Tag: maldives news

Employment Tribunal members took unrecorded overtime pay worth 45 percent of their salaries: audit report

Members of the Employment Tribunal received 45 percent of their salary as overtime pay every month from December 2008 to March 2010 without records of overtime hours, according to the tribunal’s audit report for 2010 made public by the Auditor General’s Office last week.

“Members took a total of Rf275,904 (US$17,892) as overtime pay,” the report found. “While as a rule overtime pay is given based on records of work done after official hours and since overtime pay is not part of the salary, this office believes that the overtime pay should not have been given to members without maintaining records.”

The audit report noted that the Employment Tribunal was asked by the Auditor General in March 2010 to clarify the issue of overtime pay with the President’s Office.

The President’s Office informed the tribunal on March 23, 2010 that the overtime pay should be given based on extra hours worked and not exceeding 45 percent of members’ salary.

After the Auditor General raised the issue of the overtime pay granted from December 2008 to March 2010, the President’s Office designated the payments made as fixed overtime pay.

Among other issues noted in the audit report, the tribunal incurred fines for late payment of utility bills and the responsible staff member did not reimburse the office budget.

In addition, attendance records for part-time members of the tribunal were not kept for the period between December 2008 and March 2009.

Moreover, records dating after March 2009 showed that some part-time members worked only three days a month and minutes of tribunal hearings revealed that part-time members did not attend a number of hearings.

Some hearings were meanwhile cancelled because part-time members on the panel could not attend due to other commitments.

Minutes of meetings also revealed that discussions were held upon request by complainants to reconstitute panels with part-time members due to long delays in resolving disputes.

“While adequate services were not received from part-time members, we note that they were given a total of Rf350,271 (US$22,715) as salary during their time as members [of the tribunal],” the report noted.

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MDP members in Thinadhoo protest inaction over 17 year-old injured by wooden plank

Members of the ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) in Gaaf Dhaal Thinadhoo conducted a protest march Friday calling on the authorities to bring those responsible to justice after a 17 year-old from the island, Hussein Hassan, was severely injured by a wooden plank allegedly thrown from Maafanu Endherigas.

Hussein Hassan was struck on the head by a wooden pole during an MDP protest on October 20 outside Maafanu Endherimaage, residence of the former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom.

The injury left the 17 year-old with skull fractures and paralysis down one side of his body.

According to the MDP website, about 300 participated in the protest, carrying party flags as well as placards and banners condemning the release of Gassan and calling for the perpetrator to face trial and answer for the crime.

While Police arrested Mohamed Gassan Maumoon, son of the former President, on suspicion of hurling the wooden block last week, the Criminal Court ruled that his arrest was unlawful as due process was not followed and ordered his release.

Following his release and media reports suggesting the incident took place, police exhibited video footage of the wooden pole striking the 17 year-old victim on the head while MDP protesters were outside Endherimaage.

Gassan’s lawyer, Mohamed Waheed Ibrahim ‘Wadde’, claimed to local media that the plank was thrown by a protester.

At the police briefing, Superintendent Mohamed Jinah said police wished to “reveal the truth” about the incident as “deliberately false allegations have been made against police using the media” and “relentless efforts” had been made to cast aspersions on police and its senior officers.

“We had reasons to implicate Gassan Maumoon in this matter,” Jinah said, adding that police had statements from eight witnesses who saw Gassan on the balcony as well as photos taken by a police forensic team of wooden poles inside the Endherimaage building Thursday night.

In addition to eyewitness testimony and forensic evidence, said Jinah, the “most important reason” for suspecting Gassan was his admission upon questioning that he did step out to the balcony.

Following his admission, said Jinah, “after a gesture from his lawyer he then exercised the right to remain silent.”

Upon request by police, the Criminal Court has since imposed a travel ban on Gassan for one month.

“Trial by media”

In a statement released to local media on Thursday, Gassan denied the allegations and insisted he would prove his innocence in a court of law.

