Tag: maldives news

Yameen concedes that GMR is owed some compensation

With additional reporting by Ahmed Rilwan

President Abdulla Yameen has today said the government was sure it would have to pay some compensation for cancelling the agreement made with the Indian infrastructure giant GMR to lease Ibrahim Nasir International Airport (INIA).

“The truth we should accept is that a government with all its sovereignty has given permission to a foreign party under an agreement,” said the president.

“So we believe some sort of financial compensation must be paid to them. A compensation must be given for taking the airport [from them]. What we are trying to make sure this compensation is not big but average.”

Yameen was speaking to the press before leaving for Singapore to take part in the Maldives Investment Forum – an event he described as “the first step taken towards a fresh start for the Maldives in today’s world economy”.

In November 2012, President Dr Mohamed Waheed’s cabinet declared the GMR agreement void ab initio – invalid from the outset – and ordered the developer to leave, just two years into its 25 year concession agreement.

President Yameen explained to the press today that his advisors believed that, if the arbitration panel could be persuaded that the deal had been anulled due to the airport’s national importance, the compensation would be small.

GMR had initially claimed US$1.4 billion – a figure greater than the Maldives’ annual state budget.

Yameen’s Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) formed part of the Waheed coalition government, though it’s leader – former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom – has since accuse Waheed of going against his party’s advice by failing to reach an amicable agreement with GMR and the Indian government.

During his first official state visit to Indian in January, Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh requested President Yameen to “amicably” settle the GMR airport issue.

Earlier this month, Yameen had said that the out-of-court amount sought by the infrastructure company was too great, and that he would now await the outcome of proceedings, which could take up to another two months.

The US$511 million concession agreement to manage and upgrade the airport – awarded under the former government of Mohamed Nasheed – was the single largest foreign investment in the Maldives’ history.

President Yameen will tomorrow give the keynote speak at the landmark investment forum, as he seeks to generate interest from foreign investors for five ‘mega-projects’ – one of which is the further development of Ibrahim Nasir International Airport (INIA).

As part of the president’s attempts to lure foreign investors back to the country, he has promised special economic zones which hopes will be “likened to cities in Dubai or the Emirates” and “the [business] environment we have in Singapore.”

Senior management of Singapore’s Changi International Airport visited the Maldives earlier this month, with Yameen explaining the purpose of the visit to press this afternoon.

“Changi’s management will be our final consultant with the terminal [project] and other consultancies required for the airport,” he explained. “We want to seek technical expertise and information on how to do things from Singapore Changi.”

“The project has progressed far now, Changi has expressed interest. So we believe all the supervisory and consultancy work of this terminal will be carried out by Changi.”

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Government plans massive operation to deport undocumented workers

The government today announced a massive operation to detain and deport undocumented workers.

“Within three to four months the whole Malé will be cleaned,” said the Minister of Defence and National Security Mohamed Nazim – also in charge of the Immigration Department.

“They can’t live in Malé. When I say this, it will happen – I am not just saying it.”

Nazim told media the government is planning a “very strong operation” to reduce the number of undocumented migrant workers in Maldives “for the safety and security of everyone and for the economy”.

He said the operation would be carried out jointly by Maldives National Defence Force, the Maldives Police Service, the Department of Immigration and Emigration, and other relevant institutions.

Those detained in the operation are to be be deported using the money deposited by their employers when they were recruited.

A special facility has now been assigned to keep those who will be detained in the operation. Local councils will implement the operation in the atolls.

Nazim said the operation will begin before Ramazan and will target all undocumented workers – from those at the local market, to those wiping motorcycles.

Those deported will have to wait 5 to 10 years before being allowed to enter Maldives again, as opposed to those recently deported through a special voluntary repatriation program, who have the option to return in six months.

The defense minister noted that the capacity of institutions will be considered when carrying out the operation, as the government “does not want to detain so many people and take care of them”.

Actions such as imposing fines and restricting quotas will be taken against those who employ such workers, while a public awareness programme will be carried out simultaneously.

Limiting quotas for agencies

Nazim today announced that, within the year, the recruitment of foreign workers will be limited only to employment agencies.

In this regard, quotas – the maximum number of foreign nationals that can be employed by a single employer – will be issued only through employment agencies.

