Tag: maldives news

Jabir moved to Malé jail, appeal documents granted

Recently imprisoned MP Abdulla Jabir has been moved from Maafushi to Malé jail following reported complaints lodged by his family members.

Jabir’s legal team has confirmed that the Maldivian Democratic Party MP has been relocated. Vnews has quoted Jabir’s wife Dhiyana Saeed as saying that her husband had been kept alone in a poorly lit cell, contrary to international conventions.

The Kaashidhoo representative’s legal team suggested earlier this week that their client was denied a fair trial, and that his constitutional rights were denied by the Criminal Court.

Jabir was last week sentenced to twelve months‘ imprisonment after being found guilty of failing to provide a urine sample when arrested as a suspect in a drug related case on November 16, 2012.

After complaining that the court has failed to produce documents vital to Jabir’s appeal, a member of his legal team was today able to confirm that the necessary documents had since been forthcoming.

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Government says “iconic” Malé-Hulhulé bridge can be finished in two years

Describing the project as “iconic for the whole region”, the Economic Development Minister last night pledged that the Malé – Hulhulé bridge project would take two years to complete.

“Looking at the bridge project, out of the 19 companies that had expressed interest, 7 were international parties,” Mohamed Saeed is reported to have said during a ceremony held to celebrate 100 days of President Abdulla Yameen’s government.

Deputy Minister of Housing Abdulla Ziyadh – whose ministry will become actively involved as soon as a contractor is selected – explained that the government is currently evaluating the received bids.

First touted as a campaign pledge of thirty-year President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom in 2008, the idea of a bridge connecting the congested island of Malé with its relatively spacious suburbs was also an aim of Gayoom’s successor Mohamed Nasheed.

The Nasheed government had put to contract out to tender in late 2011 shortly before its ousting in February 2012.

The current government called for expressions of interest in the project in early December 2013, with the window for interested parties to come forward closing on January 14.

The public private partnership contract will require a company to engage in the design, build, financing, maintenance and operation of the bridge.

“Primary objective of the Government is to bring a relief to the socio-economic issues arising from the urban congestion that is present in Malé,” the Ministry of Economic Development has explained.

Former Minister of Economic Development Mahmoud Razee – a member of Nasheed’s cabinet – told Minivan News today that a bridge would improve local commerce as well as reducing traffic congestion in Malé.

“There will be a mediation of the traffic because what happens in Malé – in the afternoons and evenings – a lot of the traffic is leisure traffic as motorcycles are out on the road, not to go to any particular place but for the sake of having a ride. If these are connected, the area they are able to mill around is increased by several kilometers,” he explained.

The former minister noted that an extension of the bridge westward to connect with Gulhi Falhi and the industrial island of Thilifushi would bring down the cost of warehouse space in the capital.

The final location of the bridge has yet to be announced by the government. Options considered in the past involved connecting Hulhulé with Malé at the tsunami monument area, or from the northern harbour via Funadhoo island.

Razee also echoed the comments of the current Tourism Minister Ahmed Adeeb who has acknowledged that the project is not viable without commercial components.

Mohamed Saeed was reported as suggesting last night that the bridge would be equipped with facilities to generate between 4 and  6 megawatts of renewable energy.

While Razee was skeptical of this proposal, he suggested that bridge could be used to lay cables between islands, reducing the need for expensive undersea cables to transfer production capacity across the Greater Malé area.

Saeed has previously described the building of the bridge as a “challenge”, but said the task is one of the pledges of the coalition government.

When the concession is awarded, Saeed has pledged, investors will not suffer damages, and the project will receive “protection” from the Maldives constitution.

Investor confidence in the Maldives had been negatively impacted under the Presidency of Dr Mohamed Waheed, with the Yameen presidency targeting its restoration as a key foreign policy aim.

During last night’s ceremony, Vice President Dr Mohamed Jameel Ahmed launched a book detailing the key elements included in the ruling Progressive Party of Maldives’ ‎manifesto, and the government’s achievements in its first 100 days.

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Feydhoo primary annulment case accepted by Civil Court

The Civil Court has reportedly accepted the case of Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) MP Alhan Fahmy, who has requested the annulment of the the Feydhoo constituency primary election.