Gassan accused Superintendent Jinah of using his statements during questions for “political purposes,” explaining that he chose to remain silent out of concern that the investigation was politically-motivated and could be used to harm his family.

Gassan said he exercised the constitutional right to remain silent after police appeared to “casting a net” around him for political ends.

The former President’s son concluded his statement by accusing police of attempting to conduct “trial by media” and making misleading statements to the public.

In interviews with local media outlets, Gassan claimed police senior officials were motivated by a desire for promotions as a reward for his arrest and detention.

“Double-standards in double-quick time”

Gassan’s release was meanwhile condemned by the ruling party as testament to the “open double-standards” and “politicisation” of senior judges.

“When former President Gayoom’s son is arrested – for an extremely serious offence, namely leaving a young man with brain damage – the court convenes extraordinarily at 16:00hrs the same day and, after ignoring materials provided by the police to support his detention, is able to hand down a judgment of unlawful arrest that evening,” noted Chairman ‘Reeko’ Moosa Manik in a statement. “Compare this with the treatment of Ilham, an MDP activist who was arrested for damaging private property and who the very same Criminal Court decided, at the same time as freeing Ghassan, to remand in custody for a further five days pending investigations.”

“Senior members of the judiciary are no longer even offering the pretence of due process or rule of law; they are acting according to their own personal interests and allegiances, with complete contempt for justice. A young man is lying in hospital paralyzed down one side, and the chief suspect in the attack last night walked free from court and went with his friends and family to celebrate their “victory”. On the same day, a ‘normal’ citizen, who lacks Ghassan’s family connections, has his detention – on far less serious charges – extended by five days. This is double-standards in double-quick time.”

Last Wednesday, the MDP’s national council approved a resolution submitted by Thinadhoo MP Mohamed Gassan to condemn “the Criminal Court’s obstruction of police efforts to investigate this brutal act” and call on the authorities to take action.

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PPM completes registration process

Former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom’s newly-formed Progressive Party of Maldives was officially registered by the Elections Commission (EC) last week with 3,200 members.

Newspaper Haveeru reports EC Chair Fuad Thaufeeq as saying at the registration ceremony that the passage of legislation governing political parties was very important for the commission to carry its out responsibilities.

The bill has been in committee stage for over a year and a half.

PPM held its inaugural convention on October 15 and voted for an interim president, interim council, manifesto, party constitution, logo and colour.

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High Court concludes hearings of MP Hameed’s appeal

The High Court concluded hearings last Thursday of the appeal by Independent MP Ismail Abdul Hameed of the Criminal Court verdict finding him guilty of abuse of authority.

The MP for Kaashidhoo was sentenced to one year and six months banishment after he was found guilty of misusing his authority as the former Director of Waste Management at the Male’ municipality to financially benefit a Singaporean company named Island Logistics in the purchase of a barge.

According to local media reports, Judge Abdulla Didi noted in the verdict that the agreement stipulated the barge was to be delivered within 90 days of signing the agreement, upon which 50 percent of the value was to be paid to Island Logistics.

Although the barge arrived in the Maldives on October 23, 2008, Hameed had however signed a document claiming that the barge was delivered on schedule on April 28, 2008.

At the High Court hearing, Hameed’s lawyer however submitted documents showing Hameed visited Indonesia to claim the barge and a letter from the municipality to the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) requesting the barge be released.

Hameed insists he signed the delivery forms after the government officially claimed the barge. Moreover, Hameed’s lawyer argued that government violated the agreement by not making payments on time and Hameed negotiated with the company to ensure the delivery of the barge.

The state attorney countered that Hameed signed the documents before the barge arrived in the Male’ harbour.

The High Court adjourned the hearing after informing the parties that a verdict would be issued at the next court date.

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MDP MP calls on Speaker to use armed forces to control parliament

Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) MP Mohamed Mustafa has sent a text message to the Speaker of the parliament Abdulla Shahid calling on him to invoke his authority to use armed forces to control MPs that disrupt parliament meetings.

In the text, he tells Shahid that Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) MPs were making plans to delay passing the amendment presented by the government to the Import/Export Act, which he said will decrease prices of goods in the market.