“Instead of individuals requesting for a quota, they should go through [recruitment] agencies to get the quota. They should apply to agencies and do it through those agencies,” he said, noting that individuals can still employ foreign workers, but can also only do so through agencies.

Nazim said the main reason for the change is the current difficulty in holding individuals accountable.

When the government allowed individuals to recruit foreign employees directly, in 2009, the Association for Employment Agencies expressed concern that the move would increase the number of undocumented workers.

In addition to the approximately 110,000 migrant workers employed in the Maldives, the number of undocumented workers have been estimated to be as high as 44,000. Many workers live at congested labor quarters owned by locals.

Authorities reported a good response to the recent voluntary repatriation scheme, with over 4,000 workers reported to have left the Maldives between December and the end of March.

Meanwhile, the Maldives Inland Revenue Authority (MIRA) today announced that, starting from Sunday, immigration related payments such as the visa fee and fines will be collected from the newly established ‘Huravee Collection Center’ on the third floor of the Huravee Building.

Commissioner General of MIRA, Yazeed Mohamed said that similar collection centers will be established around the country to make such payments easier. And said that the authority is working to establish a tax collection center in Hulhumale as well.

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Woman gives birth on a boat while waiting for emergency assistance

With additional reporting by Daniel Bosley

A woman has given birth on a boat traveling from Naifaru to Malé early this morning, after the Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) were unable to provide immediate emergency assistance.

The MNDF have confirmed that they were contacted by the boat at around 3am while it was located near Gaafaru, on the northern side on Malé atoll.

“Our vessel was engaged in another operation – we have five or six to handle every day,” explained Deputy Spokesman Captain Ali Ihusaan. “We attempted to guide the boat into Gaafaru but the captain said the channel was too narrow.”

The MNDF Coast Guard was unable to send assistance because it had only one vessel in Malé at the time – a fire launch normally reserved for fire-related incidents.

“The real delay was getting a doctor ready to go,” said Ihusaan. “If we go without professional medical care and the condition worsens, that’s a whole different situation.”

According to Vnews, both the mother and baby were weak when they reached Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital and, while the mother is now in good health, the baby is said to be having breathing difficulties.

The woman was reportedly travelling to Malé after being advised to do so by doctors in Naifaru, Lhaviyani atoll, due to possible complications which may occur at birth.

The Ministry of Health’s 2014 health profile had noted that the recent strengthening of emergency obstetric care at the atoll level has included the upgrading of atoll level health centres to hospitals.

Maternal mortality rates in the Maldives were recorded at a record low of 13 per 100,000 live births in 2012 – ahead of both the Millenium Development Goals target of 125, and the Health Ministry’s own Health Master Plan which aimed to reduce the number to less than 50 by 2015.

Vnews reported that the husband contacted Minister of Defense and National Security Mohamed Nazim as well, to which he responded saying he was trying find a way to provide assistance.

“I told MNDF officials that if anything happens to the baby or mother they should take responsibility for that. But they spoke in a very rude manner saying ‘what taking of responsibility [are you talking about]’ and that there wouldn’t have been any problems if you left earlier,” Vnews quoted the husband as saying.

The MNDF spokesman told Minivan News that the service’s night staff are well trained and used to handling “emotional” callers, suggesting that the husband’s recollection of the conversation would have been affected by his “agitated” state.

After the mother’s condition started worsening, her husband called the Marine Police for assistance. They were on their way when she gave birth on the boat – reportedly assisted by her husband and two family members.

Marine police reached the boat near Kuda Bandos island, following which the mother and baby were transferred to the police speed boat.

After coming across the Coast Guard vessel – which had completed its previous operation – on their way to Malé, the physician and nurse with them came aboard the police boat and provided medical assistance until they reached the capital.

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Bipolar patient left IGMH against family’s wishes

A 41-year-old man being treated for bipolar disorder locked his brother in his room before discharging himself from Indhira Gandhi Memorial Hospital (IGMH) yesterday afternoon, CNM has reported.

According to family members, who are considering committing the man to the special needs centre at Kaafu Guraidhoo, he left the hospital without anyone in the hospital noticing.

CNM reported that police were active at the hospital when the patient escaped.

After police and family searched for him for several hours, he was found taking a Villimalé ferry by a family friend.

