Tag: maldives news

Finance Minister condemns Public Accounts Committee Chair

Finance Minister Ahmed Inaz has said that the Rf456,000 (US$31,000) issued to Maldives Media Association (MMA) according to the Finance Report sent by the ministry to parliament was actually issued to Maldives Media Council (MMC) and not to the dissolved NGO MMA.

”It was technically a typing error, we sent the Public Accounts Committee a report consisting information about some of the recent transactions, and the Public Accounts Committee’s Chair MP Ahmed Nazim [who is also the Deputy Speaker of the Parliament] asked us to send detailed information of all the transactions mentioned in the report,” Inaz explained.

He said the ministry then sent the committee details of the transactions in the report, which still had the typing error uncorrected.

”We did not identify that error, and after we sent the details, the chair of the committee told the media that we have used Rf456,000 from the contingency budget to pay salaries of MMA staff,” he said. ”Actually it was used to pay the salaries of MMC staff.”

Inaz said he regretted that Nazim had not verified the typing error with the ministry before going to the media.

”We send the report to the parliament to cooperate with them and to assist them in making us accountable, I attended the committee three days in a row this week and we do not have a policy of withholding information,” he said, adding that he condemned Nazim’s actions and hoped that he would not repeat such things in the future.

”I also apologize to MMA members, but the responsibility goes to the Chair of the Public Accounts Committee as well,” Inaz said. ”Things like this make the ministry lose the confidence we have in the Chair of the committee.”

Nazim told local media this week that a report submitted by the Finance Ministry showed that over Rf450,000 from the state budget was issued to the MMA.

In the wake of the revelation, the Maldives Journalists Association (MJA) and senior members of the now-defunct Maldives Media Association (MMA) called on the Auditor General and Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) to investigate the alleged Rf456,000  released from the state’s contingency budget.

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DRP threatens disciplinary action against two councillors

The opposition Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) has threatened disciplinary action against two of its councillors in Fuvahmulah after the pair voted against the party line in a no-confidence motion against the Dhadimagu ward council chair.

A press statement from the party noted that Hussein Ihsan and Mohamed Farish ignored instructions from the party’s administration.

The DRP council will discuss possible disciplinary action against the pair at its next meeting, the statement said.

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Campaign against committee allowance violates privileges, say MPs

Parliament today debated a motion proposed by Vilufushi MP Riyaz Rasheed claiming that a civic action campaign against controversial Rf20,000-a-month committee allowances approved last year violated MPs’ special privileges.

Presenting the motion without notice, Riyaz Rasheed, the sole Dhivehi Qaumee Party (DQP) representative in parliament, contended that the campaign by the group of concerned citizens was intended to bring MPs into disrepute and undermine MPs’ honour and dignity.

Riyaz said he proposed the motion in protest of the activities against the committee allowance because “no one has said anything while they’re putting up pictures of MPs all over Male’.”

A loose association of concerned citizens and members of local NGOs launched a campaign in late August after parliament’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC) decided to issue a lump sum of Rf140,000 (US$9,000) as committee allowance back pay for January through July this year.

“The chapter on rights and freedoms in the constitution guarantees right to [respect for] private and family life [article 24],” Riyaz continued. “Therefore no one could try to defame us. We have not betrayed the public. We have done things for the benefit of the people.”

Riyaz proposed that parliament should officially ask police to investigate the activists after the Privileges Committee reviews his motion.

After the motion was presented, MPs voted 16-3 with nine abstentions to open the floor for a debate.

Honour and dignity

Most MPs from both the ruling and opposition parties supported Riyaz’s motion, criticising the methods employed by the social activists, which they argued incited contempt towards MPs.

Several MPs claimed that they had not received any complaints or angry phone calls from constituents demanding that they refuse the allowance.

MPs also alleged that unsuccessful candidates for parliament were behind the campaign, which was motivated by “personal grudges” and a desire to diminish the standing of sitting MPs in a bid to defeat them in 2014.

Moreover, several MPs argued that unlike government ministers and judges, MPs did not have office space, staff or state vehicles.

While MP Ali Waheed characterised the campaign as “a military attack,” MP Ilham Ahmed criticised the activists for misleading the public into thinking that the “unborn allowance” had already been given.

Ilham alleged that activists in the campaign were “three or four kids that Ibra [President’s Advisor Ibrahim Ismail] sends out,” adding that “making my wife’s ID card number public” went beyond the right to free expression and protest.

Other opposition MPs criticised the NGOs for not launching similar campaigns or protests against the government’s contentious decisions, such as refusing to reimburse civil servants, floating the exchange rate or not handing over the state broadcaster to the parliament approved Maldives Broadcasting Corporation (MBC).

“The main intention of the people who are protesting is to bring Majlis into disrepute among the public and violate privileges,” claimed Independent MP Ahmed Amir, backing Riyaz Rasheed’s proposal to investigate the campaign and take legal action.

MP Ahmed Rasheed of the ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) meanwhile revealed that the activists met him to discuss the allowance and he had declined to refuse it.