”This amendment presented by MDP MP Ibrahim Rasheed, after spilling blood in the parliament as you will recall, will decrease the prices of all types of food items and construction materials and other basic products that citizens need,” Mustafa explained in the text. ”The amendment will cut Rf 1700 million from import duties.”

Mustafa said the PPM MPs were concerned that if the amendment was passed it would “benefit the citizens and MDP will gain more support.”

”Many businessmen in the country are waiting for the day that this amendment gets passed and ratified by the President,” he said in the text he sent to Shahid. ”Due to these reasons I believe that you should invoke the authority to use armed forces to get disruptive MPs out of the parliament’ chamber.”

He said the citizens would not accept the work of the parliament coming to a halt due to a political game.

However, PPM Media Coordinator and MP Ahmed Nihan said that the PPM was not concerned that the amendment might get passed.

”PPM is concerned that the MDP MPs are demanding to hold the parliament meeting with Independent MP Ibrahim Abdul Hameed present, who was recently sentenced and his seat is supposed to be vacant,” Nihan said. ”What if later at some point the High Court and the Supreme Court upholds the lower court’s ruling and declares that his seat is vacant?If that happens, then another issue will be raised – how do we know if the votes he gives now are valid?”

Nihan said according to the constitution the seat should be vacant.

”Mustafa and Reeko Moosa Manik claim to know things the KGB, MOSSAD and CIA do not know. They say whatever comes to their mouth,” he said. ”There will be no one on earth who believes what they say.”

Nihan said that the reason the PPM did not support GST was that it would increase the prices of goods at the market.

In July this year four MPs of the opposition Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party’s (DRP) Z-faction, who are now MPs of PPM, were forcibly removed from the chamber after Deputy Speaker Ahmed Nazim invoked the Speaker’s authority to evict disruptive MPs by force from the parliament floor.

Z-DRP MPs Ahmed Mahlouf, Ilham Ahmed and Ali Arif were forcibly taken out of the chamber by MNDF officers while MP Ahmed Nihan left of his own accord.

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MMPRC releases billboard ‘mock-ups’ of new Maldives branding

The Maldives Marketing and PR Corporation (MMPRC) has released a series of mock-up billboards displaying the country’s ‘Always Natural’ branding in the context of how it would appear to potential visitors.

The new logo and slogan, designed by Thailand-based global tourism consultancy QUO Keen to replace the 11 year-old slogan ‘The sunny side of life’, was unveiled last week by the MMPRC.

In an accompanying statement, the MMPRC said it had worked “in close collaboration with Minister of Tourism Arts and Culture, Dr Mariyam Zulfa, the Maldives Association of Tourism Industry (MATI) and Maldives Association of Travel Agents (MATATO). “

“Each stakeholder provided invaluable advice, input and contribution to the new slogan and logo,” the statement read. After a “year-long consultation, research and design process, involving industry and government”, and consultation with “dozens of tourism and other industry stakeholders, as well as the general public”, the new branding was approved by Cabinet on Tuesday.

In March, the MMPRC announced a public competition, calling for submissions focusing on the “unique selling points” and the “emotional selling points” of the Maldives, “based on a fundamental truth”. Despite the many submissions and an extension of the deadline, the stakeholder committee eventually opted to tender for a professional consultancy.

The new branding, including the slogan and a fingerprint logo consisting of islands, corals, turtles, sharks and herons that transitions from blue to green, was met with mixed reviews this week with some people drawing comparisons to the logo of Washington-based environmental advocacy group, Ocean Conservancy.

Similarities with the new Maldives branding raised legal concerns

In response to the concerns, the MMPRC received legal advice from trademark lawyers Ananda Intellectual Property Limited (AIP), which noted that while there was a “very weak degree of graphic similarity between the two devices”, such graphic similarity “is in our opinion not such to create a risk confusion and there is no risk of legal objection due to such graphic similarity.”