The patient was diagnosed with bipolar disorder in 1992 and was committed to the center for people with special needs at Guraidhoo in until 2005 after which he returned to his island where he worked for a few years.

According the family, before the patient escaped, a doctor at the hospital tried to discharge him from IGMH before official confirmation for committing him to the Guraidhoo center was received.

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Police looking for man who stole money from MIRA office

The Maldives Police Service has announced it is searching for a man who stole money from the Maldives Inland Revenue Authority (MIRA) office.

According to police, he stole the money from a service counter at the office on 20 April 2013. The stolen MVR26,000 was kept on the counter by another person who was at the office to pay taxes.

Police have now publicised the CCTV footage of the person at the MIRA office and requested public assistance in identifying and finding the individual.

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Is the government protecting the youth from drugs?

Last weekend’s raid of the Anbaraa island music festival was defended by police as being part of law enforcement efforts to “safeguard youth and the society from dangers of drugs”.

But how successful are the current methods in keeping the youth away from drugs?

Beginning with soft drugs in the seventies, and later with the introduction of heroin around 1993, the drugs issue became a national epidemic in the nineties with the number of drug-related offenses increasing rapidly since that time.

The National Drug Use Survey (NDUS) of 2011-2012, conducted by the UNODC, revealed that there were 7,496 drug users aged between 15 and 64 years in the Maldives. According to the survey, 72 percent of the drug using population was under the age of 24, and 48 percent of the drug users in the capital Malé were between 15 and 19 years.

A 2003 Rapid Situation Assessment by the Narcotics Control Board revealed that the age at which young people start using drugs ranged between 10-27 years (a mean age 16.8 years).

Those young people are often arrested and sentenced to long periods in prison, while more and more join them in becoming frequent users and addicts.

It has been suggested that Maldivian prison population could be reduced by up to two-thirds if the government would decriminalise the offence of drug usage and propose mandatory rehabilitation.

Rehabilitating rehab

The NDUS report said the Maldives’ response to the drug problem appeared to be skewed heavily towards the criminal justice system rather than health and social welfare systems.

Considering this, the report proposed turning this around by approaching the issue from three broad angles – supply reduction, demand reduction, and harm reduction.

One key achievement in this change was the Drug Act, introduced in 2011 with provisions for treating drug users instead of opting for incarceration. Under the Act, the National Drug Agency (NDA) has been mandated as the lead agency dealing with all issues related to drug prevention, harm reduction, and treatment.

A Drug Court was also formed under the new act as part of a policy shift away from taking a punitive approach against small-scale drug offenses.

Earlier this month, the NDA reported that 101 offenders have completed their drug rehabilitation programme. But how successful is this programme?

Mohamed Shuaib, the CEO of ‘Journey’ – a support NGO for recovering addicts – said the rehabilitation programme in the Maldives had failed completely.

“Three months later they start using again. While a lot of money is spent on these programmes, right now it is just a small prison. There is no good treatment programme there,” he said.

He highlighted various failures ranging from the programme’s structure and staffing capacity, to unrepaired damages at the buildings and the lack of capacity in the programme itself.

Mohamed Rashad – the 24-year-old found dead after a heroin overdose on April 1 – is a testament to this failure. He passed away within 24 hours of being released from the Himmafushi drug rehabilitation centre.

A full programme

Earlier this month, the Drug Court’s Judge Mahaz Ali Zahir said that the NDA had informed the court that one of its centres was full in April last year. Again this month the second centre in Maafushi was also reported to be full.

“People in prisons who have been sentenced to rehabilitation are also waiting for such an opportunity. If this stays this way the [expected] result of [establishing] the Drug Court will not be seen,” the judge has said.

Judge Mahaz called on authorities to speed up the process of sending cases to the court, stating that out of 1,616 cases only 19 were submitted within a month of the incident.

Fathimath Afiya, the Chairperson of the Society For Women Against Drugs (SWAD) said the rehabilitation programme currently only existed “just for name’s sake”.

“We visited the [rehabilitation center] place for an assessment just around the time the new government came to power. And it is true, the programme is there just for name’s sake,” she said.

“There is no stable programme. The place is full. There are so many issues. While the Drug Court is sending more and more people, there is no stable programme for them.”

Afiya said the government had started taking action regarding the issue now, and that SWAD was closely following it.

