will continue to arrest other drug dealers.

Following the rally, the MDP called for those concerned to “raise their voices against a justice system that is repeatedly careless about these acts.”

The criticism of both the president and his party follows the Criminal Court’s decision to acquit Adam Naseer of H. Reendhooge earlier this week. The government had previously alleged that Naseer was one of the country’s six major drug lords.

Naseer was arrested last July after police searched his house in Addu Atoll and found over Rf5 million in cash, as well as some drugs found outside his property.

This week, Criminal Court Judge Abdul Baary Yousuf found Naseer not guilty of dealing drugs due to lack of evidence.

President Nasheed said MDP was pledged to combat drug trafficking and abuse as there was “not one family untouched by the heroin endemic.”

Also speaking at the rally, MDP chairperson and MP Mariya Ahmed Didi called on everyone who protested against the proposed liquor licenses to demand the enforcement of the drug laws.

“Come out and call for the enforcement of the law on illegal drugs,” she said, asking for the support of the coalition of NGOs and the Adhaalath party, which brought thousands of people to the tsunami monument on Friday.

Mariya claimed the judiciary was not cooperating with the government in sentencing drug dealers.

According to the MDP statement, “one of the most important pledges of the MDP government is that of tackling the problem of drug abuse.”

The party mentioned the Naseer case, saying it “finds it worrying that the justice system is opening doors for these criminals to escape” and “we call upon the Prosecutor General to take this matter to the Supreme Court and work to achieve a speedy and just outcome to this matter.”

Naseer’s case has sparked controversy because he has previously been arrested and acquitted on drug dealing charges. He was also included in President Nasheed’s ‘top six’ list of drug dealers. Police investigated him for months before placing him under arrest in July 2009.

The MDP’s press statement claimed that “despite the forensic evidence found by the hard work of police, the justice system rules against the evidence and is careless in implementing justice.”

Police Spokesperson Abdul Moosa said “in every case we submit evidence at hand when the investigation is over.”

He did not specify what evidence was submitted for Naseer’s case or if it was admissible in court.

The PG’s office has said it will be appealing the case to the High Court, but did not respond to Minivan News today.

The Judicial Services Commission (JSC) had not made a comment at time of publication.

President Nasheed said yesterday in his Presidential Address to the People’s Majlis that in 2009 “there was an increase of 41.4 per cent in the number of people arrested for drug abuse, when compared with 2008 figures.”

The president did not mention if the number of convictions had also risen.

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MDP now the largest political party, says Elections Commission

The Elections Commission has announced that the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) has overtaken the opposition Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) to become the largest political party in the country.

President of the Elections Commission Fuad Thaufeeq said the MDP is now the largest political party with 31,171 members, narrowly overtaking the DRP’s 30,775 members.

Fuad noted that there was a possibility the DRP would regain its position once another 2000 membership forms were processed.

DRP Secretary General and MP Abdulla Mausoom claimed the EC had not included the forms of 2400 DRP members in the list it had released.

”We want to believe that EC is an independent commission,” Mausoom said, ”but sometimes questions arise about them.”

DRP MP Ali Waheed accused the the commission of failing to include DRP members, claiming it was influenced by the ruling party.

”We are visiting the atolls this weekend,” he said, ”and during that  visit we will reveal what action we plan to take.”

Fuad rejected the allegations as false information.

”We cannot be influenced by any party,” he said, noting that the commission did not support or depend on any political party. In a previous interview with Minivan News, Fuad has noted that sometimes existing members seeking to join other political parties failed to realise they had to leave their current party before applying.

MDP MP Alhan Fahmy said the DRP’s claims the EC was being influenced were “regrettable”.

”Everyone must respect the independent commission,” he said, ”and when things do not go the way [DRP] planned it is unfair to say the commission was influenced.”

Alhan said when he joined MDP, “many DRP members followed.”

Umar Naseer said he respected the EC and did not believe it was being influenced, but suggested DRP’s membership would top MDP when the new membership statistics settled this week.

By the numbers

After the two major parties, the third largest party in the Maldives is the  Jumhooree party with 7565 members, followed by the Islamic Democratic Party (IDP) with 5359 members and the  Adhaalath party with 5163. Former President of the IDP Umar Naseer is currently attempting to dissolve the IDP, however the EC has ruled against this decision.

The People’s Alliance (PA) has the least number of members at 3107, below the Dhivehi Qaumy Party (DQP)’s 3480 members.

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Development bank to be established this year

President Mohamed Nasheed has announced the establishment of a new development bank specialising in providing investments for small and medium enterprises, to be ready at the end of the year.

President Nasheed added the main challenge for these enterprises is lack of funding, and said he hopes a new development bank will solve the problem.

The president said the ministry of Economic Development is providing financial assistance to these enterprises through a fund worth MRF 18.8 million. He said 41 per cent of those receiving assistance were women.

President Nasheed added that the government is working to bring in more foreign investment. In 2009, 18 foreign investments were approved. According to the president, the total foreign investment registered in 2009 was US$22 million.

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President begins tour of northern islands

President Mohamed Nasheed began a tour of some of the islands of the northern atolls in the Maldives.

The president will visit some islands of Shaviyani Atoll and Noonu Atoll.

As part of his tour, President Nasheed inaugurated Beach House Maldives Resort, now part of the Waldorf Astoria Collection, at Haa Alif Manafaru yesterday afternoon.

Beach House Maldives is the first Waldorf Astoria Collection property to open in Asia.

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