Tag: maldives news

Finance Minister joins ruling Progressive Party of Maldives

Recently reappointed Finance Minister Abdulla Jihad has joined President Abdulla Yameen’s Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM), becoming the second cabinet member to join the party this week.

Defence Minister Mohamed Nazim – also reappointed to his position after Yameen’s recent inauguration – announced his decision to join the PPM yesterday, commenting on social media that he had opted to join what he viewed as the most democratic party in the country.

Jihad told local media that his decision had come after a request made by former President  and Leader of the PPM Maumoon Abdul Gayoom.

He also revealed that the finance minister position in the cabinet had been reserved for a PPM member. The PPM is currently the second largest political party in the Maldives, both in terms of party members and MPs.

“My decision was based on President Maumoon’s request. I have always been of PPM’s ideologies and philosophies,” Jihad told Sun Online.

Gayoom himself released a tweet yesterday thanking Jihad for his decision: “U will be a great asset to us”.

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President Yameen invited to visit Sri Lanka by Rajapaksa

President Abdulla Yameen has been invited to visit Sri Lanka by President Mahinda Rajapaksa.

The letter of invitation was given to Yameen today when Sri Lankan High Commissioner Dickson Sarathchandra Dela paid a call to the President’s Office today.

“The High Commissioner also praised the smooth and peaceful manner in which the presidential election was held in the Maldives,” the President’s Office reported.

Meanwhile, local media today reported that Maldivian tourists visiting Sri Lanks had increased by 83 percent in the 12 months leading to October this year. Sun Online reported that 46,805 Maldivians had visited Sri Lanks in the first 10 months of 2013.

After discussing the increasing bilateral relations in the fields of health, education, and security at the President’s Office today, Sarathchandra expressed Sri Lanka’s eagerness to work with the new Government of Maldives.

Yameen’s first official visit as president will be to India on December 22.

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President cuts ministers’ pay as part of austerity drive

President Abdulla Yameen has informed state ministers that their pay will be cut in accordance with the government’s plans to reduce state expenditure.

Local media has reported that all deputy and state ministers will have their salaries reduced from  MVR35,000 to MVR30,000, and from MVR46,000 to MVR41,000, respectively, reports local media.

“President’s decision comes under the government’s policy to reduce expenses. He plans to do a lot more in this regard,” President’s Office Spokesman Ibrahim Muaz told local media.

The wage reductions represent an average cut of around 12.5 percent for these political appointees – a group whose pay Yameen had pledged to slash by 30-50 percent during the presidential election campaign.

Muaz was not responding to further queries at the time of press.

The President’s Office website currently lists the executive as having 46 deputy ministers, including Abdulla Waheed and Abdul Haleem Abdul Gafoor who were today appointed to the Transport and Finance Ministries, respectively.

The number of state ministers currently stands at 31, with three new ministers – Dr Hala Hameed (Ministry of Health), Hassan Shah (Ministry of Environment and Energy), and Mohamed Anees (Ministry of Transport) – appointed within the past 24 hours.

The potential savings could remove MVR385,000 (US$25,000) from the creaking state budget – submitted to the Majlis this week at a record MVR17.5 billion (US$ 1.1 billion), with a projected deficit of 2.2 percent of GDP.

The rise in total expenditure from MVR16.4 billion to MVR17.5 (US$ 1.1 billion) is mainly due to a MVR 1.1billion (US$72.6million) increase in recurrent expenditure, which continues to account for over 73 percent of the state budget.

In his inauguration speech, Yameen warned the country’s economy was in “a deep pit” and pledged to reduce state expenditure. Local media reports quote Yameen saying he would cut expenditure by amounts varying between MVR 1 billion and 4 billion.

Immediately after being sworn in on November 17, Yameen announced he and his vice president – Dr Mohamed Jameel Ahmed –  would be fulfilling his campaign promise of only taking half of the MVR100,000 (US$6500) salary afforded to the head of state.

“The reason behind this is that Dr Jameel and I both live a simple life. No matter what has been said about us we are not wealthy. We want to be an example to others and lead by example,” Yameen said.

During the election campaign, Yameen also promised reduce the salaries of independent institutions – a step he described as pivotal for the country to avoid a sovereign default.

Following this week’s announcement of next year’s proposed budget, local media reported independent institutions as telling the Majlis budget review committee that the projected cuts would leave it unable to pay salaries.

The reduction in minister’s pay closely follows the release of a World Bank report noting that the Maldives was “spending beyond its means”.

According to the report, an already excessive wage bill ballooned by 55 percent in 2013 due to the Supreme Court ordered back payment of salary cuts, and salary increases for the police and military.