“I am saying very clearly, these people who have come out in the name of civil society organisations are working with the hope of contesting and winning a seat in the 2014 parliamentary election,” he claimed.

MP Ibrahim Muttalib, who recently signed for the Adhaalath Party, meanwhile said he had pledged to decline the allowance if the activists would agree to join him in protesting “on issues of national importance.”

Muttalib repeated claims by other MPs that former MP Ibrahim Ismail was orchestrating the campaign.

“I don’t believe that the constitution of this country was sent down in a revelation to the chairman of the drafting committee [Special Majlis MP Ibrahim Ismail] by the Vatican city,” said MDP MP Mohamed Musthafa, adding that he would decline the allowance only if President Mohamed Nasheed asked it of him, but the President had not done so to date.

MP Ahmed “Redwave” Saleem, who recently signed for former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom’s Progressive Party, implied that Ibra lost the use of his legs as “a punishment from God.”

“He [Ibra] says I’m the one who drafted the constitution, tomorrow he might say I’m the one who drafted the holy Quran,” said Saleem.

MP Ahmed Mahlouf, who submitted a resolution to scrap the allowance in June, criticised the social activists for not defending or backing him at the time when he was accused of self-aggrandizement.

Freedom of expression

Only a few MPs, including MDP MPs Mariya Ahmed Didi, Imthiyaz Fahmy, Ilyas Labeeb, Eva Abdulla and Hamid Abdul Gafoor, spoke against the motion and disputed the notion that the civic action campaign violated MPs privileges.

Hamid proposed a comprehensive review by parliament of salaries and allowances for state employees, which was seconded by MP Mahlouf.

Mariya, former chairwoman of the MDP, said it was “regrettable” that criticism of MPs had prompted a motion claiming violation of parliament’s privilege.

Prior to the parliamentary election, said Mariya, her constituents had complained that the Rf62,500 monthly salary for MPs was too high.

“So I definitely accept that the people will criticise us taking an additional Rf20,000,” she said. “So when the people talk about it on the media, and even if they draw our cartoons, we have to accept it since we come here to advocate on their behalf and we live in the public eye.”

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MJA calls for investigation into release of Rf456,000 to defunct media association

The Maldives Journalists Association (MJA) and senior members of the now-defunct Maldives Media Association (MMA) have called on the Auditor General and Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) to investigate an alleged Rf456,000 (US$31,000) released from the states contingency budget.

The MMA – not to be confused with the Maldives Media Council (MMC) which is currently facing legal action for paying members almost Rf 1 million in ‘living allowances’ -was registered as an NGO in 2007 and was active for a year. However the NGO ceased its activities and many of its board members resigned.

Deputy Speaker of Parliament and Chair of the Public Accounts Committee, MP Ahmed Nazim, told local media this week that a report submitted by the Finance Ministry showed that over Rf450,000 from the state budget was issued to the MMA.

“According to the NGOs Act, the Maldives Media Association was supposed to be dissolved for being inactive for a long time, but the Home Ministry has not yet announced it has been removed from the NGOs list,” the MJA said in a press release. “It is astonishing to hear that such a large sum of money has been given to the MMA from the state budget to pay their staff.”

The MJA said it understood that information on assistance given to the MMA was stored at the Information Department, and called for an investigation.

State Tourism Minister Mohamed Thoyyib was the last President of the NGO, and other figures such as Mohamed ‘Hiriga’ Zahir, who is the current editor of Sun Online and Maldives Media Council member, along with Maldives National Broadcasting Corporation (MNBC) Sub-Editor Ahmed Muhsin, were all senior members of the MMA.

Finance Minister Ahmed Inaz told Minivan News that he was not sure how the allegations surfaced.

“We are currently trying to determine whether it actually happened,” Inaz said, adding that the ministry would put out a press statement explaining the incident.

Hirigia, who was a senior member of the MMA, told Minivan News that the NGO had received no money from the government when it was active.

“We call on the Auditor General and Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) to investigate this matter and we call on the government to tell everyone where the money really went,” Hiriga said. “It’s been almost 24 hours since the Public Accounts Committee told the media about this, and still the Finance Ministry has not said anything about it.”

The emergence of the issue indicated that the government may have been misusing funds out of the contingency budget, he said.

“There will be still more than Rf60,000 of the Maldives Media Association’s money stored in the Information Department, we want to know what happened to that as well,” Hiriga said.

The then-President of the Maldives Media Association, currently State Minister for Arts and Culture Thoyyib Mohamed, said that the association received no money from the government.

”We did not receive any money from the government, maybe there is confusion in the Finance Ministry,” Thoyyib said.

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Dhiraagu launches IPO

Telecommunications giant Dhiraagu launched its Initial Public Offering (IPO) last night to offer 11.4 million shares (15 percent of the company’s stake) to the public at a rate of Rf80 per share from December 25 onward.

At a launching ceremony last night, Customer Services and Sales Director Ali Riyaz explained that application forms as well as the prospectus would now be available from Dhiraagu front offices and Bank of Maldives branches.

The forms would not be available for download for security reasons, he said. Completed forms are to be submitted between October 25 to November 30.

