Tag: maldives news

Projects awarded to MTCC increases fourfold

The state-owned Maldives Transport and Contracting Company (MTCC) has said that the number of projects awarded to the company has increased fourfold in the first quarter of 2014 compared to the same period last year.

MTCC revealed in its first quarterly report for 2014 made public yesterday that 18 projects have been awarded to the company this year while only four were awarded in the first quarter of 2013.

While the company completed several harbour and construction projects this year, MTCC noted that difficulties in importing construction material from India had stalled progress.

Among the projects completed by the MTCC during the first quarter included a harbour construction project in Faafu Bilehdhoo, deepening of a channel in Haa Alifu Kelaa, harbour construction in Laamu Kunahandhoo, and development of the Thaa Thimarafushi Domestic Airport.

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Tourist arrivals increase six percent in March

Tourist arrivals in March increased six percent in annual terms but declined five percent in monthly terms, reaching 105,560 guests during the month, according to the Maldives Monetary Authority’s (MMA) monthly economic review released yesterday (April 30).

“The annual increase was due to the rise in the number of arrivals from China which offset the decline in arrivals from Europe,” explained the central bank’s monthly update of “developments in key economic sectors”.

Total bednights meanwhile rose two percent in annual terms, “while the average duration of stay declined marginally.”

The occupancy rate also decreased slightly compared to March 2013, falling to 82 percent. The report noted that the operational capacity of the tourism industry rose during the review month.

The Tourism Ministry meanwhile revealed yesterday that tourist arrivals in the first quarter of 2014 increased 9.7 percent compared to the same period of 2013, reaching a total of 321,561.

Europe retained the largest market share, accounting for of 51.3 percent of all arrivals to the Maldives with a total of 321,561 tourists during the first quarter of the 2014, the Tourism Ministry stated.

Asia and the Pacific recorded a growth rate of 24.4 percent at the end of first quarter of 2014, bringing in an additional 26,606 tourists to reach a total of 135,839.

The region accounted for 42.2 percent of arrivals to the Maldives at the end of first quarter of 2014.

According to the Tourism Ministry, the Chinese market expanded by 24 percent with an additional 16,960 tourists compared with the same period of 2013.

Statistics from the Tourism Ministry show that 331,719 Chinese tourists visited the Maldives last year, which was a 44.5 percent increase from the previous year.

Chinese tourists accounted for 29.5 percent of all tourist arrivals in 2013.

The Maldivian economy is largely dependent on tourism, which accounted for 28 percent of GDP on average in the past five years, and generated 38 percent of government revenue in 2012.

Inflation

Meanwhile, in the second largest industry, the volume of fish exports as well as earnings “fell significantly by 80 percent and 66 percent respectively” compared to March 2013.

The decline was accounted for by the fall in the volume of and earnings from “fresh, chilled or frozen tuna exports.”

“The International Monetary Fund (IMF) commodity price index fell marginally in monthly and annual terms during March 2014,” the central bank noted.

“The monthly decline was mainly due to the fall in both petroleum and metal prices which off set the increase in food prices during the review month.”

The price of crude oil in March 2014 was US$104 per barrel.

The inflation rate in the Maldives meanwhile decelerated to 2.3 percent in March from 3.4 percent the previous month.

“This was largely contributed by the slower growth in food prices, especially fish, and also due to the moderate growth in the prices charged for housing and utilities,” the report explained.

“Similarly, the rate of inflation declined marginally in monthly terms during March 2014, which was also due to the slower growth in fish prices.”

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Nasheed warns of “imminent sovereign debt crisis”

Former President Mohamed Nasheed has warned of a sovereign debt crisis if the Maldives is forced to pay US$1.4 billion in compensation to GMR over the abrupt termination of a concession agreement to develop Ibrahim Nasir International Airport (INIA).

Nasheed also reiterated calls for the government to reverse the decision to cancel the contract in December 2012.

“The Maldives is now known around the world as a country that doesn’t keep its promises or honour the contracts. The airport fiasco will hit each and every Maldivian because banks won’t lend money and companies won’t invest in our country without demanding much higher rates of interest,” Nasheed was quoted as saying in a press release issued yesterday.

“By now, Maldivians should have been looking forward to a world-class, new airport, to rival Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, and Hong Kong. Instead we have nothing but an abandoned building site. The actions of President [Abdulla] Yameen and [Dr Mohamed] Waheed have caused this crisis and Maldivians will be paying for their recklessness for decades to come” he added.

The press statement insisted that international best practices were followed in the bidding process – which was overseen by the World Bank’s International Finance Corporation (IFC) – while the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has since ruled out corruption in the airport deal.