The Maldives has one of the highest percentages of government employees to population of any country in the world, at around 11 percent. During his election campaign, Yameen promised to further increase the salaries of civil servants.

In order to finance the deficit, the World Bank report suggested that the Ministry of Finance and Treasury was undertaking measures that “pose macro risks” and have led to “significant accumulation of debt in a short period of time.”

At present, public debt stands at an “unsustainable” 81 percent of GDP, the report stated. The World Bank projects the debt will rise further to about 96 percent by 2015.

“This debt path is unsustainable and suggests there is little room for additional borrowing,” the report warned.

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JSC to disregard chief justice’s objection to transferring judges

The Judicial Service Commission (JSC) – the state watch-dog of the judiciary – has today (December 12) decided to disregard the letter sent to the commission by the Chief Justice Ahmed Faiz Hussain objecting to its decision to transfer judges between Superior Courts.

The letter, sent by Chief Justice Faiz on Tuesday to JSC Chair and fellow Supreme Court Justice Adam Mohamed, stated that the commission’s decision to shuffle superior court judges was not valid as the commission did not have the necessary legal authority.

JSC member MP Ahmed Hamza – the parliament’s representative to the commission – told local media today that the commission members had discussed the letter sent by the chief justice, but the majority held the view that the objections towards the decision lacked any legal grounds.

“Even under the constitution and the JSC Act, the commission is vested with the power to transfer the judges,” Hamza told local newspaper Haveeru.

Speaking to Minivan News, JSC Member Sheikh Shuaib Abdul Rahman confirmed that such the decision.

However, the Secretary General of JSC Abu Bakuru told Minivan News that “although the matter had been discussed by the commission members, the JSC has not yet formally made the decision”.

Chief Justice Faiz in his letter to JSC claimed that, although Article 159(a) gives the JSC the authority to appoint, promote or transfer judges other than those from the Supreme Court, it “must not be interpreted as an absolute right”.

Faiz also contended that the Judges’ Act mandated that any transfer of a judge from his appointed court can only be carried out following deliberation with the Judicial Council – the seven-member bench of the Supreme Court .

List of Transferees

The JSC had earlier decided to shuffle nine judges from the superior courts based in the capital Male’, including the Chief Judge of Criminal Court Abdulla Mohamed who was to be transferred to the Drug Court.

Judge Abdulla Mohamed has previously been under investigation from the JSC, for allegations of ethical misconduct and obstruction of corruption investigations among others.

Apart from Judge Abdulla Mohamed, the JSC had also planned to transfer Criminal Court Judge Muhuthaaz Fahmy and the Acting Chief Judge of Juvenile Court Mohamed Naeem to the Drug Court.

Meanwhile, Drug Court Judges Mohamed Easa Fulhu and Zubair Mohamed and the Family Court Judge Ibrahim Ali were to be transferred to the Criminal Court.

The JSC also decided to transfer Family Court Judge Hassan Shafeeu to the Civil Court and Criminal Court Judge Abdul Baaree Yoosuf – currently serving an indefinite suspension by the JSC following a case of sexually assaulting a female state prosecutor – was set to be transferred to the Juvenile Court.

Article 159(a) of the Maldives Constitution states that, “The Judicial Services Commission is entrusted with the responsibility and power to appoint, promote and transfer Judges other the Chief Justice and Judges of the Supreme Court, and to make recommendations to the President on the appointment of the Chief Justice and Judges of the Supreme Court”.

Meanwhile Section 49 of the Judges’ Act 2010 refers to temporary transfer of judges from one court to another and states, “Temporary appointment of a Judge to preside over cases in a court will be decided upon by the Judicial Services Commission under the advice of the Judicial Council”.

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Police officers “negligent” in Raajje TV arson attack: PIC

The Maldives Police Services was negligent in protecting opposition-aligned broadcaster Raajje TV from an arson attack that destroyed the station’s headquarters on October 7, the Police Integrity Commission (PIC) has said.

In a report released today, the PIC has recommended that the Prosecutor General file criminal charges against two unnamed officers – the Inspector of Police and the Shift In Charge (Shift IC) – who were on duty at the Galholhu Police Station on the night of the attack.

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) had issued a statement on the day of attack condemning the police’s failure to protect the station.

“This criminal act is a direct blow to freedom of information and we deplore the attitude of the police, who failed to do what was necessary to prevent the attack although the head of TV station requested protection a few hours before it took place,” RSF said.

Raajje TV had received credible information of an impending attack, and sent a letter asking for police protection, the report noted.