“SWAD is lobbying to work towards a long term strategic solution, based on a strategic action plan and prevention policy. The government is listening to our recommendations and bringing small changes already.”

She said the importance of following a systematic plan is to work realistically towards a solution instead of having every new government introducing something new with each new term.

Long term reform

Journey’s Shuaib also noted the importance of having a long term plan to addressed the issue.

“There have never been any research and evidence based prevention programmes in the Maldives. It is always an ad hoc approach. Our outreach teams have observed that there are a lot of new users now.”

Shuaib said prevention is of the utmost importance and, since children start using drugs, parental guidance and providing children with information will help them make the right choice.

“Even in the US their policy was using guns and force but it did not work. So now they are reforming their drug policy to focus on prevention. Prevention is more important. Young people who were using hash oil three or four years back are now using heroin,” Shuaib said.

Speaking to Minivan News, one recovering heroin addict said the programme ‘s failure could be connected to the Drug Act itself.

“Every one at the programme does not always want to deal with their issue. Many  just don’t care about it and are there only because they have been ordered to do so. This makes things harder for those of us who genuinely want to get better,” he said.

While Minivan News was unable to get a comment from NDA regarding the issue, all NGOs expressed hope that the programme can be saved, with the agency currently taking steps towards reform.

Supply, demand, and harm

In terms of supply reduction, drugs confiscated by the Maldives Customs Service while being imported to the Maldives in 2013 include 6.98 kg of heroin and 10.73 kg of hashish oil, while the numbers in 2012 were 4.12 kg of heroin along with 8.39 kg of hashish oil.

This is relatively small amount compared to what is being imported to the country, considering the huge demand. The 24 kg of heroin seized by police last month gives an idea of the true scale of the problem.

Last year police dealt with 38 cases of buying and selling of drugs and 130 cases of trafficking drugs, while there were 2,139 drug use cases and 833 possession cases. Even less is done with regards to major drug dealers.

With regards to large-scale drug dealers, previous attempts by former President Nasheed to apprehend some of the nation’s most prominent drug dealers failed to bear fruit. Among them, Adam Naseer was found innocent by the Criminal Court despite police finding over MVR6million (US$461,500) in cash and drugs just outside his home.

In  June 2011, police arrested another ‘top dealer’ Ibrahim ‘Shafa’ Shafaz, finding 896 grams of illegal drugs in his apartment.  This February he left the Maldives for ‘medical treatment’ and has appealed his eighteen year jail term to the High Court from abroad.

While NGOs seem hopeful about fixing the rehabilitation program, a complete change in policy and approach to the drug issue is needed to protect the youth from drugs.

These examples only provide further evidence – if it is needed – that a more efficient way must be devised, moving away from the criminal justice system approach, towards a method based more closely on supply, demand, and harm reduction.

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Black widow spider found in Shaviyani atoll

A black widow spider has been found in Milandhoo, in Shaviyani atoll, prompting local authorities to search the island for more of the deadly creatures, reports Haveeru.

“We reported to the police immediately. Then, upon police instructions, we have handed it over to the council office. We checked the whole area as best as we could to see if we could find another. But we did not”, a local source told Haveeru.

The new sightings follow the paper’s reports of an “infestation” of the equally venomous brown variety of the species in Hulhumalé last month.

The source of the spiders in Hulhumalé was believed to be items entering the country at the international airport – connected to Hulhumalé, while those in Milandhoo have been linked to a garage – which imports a lot of vehicle parts – close to the site where the spider was found.

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“Ideal” time to invest, says MNCCI as Maldives Investment Forum approaches

With additional reporting by Daniel Bosley

“The last 3 years there has been a lot of turmoil, but now is the ideal time to invest and talk about business,” suggests Ishmael Asif, Vice President  of the Maldives National Chamber of Commerce and Industries (MNCCI).

In light of the upcoming Maldives Investment Forum (MIF) in Singapore, Asif told Minivan News that the Maldives can offer a secure political backdrop for any potential foreign investments.

“From the chamber, we would like to give a message to foreign investors that political tension is over and there is room for investments. Maldives always welcomes foreign investments.”

The forum – set to take place on Friday (April 25) at the Marina Bay Sands hotel in Singapore – will aim to increase the interest of Asia-region investors, and will be the first forum of such a scale to be hosted by the Maldives in another country.