Nasheed’s remarks comes on the heels of the opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) – of which he was recently appointed acting president – threatening to terminate any new agreements concerning the airport should the party regain power.

Failure to reinstate the airport development contract would cause the Maldives to “suffer unforeseeable risk and irrevocable harm,” the party said in a statement yesterday.

Compensation owed “in any case”

Following President Abdulla Yameen publicly conceding that the Indian infrastructure company was owed compensation, GMR said it intends to stick to the US$1.4 billion compensation claim.

“The forceful takeover of the airport by Maldives government amounts to repudiation of a valid contract and therefore damages, including loss of future profit has to paid,” the company said in a statement on Friday (April 26).

Asked by reporters a day earlier if he was confident the outcome of the arbitration would be favourable for the Maldives, President Yameen said: “The reality we have to accept is that a government with full sovereign powers made an agreement with a foreign party and leased [the airport]. This is a government, and what preceded this was a government as well. So believe we have to pay them some kind of financial compensation.”

If the judges on the arbitration panel accept the government’s arguments for nationalisation or expropriation, Yameen said the compensation owed to GMR could be smaller.

“We’re going to have to provide compensation in any case,” he conceded.

Yameen however contended later that GMR was owed US$300 million as compensation for its investment as well as upgrades to the airport.

Yameen had previously said that the out-of-court settlement sought by GMR was too high, and that he would await the outcome of the arbitration proceedings, which could take up to another two months.

“Sovereign debt”

The US$1.4 billion sought by GMR at the Singapore Court of Appeal for “wrongful termination” of the 25-year contract exceeds the annual state budget whilst the national debt is expected to rise to MVR31 billion (US$2 billion) this year.

Nasheed meanwhile warned that “the consequences of the outcome of the arbitration will drive the Maldivian economy to the brink, leading to major sovereign debt crisis.”

The statement noted that estimated GDP for 2014 was US$2.5 billion with an external debt of US$868 billion while the Maldives presently “receives less than US$30 million in grant aid.”

“Coupled by the budget deficit and domestic debt crisis, we are looking at a heavy burden on our children and grandchildren. It would mean by the end of 2014, debt will increase from 25 percent of GDP to 88 percent of GDP,” it added.

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President’s Office removes ‘socially unacceptable’ film awards pictures from website

The President’s Office has removed “socially unacceptable” pictures taken at Tuesday’s Maldives Film Awards from its website.

Presidential Spokesperson Ibrahim Muaz Ali told Minivan News the pictures had been removed on Wednesday evening following local media and social media criticism of “pictures against social norms.”

President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom and Defense Minister Ahmed Nazim attended the event held at the Olympus Theater in Malé. The ceremony was broadcast live on state broadcaster Television Maldives (TVM).

“We felt these pictures should not be on the President’s Office website. They are against social norms,” Muaz said.

Muaz refused to provide further details on which pictures were removed. But Minivan News understands they were of female film stars in revealing clothes.

Some commentators criticized the photos on religious grounds, while others pointed to the administration’s “hypocritical” treatment of female detainees arrested from a music festival on Anbaraa Island and accused of wearing revealing clothing on April 18.

The women were wrapped in sarongs when they were presented at the Criminal Court for remand hearings.

Comparing the film awards and Anbaraa music festival, one Facebook commenter said: “When the girls wore shorts and danced at Anbaraa it became a problem. But its OK when adult women wear revealing clothes and when some dance infront of political leaders. Raid Olympus just as they raided Anbaraa. This is why I say how they do things do not make sense.”

One commenter on Channel News Maldives said they were saddened by President Yameen’s presence at the event, while another said: “Those who raised their voices and cried in the name of religion and nation are now speechless, their voices silenced, mute.”

Facebook user, Shifa Aishath, called for Home Minister Umar Naseer’s resignation: “Girls wearing shorts needed sarongs to cover them. What about the so-called celebrities? End discrimination! Umar resign!”

Political Analyst Azra Naseem said the treatment of the young people on Anbaraa Island “is a supreme example of the hypocrisy that defines Maldives.”

“It is one of the worst kept secrets of Maldivian politics that most of the Maldivian cabinet, and a substantial number of parliamentarians in the Majlis all drink alcohol and/or take recreational drugs. Several government Ministers not only drink but also facilitate parties and raves for young people they know. On the more sleazy side of things, several do so with the goal of getting sexual favours from young people in exchange for the illegal substances provided,” she said in a comment piece.