Senior police officers, on the orders of then Commissioner of Police Abdulla Riyaz, instructed the inspector of police in charge of the Galholhu Police Station to maintain a presence at the Raajje TV offices.

Further, upon realising there weren’t enough police officers to maintain static duty, a superior instructed the inspector of police to get additional officers from the operational duty department to carry out the task.

The inspector of police delegated the task to the shift IC, and falsely informed his superiors that police officers were on static duty at Raajje TV headquarters without checking to see if his orders were actually followed through, the report said.

Moreover, the Inspector of Police had not even asked the CCTV Command Center to aim the CCTV cameras at the Raajje TV building despite knowing the Maldives Police Services did not have enough officers to patrol the area that night.

The shift IC had “not done anything to find additional police officers to oversee security at Raajje TV,” the report stated. Moreover, the Shift IC had not informed any police officers patrolling Malé City that night of the possible attack on Raajje TV.

The PIC undertook the investigation on the Maldives Media Council’s request.

Meanwhile, the police say they have arrested eight adults and one minor for suspected involvement in the attack. Mohamed Meeaadh, 35 years, was arrested on December 2 after a manhunt.

The police have urged the public to forward any information regarding the attack and have pledged to provide protection to informers.

CCTV footage of the attack shows six masked men armed with machetes and iron rods breaking through a reinforced steel grill and a second wooden door before dousing the station’s control room and lobby with petrol. The ensuing fire destroyed the station’s offices, control room, computer system, and broadcasting and transmission equipment.

The station returned to air the same day with donated equipment.

Further footage shows an additional six masked men breaking and entering the building located next to the BKT Builing where Raajje TV’s offices are located. Raajje TV has said it believes the six men were attempting to find the station’s second studios.

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Government and civil society highlight work needed to safeguard human rights

State institutions have both celebrated the current progress in the protection of human rights in the Maldives, as well as expressing concern about certain violations and restrictions in the field.

A series have statements accompanied the 63rd International Human Rights Day – December 10.

With this year’s Human Rights Day aligning with the Human Rights Commission of the Maldives (HRCM)’s 10th Anniversary, the independent commission held an event on Tuesday night, attended by several cabinet ministers, alongside political and civil society actors.

“It is crucial to overcome obstacles in the protection of rights guaranteed to Maldivians through the constitution and the international treaties, and for all institutions to work justly and equitably to reach this goal,” said HRCM President Mariyam Azra at the event.

Furthermore, in a statement released on Tuesday, the HRCM president stated that while the commission is pleased that human rights has become a topic openly and often discussed over the past decade, there still remains much work that needs to be done in the country to adequately protect human rights.

“What leads to the violation of rights is the lack of respect for rights. The abuse of rights committed by those in high positions oftentimes as a show of power most often affects the most vulnerable persons who are already in need of special protection. That is to say, people who are sidelined by society itself,” the statement read.

While there are state institutions mandated to protect citizens from harm and to bring perpetrators to justice, Azra commented, “as it is humans working in these institutions, a culture of treating others in a manner you would wish yourselves to be treated needs to be better established”.

She also noted that, when intervening in the case of a 15 year old rape victim being charged with fornication and sentenced to 100 lashes by flogging, the commission realised the importance of interventions even at the court proceedings stage.

“When after we intervened, the High Court overruled the Juvenile Court’s sentence on the child, we realised the importance of intervention even at the stages of court hearings. Therefore, we have now planned to conduct further work in the field after seeking cooperation from the judiciary,” she revealed.

“President Yameen has an unwavering commitment to establish a consolidated democracy”

Meanwhile, Minister of Foreign Affairs Dunya Maumoon stated that the Maldives has given “greater impetus and focus to strengthening our systems and institutions to better safeguard human rights and fundamental liberties” since former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom began the introduction of democratic governance in the country in 2004.

While acknowledging that much work needs to be done to safeguard human rights in the country, Dunya stated, “I am pleased to reiterate the unwavering commitment of His Excellency President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom to continue the country’s journey, with greater vigour and determination, to its destination of a consolidated democracy.

She asserted that the government will focus on completing its human rights treaty reporting obligations and reducing the gaps that exist within the framework, among other related work.

She further spoke on the Maldives’ role in the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC), emphasising among other points that the country had “always pledged to defend the Constitution, to strengthen our judiciary and independent institutions and to uphold the rule of law”.

“We have not minced our words in our calls to protect the rights of all Muslims around the world. We have stood up against Islamaphobia and risen to build the fallen bridges of tolerance and respect,” the statement read.

The minister pledged to continue the work through the country’s membership in the UNHRC and at the local level.