After losing the contest for next month’s Majis elections, Fahmy claimed the contest was fraudulent and that any candidate who won the MDP ticket through fraud cannot be a valid one.

After Mohamed Nihad won the primary, Fahmy alleged that the list used on polling day were different from the [eligible] voter lists.

Alhan called for a fresh vote in the constituency, claiming the voter list used at polling stations was outdated and did not afford 67 party members the right to vote.

The election committee confirmed that 67 members were indeed missing from the list at the ballot box, but decided against holding a re-vote, arguing the primary outcome would not change even if these members were allowed to vote.

After attempting to file the case with the High Court, the MP’s legal representatives were told that the court did not have the jurisdiction to look into internal party matters.

Alhan was stabbed in public on February 1 and is currently recovering in Sri Lanka. He has announced he will contest March’s People’s Majlis election as an independent.

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Civil Court dismisses STO’s case against MP Riyaz Rasheed’s Meridian Services

The Civil Court has dismissed a case filed by the State Trading Organisation (STO) against MP Riyaz Rasheed’s Meridian Services seeking to recover MVR19.3 million (US$1.2 million) released as credit.

According to local media, the court dismissed the lawsuit after STO lawyers did not turn up to a hearing scheduled for February 6.

Judges are empowered to dismiss cases if the plaintiff or claimant does not attend court hearings.

The former Dhivehi Qaumee Party MP meanwhile joined the ruling Progressive Party of Maldives last month.

STO and Meridian Services signed an oil trade agreement on March 31, 2010, which offered the company a credit facility worth MVR20 million (US$ 1,297,016.86) for purchasing oil from STO.

The agreement stipulated that payments had to be made within a period of 40 days.

However, in August 2010, STO lowered its credit limit from MVR20 million to MVR10 million (US$648,508.43) and shortened the payment period from 40 to 30 days, prompting Meridian Services to sue STO for alleged breach of contract.

Meridian Services lost the first case, however, after Civil Court Judge Abdulla Jameel Moosa ruled in favor of STO.

Case history

In April 2012, the STO sent a letter to the Civil Court requesting withdrawal of the case against Meridian. However, then-STO MD Shahid Ali claimed a week later that the letter was sent “by mistake.”

The STO’s intent was to request delaying hearings as the company did not have the legally required number of members on its board of directors following the “change in government” on February 7, 2012, Shahid explained, adding that the case would resubmitted.

At a hearing of the case in June last year after the trial resumed, STO lawyers claimed that original documents of business transactions with Meridian had been stolen.

The theft of the documents from the STO office occurred on October 27, 2011 and was reported to police at the time, the lawyers said.

The lawyer reportedly requested the opportunity to present witnesses to prove the authenticity of copies or other records of the stolen documents.

However, lawyers for the Vilufushi MP’s Meridian Services disputed the authenticity of the purchase orders, delivery notices, and invoices submitted as evidence by STO, claiming the documents were forged.

The Meridian lawyer claimed that there were discrepancies in the purchase orders and delivery notes with inconsistent numbers and quantities as well as lack of signatures.

In response, the STO lawyer said Meridian had not submitted any evidence or any statement challenging the validity of the evidence submitted by STO.

The judge adjourned the hearing after announcing that a decision would be made at the next hearing over STO’s request to present witnesses.

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Health Protection Agency warns of cold and conjunctivitis outbreak

The Health Protection Agency has warned of a potential cold and conjunctivitis epidemic in the country, local media has reported.

Vnews reported that agency as urging anyone displaying flu-like symptoms to contact a doctor as well as staying away from public areas.

The capital city Malé is one of the world’s most densely populated islands at around 18,000 people per square kilometer.

The agency warned those with symptoms not to touch their eyes, as this causes the infection to spread more easily.

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Project for 100 houses in Vilifushi initiated

The Housing Ministry has begun a project to build 100 houses for the people of Vilifushi in Thaa atoll who were displaced by the 2004 tsunami.

Minister of Housing and Infrastructure Dr Mohamed Muizzu told Sun Online today that this first phase of the project will be started within the next two weeks and should be completed in 12 months.

The houses, for which all residents of the island are welcome to apply, will cost MVR2,500 per month over a 15 year period, said Muizzu.