“The size and composition of the device are very different from a trademark law point of view. The size and shape of the two devices are different. The [Maldives branding] is more detailed and in its composition. In particular the oval shape, the number of lines of fishes and the variety of fish species are very distinctive and different features and overall produces a strong graphic difference and impression between the marks. Last but not least, one device is hollow, one is not,” the legal advice read.

“We do not consider that the degree of similarity of the marks is such that the usage and protection strategy of a country brand such as [the Maldives branding] would conflict with the mark [of Ocean Conservancy].”

At the launch this week, State Minister for Tourism, Thoyyib Mohamed Waheed, explained that the new branding would broaden the Maldives’ brand away from just tourism, making it more relevant for attracting investment in industries such as energy and fisheries, as well as allowing cross-marketing opportunities on Maldivian exports such as tuna.

Download the full size billboards

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Foreigners now able to buy homes in Maldives: New York Times

The Maldives has opened a path for foreigners interested in buying homes in the tourist destination, the New York Times reports.

“Until last year only big-brand hotels were able to secure leaseholds on some of the country’s 1,200 islands. But then the government of President Mohamed Nasheed started allowing designated resorts to sell leases to individuals.

“The primary market is the more than 600,000 tourists who each year visit these islands, home to 315,000 permanent residents.

“The leases, which are for as long as 50 years, are first sold to the resort operator, who then sells them as part of a vacation villa package. The leases can be renewed before expiration, but if the government chooses not to renew it has the legal requirement to buy the property at market value. The resale arrangements vary by resort.

“The first company to introduce a residence option was 12 Blues in October 2010 on the island of Lundhufushi, 130 kilometers, or 80 miles, from the capital of Malé. Of the 40 villas planned, 10 already have been sold, and 10 more will be put on the market next year. The resort was designed by the Singapore company Eco.id, and is intended to include a Franklyn hotel, spa and a variety of restaurants and bars.

“Properties are priced from $2.3 million, or €1.7 million, and owners who want to put their homes into the resort’s rental pool will receive six weeks’ use per year and 50 percent of the net revenue.

“While the ability for owners to arrange rentals has been a key factor in some sales, many buyers have simply always wanted to own in the Maldives, according to Wally Fernandes, a manager at the newly opened Six Senses Laamu resort on the island of Olhuveli, where villas are also for sale.”

Read more

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Maldives-China relationship will not threaten India’s security: ET

President Mohamed Nasheed has pledged that the Maldives will never do anything that threatens India’s security, reports India’s Economic Times, following concern from the Indian security establishment about the Maldives’ relationship with China.

“I trust democracy far more than any other system,” the ET reported Nasheed as saying, at the biennial Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) currently being held in Australia.

The Maldives “will always be India’s friend”, Nasheed reportedly said, adding: “I trust democracy far more than any other system.”

The ET reported that “There has been some concern in the Indian security establishment over what is seen as a Chinese attempt in the recent past to extend its influence in the 1,190-island nation that is strategically located along major sea lanes of the Indian Ocean.

“India’s security establishment has been viewing with concern China’s bid to expand its role in the Indian Ocean by building maritime links with countries such as Seychelles, Mauritius, the Maldives and Sri Lanka so as to protect its energy imports.

“India has also been augmenting its defence ties with countries like the Maldives, Mauritius and Seychelles. Its navy has, in fact, been helping the Maldives with maritime patrol. It is also helping the country set up a network of radars.”

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Foreign Affairs issues travel advice for Maldivians in Thailand

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has urged Maldivians that are currently in Bangkok to urgently register their details with either the Ministry or the Consulate of Maldives in Thailand, in the wake of flooding.

“Please note that Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi International Airport is operating normally at present but the Don Muang domes c airport has been closed since 25 October 2011. There is disruption to road and rail transport, particularly on routes north of Bangkok and in flooded areas,” the Ministry said in a statement.

“If you are in an affected area, exercise caution and follow the advice of the local authorities.”

The current flooding disaster in Thailand is the worst in half a century and is believed to have killed 366 people, and has damaged farmland, industry and shipping.

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