State must take initiative to provide justice to those who suffered HR violations: MDN

Local Human Rights NGO Maldivian Democracy Network (MDN) commended the current stability in the country, maintaining that it is the result of having an elected government in place after a politically turbulent period.

Thanking the Elections Commission for its work to defend the right to vote and the losing candidate Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP)’s Mohamed Nasheed and his supporters for their ready acceptance of electoral defeat, the NGO called on security forces and the general public to ensure that the stability in the country is maintained as a peaceful one by refraining from committing acts of violence or injustice against any persons.

“This organisation believes that it is a responsibility of the government to take the initiative to ensure justice for all those who have suffered different manners of abuse and HR violations in these past days,” the statement read.

“It is crucial that state institutions act in accordance with the recommendations put forth by the Commission of National Inquiry,the HRCM and the Police Integrity Commission after concluding investigations into the events of February 7 and 8, 2012. This will be the most important and initial step towards establishing justice,” it continued.

“It is also important to learn of the injustices against separate persons being committed by the judicial, political and social sectors currently, and to ascertain that they proceed in a just manner. We call on the government and concerned state authorities to ensure this.”

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Defence Minister Nazim joins PPM

Defence Minister Mohamed Nazim has today joined ruling Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM).

“Given the fact that the PPM is the most democratic party in the Maldives, I have officially signed to PPM on this unique date 11/12/13,” tweeted Nazim today.

Nazim was the Defence Minister during the time of Former President Dr Mohamed Waheed and was recently re-appointed by Waheed’s successor, the PPM’s Abdulla Yameen.

He played  a key role in the series of protests held after Chief Judge of the Criminal Court Abdulla Mohamed was arrested. These protests led to the controversial transfer of power in February 2012 after which Nazim soon assumed his cabinet position.

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“Maldives is spending beyond its means”: World Bank

The Maldives’ economy is at risk due to excessive state expenditure, the World Bank has warned in a new report.

The report titled “Maldives Development Update October 2013” (English) paints a dire financial picture, brought on by the Maldives pursuing untenable measures to finance the state budget.

Noted areas of excess include a high civil service wage bill, healthcare and electricity subsidies, and transfers to State Owned Enterprises (SOEs).

“Maldives is spending beyond its means and financing the budget risks affecting the real economy,” the report said.

Short-term budget financing measures such as selling T-bills and printing money poses risks such as the devaluation of the rufiyaa, while unpaid bills could disrupt basic services such as electricity, the report warned.

Foreign reserves are critically low – despite the Maldives Inland Revenue Authority (MIRA) reporting increased income from taxation – and remain under pressure from high public spending and high demand for imports.

President Abdulla Yameen’s administration has submitted a record MVR 17.5 billion (US$ 1.1 billion) budget for 2014 with a projected deficit of 2.2 percent of GDP. Recurrent expenditure continues to account for over 70 percent of the budget.

Excessive expenditure

According to the report, an already excessive wage bill ballooned by 55 percent in 2013 due to the Supreme Court ordered back payment of salary cuts, and salary increases for the police and military.

The government had budgeted MVR720 million (US$ 46,451,613) for the universal healthcare scheme Aasandha, but spent over MVR 900 million (US$ 58,064,516) the report stated, adding that electricity subsidies had also proved costlier than forecast due to an increase in international oil prices.

Transfers to SOE’s “increased significantly to cover operational losses and salary increases to SOE staff,” the report said.

In February this year, the CEO and Managing Director of Maldives Ports Limited Mahdi Imad was dismissed by the government shortly after the company’s board of directors approved remuneration of MVR120,000 (US$7800) for the post of MD, and MVR130,000 (US$8400) for the post of CEO. The board in November decided to reduce the CEO’s salary to MVR 62,000 (US$4000).

Public debt at 81 percent of GDP

In order to finance the deficit, the Ministry of Finance and Treasury is accused of undertaking measures that “pose macro risks” that have led to “significant accumulation of debt in a short period of time.”

At present, public debt stands at an “unsustainable” 81 percent of GDP, the report stated. The World Bank projects the debt will rise further to about 96 percent by 2015.

“This debt path is unsustainable and suggests there is little room for additional borrowing,” the report warns.

T-bills and monetisation

The government is increasingly relying on short-term commercial borrowing in the form of selling treasury bills (T-bills) to the banking, private sector, and high net worth individuals at steep interest rates. The report also notes the growing monetisation of the deficit and the increasing build-up of arrears.

According to the MMA’s figures, outstanding T-bills stood at MVR8.5 billion at the end of November.

With the private sector’s appetite declining for T- bills, the government has been forced to pay high interest rates. The short-term rates for 28-day and 91-day T-bills rose by 98 and 105 basis points respectively, the World Bank said, reiterating that such unsustainable debt limits room for further borrowing.