Referring to the Criminal Court’s stalling of a court case against MP Ahmed ‘Sun Travel’ Shiyam and state failure to investigate Supreme Court Judge Ali Hameed’s alleged appearance in a series of sex tapes, Azra said: “And the hypocrisy of those meting out such punishment, while happily indulging in worse behaviour themselves, boggles the mind perhaps even more than some of the substances said to have been available at Anbaraa could have.”

In May 2013, the police detained a 16 year old girl in Malé for “dressing inappropriately.”

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Suspect in custody over Hulhumale’ stabbing

Police have taken a 20-year-old male suspect into custody yesterday in relation to a stabbing in Hulhumale’ on Monday night (April 26), local media reports.

Ibrahim Ausham, 25, was treated at the Hulhumale’ hospital after he was reportedly stabbed four times near the ‘China flats’ in Hulhumale’.

Police declined to reveal further details as the case was under investigation.

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Revenue collected by customs increased 17 percent in first quarter

Total revenue of the Maldives Customs Service (MCS) in the first quarter of 2014 increased 17 percent compared to the same period the previous year.

The MCS revealed yesterday that a total of MVR424.9 million worth of custom duties and other charges – fees and fines – was collected in the first quarter this year while MVR363.3 million was collected in the first quarter of 2013.

“The total CIF [cost, insurance and freight] value of goods imported has also increased by 11 percent during 2014Q1, when compared to 2013Q1,” MCS said.

“Total imports measured MVR7.2 billion during 2014Q1, while it was MVR6.5 billion during the same period last year.”

One-third of the MVR7.2 billion worth goods imported during the first quarter represented importation of petroleum products.

“The second most imported category of goods was food items, which accounted 20 percent of total imports, followed by machinery and electronics which shared 14 percent of total imports,” MCS noted.

“Exports, on the other hand, have declined by 25 percent  during 2014Q1, compared to 2013Q1. Total FOB value of goods sold abroad valued MVR 752.5 million in 2013Q1. However, this figure decreased to MVR 562.2 million in 2014Q1. Approximately 70 percent of goods imported during 2014Q1 were sourced from 5 countries and 64 percent of goods exported from Maldives were bought by 5 countries.”

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19 year-old Maldivian HIV patient gives birth

A 19 year-old woman with HIV has given birth to a child last week at the Indira Gandi Memorial Hospital (IGMH), local media have reported

According to online newspaper ‘MV Youth’ the patient was allegedly involved in a sexual relationship with a man with HIV when she was 15 years of age.

The website reported that the man who she had sex with was found guilty of having sex with the girl and sentenced to 19 lashes in 2010 by the Criminal Court. It was not confirmed whether the baby was tested positive to HIV.

Speaking to Minivan News today IGMH Spokesperson Zeenath Ali said that she had not heard of the incident.

‘’Some other news agencies had contacted me today and asked about it but I told them that only the concerned authorities such as Health Ministry and concerned persons from IGMH will have that kind of information,’’ she said.

She said she cannot confirm whether or not the information was true.

On February 27, an expatriate lab technician working at IGMH who was allegedly responsible for the transfusion of HIV positive blood to a pregnant Maldivian patient was taken into police custody.

The technician at fault reported the blood as negative despite the machine showing that it was positive for HIV.

The error was discovered when the patient came in for a routine checkup on February 18, after which the blood test report was reviewed.

The blood sample was taken from a donor found by the patient and not from the hospital’s blood bank and was not previously registered as an HIV patient.

In October 2012, the then Minister of Health Dr Ahmed Jamsheed Mohamed claimed it was only through “incredible luck” that HIV had not spread across the Maldives, considering the prolific levels of unprotected sex and intravenous drug use.

Jamsheed at the time spoke of the risks of promiscuity in the society, referring to the 2010 case where police arrested an HIV positive prostitute. He stated that the same prostitute had been identified in the Maldives as being HIV positive in the year 2009 as well.

Since the first case of HIV in 1991, 19 cases of HIV have been reported among Maldivians, while the estimations of HIV positive persons are as high as 70 – 100.

The Health Ministry has previously warned about a possible explosion of HIV/AIDS in the country, with high risk behavior such as drug use and numerous sexual partners a concern.

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MDP calls for GMR reinstatement

Opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) has called for the reinstatement of the airport development contract with Indian GMR Infrastructure and warned the party will terminate any new agreements if it comes to power.

“The MDP immediately calls on the Government of Maldives that instead of repealing the annulled agreement in order to award it to another party, to render it to its original benefactor. The failure to conduct this repeal would allow Maldives to suffer unforeseeable risk and irrevocable harm,” the party said in a statement today.