Investors will have the opportunity to submit proposals for five mega projects, including the following – whose details have been provided by the Ministry of Economic Development:

Ihavandhippolhu Integrated Development Project (iHavan) – This project aims to capitalise on the US$18 trillion worth of goods that pass through the channel to the north of the Maldives’ northernmost atoll each year.

The project is set to include a transshipment port facility, airport development, a cruise hub, yacht marina, bunkering services, a dock yard, real estate, and conventional tourism developments.

Citing growing east-west trade between China and India, the project also proposes to take advantage of more than 30 large cities which lie within a 4000km radius of the atoll. Moreover, the South Asian Free Trade Arrangement (SAFTA) means that export processing zones established in iHavan will enjoy duty free access to 1.7 billion people in the South Asian region.

Expansion of Ibrahim Nasir International Airport (INIA) – Following the 2012 termination of the GMR concession agreement, the government is currently devising a new master plan for developing the country’s main international airport.

Around forty percent of the tourism industry’s bed capacity is currently situated in the same atoll as the airport, with 80 percent of tourists taking less than one hour to reach their destination from INIA. Furthermore, the government plans to increase tourist arrivals to 5 million per year during its current term.

“As such, the need to expand the airport’s capacity to cater to this additional demand and to provide value added commercial and high end retail services of highest international standards, is a key priority of the Government,” explains the forum’s website.

Hulhumale’ Phase II Development – The next stage of the development in the Maldives “first fully reclaimed, pre-planned city” will involve further reclamation to the north of the island.

Potential investors are being made aware of President Abdulla Yameen’s plans to develop the island into a ‘youth city’ with a population of 50,000, which will include a “technopolis park” to facilitate light industries.

The construction of the long-awaited bridge between Malé and Hulhumalé is planned to further open up economic opportunities in the reclaimed island city.

Relocation and expansion of the existing central port – Noting that the country’s major port in Malé has reached its capacity, the MIF will hope to attract investors to assist in the relocation of the main port to the nearby industrial island of Thilafushi.

The project will include reclamation work on the island, the introduction of state-of-the-art facilities – including warehousing capacity, and marine harbour and support functions to cater to all types of vessel.

Exploration for oil and gas – With oil imports accounting for 31 percent of the Maldives’ imports in 2012, the country is seeking to reduce reliance on foreign fuel with an oil and gas exploration projects, explains the event information.

Previous attempts to locate economically viable reserves were unsuccessful, though the government wishes to find investors who can undertake more extensive surveys in the country’s territory.

The proposed projects are due to be supported by the “relatively freer regulatory environment” provided by the special economic zones promised by the Yameen administration.

Creating a future for the Economy

Asif noted that the decision to hold the conference in Singapore sends a clear message to the international community that the Maldives is keen to discuss ideas with their potential partners, and to build bridges with countries they would like to work with in the future.

“It will create a better platform for Maldives when we do work in places like Singapore – it’s an ideal place to unveil something like this so we can go forward with that area.”

The operator’s of Singapore’s Changi Airport met with President Yameen last week, sparking rumours that they would provide consulting services on the development of INIA.

“Such a forum like this is organised to give a positive vibe, that we are open for foreign investment and willing to discuss [ideas],” he added.

A host of countries have already expressed their interest and are registered for the Maldives Investment Forum, President’s Office Spokesperson Ibrahim Muaz confirmed today.

“There is a lot of co-operation from business groups from other countries, like China, the US, Japan and from this area. There are a lot of participants registered on the forum,” said Muaz,

President Yameen will be leaving tomorrow afternoon to attend the forum, where he will give the keynote speech to the more than 300 investors from 15 countries who have reportedly registered to participate.

Following a presentation detailing the five projects, Tourism Minister and head of the cabinet’s Economic Council Ahmed Adeeb will give a speech, before a question and answer session regarding the proposed projects.

President Yameen’s vision for foreign investment was spelled out recently, during the inauguration of a housing project in Hulhumalé – part of the ‘youth city’ project.

“What we would like to confirm for the foreign investors who come to the Maldives is that foreign investors should feel that Maldives is your second home here,” said Yameen.

“We are going to open up the Maldives in a huge way to foreign investors. Our thirst cannot be quenched. The opportunity to foreign investors is going to be enormous.”

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