In August this year, MMA Governor Dr Fazeel Najeeb said banks were investing in T-bills instead of in the private sector, leading to a slowdown in the private sector.

He also said excessive government expenditure had forced the MMA to print “large quantities of money”. MMA figures show the government has printed over MVR1.7 billion (US$ 109,677,419) this year alone to plug the deficit.

Monetization is causing the value of the rufiyaa to drop, Najeeb warned.

“I believe that the private sector has slowed down, and investments by the banks are heading towards government treasury bills. The value of rufiyaa is dropping because government accounts do not have the money, because it is a necessity to print large quantities of money,” Najeeb said.

The Maldives is currently facing a dollar shortage, with clogged bank counters and the police warning the public to stay vigilant citing increased number of dollar exchange scams.

“The risk of money printing, due to the cash constraints, could threaten external stability, inflation, and risk sharp adjustment in the exchange rate. The biggest risk posed by a sharp exchange rate adjustment is its possible impact on poverty, since the most basic food items in Maldives are imported,” the report warned.

“Unpaid invoices disrupt fuel invoices”

The third measure the government has been taking to finance the budget is the accumulation of arrears. Although the Ministry of Finance and Treasury estimated arrears totalled 3 percent of GDP, the World Bank gave a figure closer to 6 percent.

Most of these payments are owed to the State Owned Enterprises providing utilities and services. About half of the arrears are owed the State Trading Organization (STO) which is responsible for all the trading activity on behalf of the Maldivian government.

“The bulk of the liabilities come from the import of fuel for supplying electricity. Since the company has been relying on credit from suppliers to continue operations, in the event that unpaid invoices disrupt fuel imports, the electricity supply in certain islands could be affected,” the report warns.

In November, newly elected President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom announced that the STO was bankrupt.

Fears of an impending oil shortage crisis had a risen earlier in the month after then-Managing Director Shahid Ali warned that the company would run out of oil as early as November 10 if it did not pay some of its US$20 million debt to suppliers.

Shahid told an emergency meeting of parliament that government-owned companies had failed to pay the STO the almost US$40 million it was owed, and appealed to the central bank to use the foreign currency reserves to bail it out of its debt. According to local media, MMA printed the money.

“External reserves critically low”

Although reserves have held up “better than expected,” they will continue to be under pressure from high public spending, high demand for imports and pressure on the currency.

The World Bank report notes that foreign reserves dwindled at the beginning of 2013, with the Maldives having to to repay US$100 million in treasury bonds to the Indian government by February 2013. Gross reserves improved, however, due to increased income from MIRA, which had offset the decrease.

At present, reserves stand at US$341.8 million, worth approximately 2.5 months of imports.

With regard to balance of payments, the government estimates the current account deficit will reach US$690 million or 28 percent of GDP by the end of 2013.

“This means reserves will continue to face serious pressures in the future, which could be exacerbated if the government is forced to pay compensation for the reversal of the GMR airport concession,” the report said.

Reserves are also at risk from the potential US$1.4billion compensation settlement resulting from the terminated GMR airport concession deal – an amount that eclipses the annual state budget.

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BML urges customers to keep PINs secret

The Bank of Maldives (BML) has urged its customers to keep their personal identification numbers to themselves after thieves withdrew large sums from multiple ATMs in the capital Male’.

”It is very common in the Maldives to share the pin number of their cards, for example when paying a bill at a restaurant the customer might handover the card and pin number,” a BML spokesman told Minivan News.

‘We appeal all of our customers to stop sharing their pin number with anyone.”

Police have started searching for a group of expats who are alleged to have taken money from many different BML accounts without the knowledge of the owners.

The police uploaded video footage of the two expats while they were in the act of withdrawing money from one of the BML ATM machines.

Police said that they used different machines at different locations in Male’ to withdraw, stealing large amounts of money on 17 and 18 October.

Police appealed the public to share any information regarding the two expats and asked anyone with information to contact the police hotline (3322111) or the police economic crime department (9790048). If on an island, police asked individuals to inform the island council or island police station.

Protection was assured to anyone able to provide information on the case.

A spokesman from BML today told Minivan News that these type of cases occur most of the time because customers share their pin number with people.

He noted that a lot of times women will share their PIN number with close friends and have them withdraw money or use the card, and that most of the time customers have neither mobile alerts nor use internet banking to track their transactions.

The spokesperson stated that the details of the case could not be revealed while police are investigating the case, but did note that the bank would reimburse account holders if it was found to be at fault for any lost money.

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