“[T]his party on this day hereby resolves that any government formed by this party shall annul all corrupt agreements made by this government regarding the airport and render it back to whom it is rightfully due.”

The warning comes following President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom’s call for new airport developers at an investment forum in Singapore.

The GMR, in consortium with Malaysia Aiports, narrowly won the International Finance Corporation (IFC) managed bid for the airport in 2010, and signed the agreement with Maldives Airport Company Ltd (MACL) under the former government of Mohamed Nasheed.

However, following a nationalist campaign to evict GMR and Nasheed’s ouster in February 2012, new President Dr Mohamed Waheed Hassan declared GMR’s concession agreement ‘void ab intio’ (invalid from the outset) in December 2012, and gave GMR seven days to leave the country.

After Singaporean court upheld the government’s decision, the GMR filed a claim for US$ 1.4 billion in compensation from the Maldives – a figure that eclipses the annual state budget. Arbitration proceedings are now underway in Singapore.

Yameen has conceded the government must compensate GMR, but said the company is only owed US$ 300 million.

The MDP noted an Anti Corruption Commission (ACC) investigation had confirmed the GMR agreement to be corruption free and said the agreement had been made according to legal and international best practices.

The ACC noted an MACL managed airport would raise US$ 254 million in 25 years while the GMR consortium would bring in US$ 534 million.

“For these reasons the MDP Government, having found that the best advantage for the Government of Maldives would be to privatise the airport, it was assigned to GMR with the benefit and wellbeing of Maldivian people in mind; where it was impliedly and manifestly known that the matter was undertaken not for political gain but rather for the public good,” the party said.

“Notwithstanding this, those in the opposition at that time not only distorted the facts completely to the people; but the consecutive coup government that followed unscrupulously annulled the Airport Agreement. MDP is adamant to the fact that their position did not consider the wellbeing of the nation and its people.”

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Minivan News journalist among RSF’s 100 information heroes

Minivan News journalist Mariyath Mohamed has been named an “Information Hero” by Reporters Without Borders (RSF) on the occasion of World Press Freedom Day (May 3).

The 100 information heroes “are a source of inspiration to all men and women who aspire to freedom. Without their determination and the determination of all those like them, it would be simply impossible to extend the domain of freedom,” said RSF’s Secretary General Christophe Deloire.

The RSF commends Mariyath’s coverage of the growing influence of radical Islamist groups in the Maldives in the aftermath of the controversial transfer of power in February 2012.

“I feel both honoured and humbled to receive recognition of this scale. My intention has always been to bring controversial issues to the notice of the world, and prompt discussions on the issues both locally and globally. Due to the nature of the topics, there is often as much opposition, and threats, as support. I believe we cannot make a difference unless more of us take up the challenge and speak out,” Mariyath said.

During the first five months of 2013, she was constantly followed, threatened and attacked – on one occasion by men with a steel bar.

“Your sister has hanged herself and we can help you to do the same,” an anonymous letter slipped under her door in early 2013 read.

Mariyath’s coverage of a 15- year old rape victim who was sentenced to 100 lashes shocked the international community led to the sentence being rescinded.

The list of 100 information heroes comprises women and men of all ages (25 to 75) and 65 nations.

“This initiative aims to show that the fight for freedom of information requires not only active support for the victims of abuses but also the promotion of those who can serve as models,” the RSF said.

The list includes varied figures such as Anabel Hernandez, the author of a bestseller on the collusion between Mexican politicians and organized crime, Ismail Saymaz, a Turkish journalist who has been prosecuted a number of times for his reporting, and Gerard Ryle, the head of International Consortium of Investigative Journalists for contribution to the emergence of global investigative journalism.

Glenn Greenwald and Laura Poitras, US citizens who were responsible for revealing the mass electronic surveillance methods used by the US and British intelligence agencies are also named.

In recent years, Maldivian journalists have come under growing threat with two journalists surviving murder attempts in 2013 and 2012.

In February 2013, opposition aligned broadcaster Raajje TV reporter Ibrahim ‘Asward’ Waheed was nearly beaten to death, whilst the station’s offices and equipment were destroyed in an arson attack in October.

In June 2012, two men slashed freelance journalist and blogger Ismail ‘Hilath’ Rasheed’s throat with a box cutter. Hilath is currently seeking political asylum abroad.

The RSF has ranked Maldives 108 on its World Press Freedom Index in 2014, marking a decline in press freedom for the third consecutive year. Fiji, at 107, experienced a coup in 2006, and the Central African Republic, at 109, is in the midst of a civil war following a coup in 2013.

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