After being devastated by the tsunami, with the entire community – over 1,800 people – displaced, Vilifushi was later reclaimed using donor aid before resettlement began in 2009.

Last December, President Abdulla Yameen noted that 427 families throughout the country still required permanent housing after the tsunami, pledging to rehouse all those in need.

The Human Rights Commission also noted that it continued to receive complaints from survivors, largely regarding lack of permanent shelter, compensation for damages caused to houses  and delays in housing projects.

The 2004 tsunami resulted in 82 deaths and 26 missing persons in the Maldives. Figures from the UN show that the disaster displaced nearly 10 percent of the Maldives’ population, severely damaging a quarter of inhabited islands with 14 completely evacuated.

Noomadi Resorts Private Limited has been commissioned to carry out the resort, reported Sun.

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Islamic minister calls for dialogue following mosque closure

Following the closure of Dharumavantha Rasgefaanu mosque earlier this month, Minister of Islamic Affairs Dr Mohamed Shaheem Ali Saeed has stressed that all religious differences can be settled through dialogue.

“Those who pray separately at certain mosques, please come to us. Let’s discuss this matter. There’s nothing that can’t be solved if we sit down and share religious information,” he told local media.

The Mosque was shut down on the home minster’s order following an unauthorised congregation which had reportedly prayed for the government’s destruction. Shaheem himself has previously described the group as “extremists”.

The worshipers at the mosque also prayed against the heads of the government, the Islamic ministry, and the city council, asking for their ill-health and for a calamity to befall upon them

“Some media have reported that the mosque might be demolished, or people might be arrested while they are praying at the mosque. The present government, the government of President Yameen Abdul Gayoom, would not do anything against Islamic principles. They would not demolish the mosque, or inflict injury on anyone unjustly,” Sun Online quoted the minister as saying today.

Sun also reported that the congregation has continued to assemble at the mosque despite the government’s actions. Current legislation places all mosques under the authority of local councils.

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Framework for teacher evaluation introduced

The Ministry of Education has introduced a technical framework for the evaluation of teachers, local media has reported.

“We created this criterion after observing how it is done in other countries, the status of teaching staff currently working in the Maldives and after having considered the things society accepted as which should be stated on the teacher’s work contract,” Sun Online quoted State Minister for Education Adam Shareef Umar as saying.

“Teachers will be able to identify what they can do to improve themselves in the light of this criterion,” he said, speaking at a ceremony held in the ministry yesterday (February 24).

Earlier yesterday, Education Minister Dr Aishath Shiham expressed satisfaction with her ministry’s efforts during the government’s first 100 days.

Although Dr Shiham noted that work is in progress with regards to increasing allowances for teachers, the Teachers Association said the it had no knowledge of such efforts, and was still awaiting an opportunity to meet with ministry heads with regards to pay discrepancies.

“The government have started some things within this period, and they maybe important things and good policies. But it is more important to fix the existing loopholes in the education system,” said association President Athif Abdul Hakeem.

He said the association was continuing to plan nation-wide strikes in relation to the issue.

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MNDF sacks Colonel Ziyad

Colonel Mohamed Ziyad has been sacked by the Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) on February 20.

In early 2012, Colonel Ziyad was among senior military officials charged in relation to the controversial detention of Criminal Court Chief Judge Abdulla Mohamed on January 16, 2012.

At the first hearing of his trial at the Hulhumalé magistrate court in February 2012, Colonel Ziyad pleaded not guilty to the charges of arbitrary arrest and detention.

Ziyad’s sacking last week followed the dismissal of six senior officers, including Brigadier General Ahmed Nilam, in November 2013.

The MNDF said at the time that Nilam had been demoted from the post of Brigadier General and dismissed for “violating MNDF duties and disciplinary norms, repeating acts that should not be seen from an MNDF officer, revealing secret information against military regulations, diminishing the honor of the MNDF, and sowing discord in the military”.

While First Lieutenant Abdulla Shareef, Sergeant First Class Ali Waheed, and Staff Sergeant Ibrahim Ali were dismissed for allegedly breaching the MNDF’s duties and responsibilities, Staff Sergeant Hassan Hameed was dismissed for disciplinary offences and Lance Corporal Shahrab Rashid for leaking secret MNDF documents.

All six soldiers had previously been suspended on charges of sowing discord in the military.

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