Meanwhile special seminars in Male’ and the atolls are being planned to provide information to the public.

The company revealed this week that it earned Rf968 million (US$62.7 million) as profit in 15 months with an income of about Rf2.5 billion (US$162 million).

Speaking at the ceremony, President Mohamed Nasheed revealed that the government intended to sell its remaining 33 percent share of the company to the public.

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Preliminary debate begun on three bills

Parliament began preliminary debate on three bills during its sittings this week, including legislation on small and medium-sized businesses proposed by the government as part of its economic reform package.

Presenting the bill on Monday, MP Nazim Rashad of the ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) said the legislation would establish a centralised mechanism to register small businesses and facilitate loans for investment.

In the next sitting on Tuesday, Independent MP Ali Mohamed presented a bill on medical devices. The former opposition Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) MP explained that the absence of relevant legislation on medical equipment precluded hospitals from ascertaining their quality.

The legislation would encourage training staff to operate the machinery and establish a regulatory board to enforce standards.

Meanwhile at today’s sitting, the last of the week, preliminary debate began on the government’s arbitration bill, which seeks to introduce alternative dispute resolution in the Maldives. The bill is also part of the government’s 18-bill economic reform package.

The first of the reform bills – now the General Goods and Services Tax (GST) Act – was passed at the final sitting of the last session on August 29.

Also during this week’s sittings, the government’s bill to amend the Import-Export Act of 1979 to reduce and eliminate custom duties entered the final committee stage. The amendment bill is likely to be put for a vote when Majlis resumes next week.

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ACC to sue Maldives Media Council over illegal ‘living allowance’

The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has said that it has decided to sue the Maldives Media Council (MMC) after the Auditor General’s report revealed that members took almost Rf 900,000 in additional allowances.

President of the ACC Hassan Luthfy confirmed to local media that suits will be filed against the MMC, one in the Civil Court and one in the Criminal Court for corruption.

Meanwhile, the Maldives Journalists Association (MJA) has called on the members to resign following the publication of the audit report.

In a statement, the MJA said that “this raise questions about the integrity of MMC which was established by the Parliament to regulate media. The MMC Act which was passed by the parliament clearly stipulates that no additional money other than wages shall be given to the council members for their work, unless it is approved by the Parliament.”

The MJA said the MMC Act required the council to comprise of eight members from the media and seven members from the public, but questioned the legitimacy of the council after noting that member from the public had been employed by the Maldives National Broadcasting Corporation (MNBC) after he was appointed as a member.

“This has dropped the number of members representing public to six, and increased the number of members representing the media to nine,” the MJA said, asking parliament to probe the issue.

The MJA said it was unacceptable for the NGO to see an institution assigned to regulate the media breaching the laws and democratic principles.

“This primitive action by the MMC has tarnished the trust and dignity of the local media in front of the citizens,” the MJA said. “We are very concerned, as this may also damage the reputation of the Maldives media in front of international organisations, and may raise questions about the integrity of the sole media regulatory body in the country.”

The opposition joint parliamentary group has meanwhile told the media that next week they will submit a bill to parliament to dissolve the council and transfer its mandate to parliament’s Maldives Broadcasting Corporation (MBC).

Spokesperson for the opposition parliamentary group, MP Ahmed Nazim, told newspaper Haveeru that the council had not been fulfilling its responsibility and noted that the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has accused the council of corruption.

He said that the MMC’s initial refusal to obey the direction of the ACC and repay the money was also an issue.

President of the Maldives Media Council (MMC) Mohamed Nazeef did not respond to Minivan News at time of press.

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Hanimaadhoo MP Mujthaz joins PPM

Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) MP Mohamed Mujthaz resigned from the party yesterday and signed for former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom’s Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM).

Mujthaz signed the membership form at a small ceremony attended by Gayoom. PPM Spokesperson MP Ahmed Mahlouf told press that the MP for Hanimaadhoo had pledged to join the new party formed by the breakaway Z-faction of the DRP.

With the exodus of MPs to join PPM, the DRP now has 16 MPs in parliament.

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High Court upholds lower court verdicts over unpaid Bank of Maldives loans

The High Court has upheld Civil Court verdicts ordering Mahandhoo Investments and Kabalifaru Investments – two companies with ties to Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) Leader Ahmed Thasmeen Ali – to repay millions of dollars worth of loans to the Bank of Maldives Plc Ltd (BML).

DRP MP Mohamed Nashiz, brother of the DRP leader and managing director of Kabaalifaru, and MP Ali Azim, a loan guarantor, were among the appellants at the High Court.

Both MPs had signed ‘joint and several guarantee and indemnity’ agreements for the loans issued in mid-2008.

In the verdicts delivered today, the High Court ruled that there were no legal grounds to overturn the lower court verdicts.

In the first case involving Mahandhoo Investments, BML had issued a US$23.5 million demand loan, a US$103,200 bank guarantee and US$30,090 letter of credit on July 10, 2008.

After BML sued Mahandhoo for non-payment, the Civil Court ruled on October 19, 2009 that the company was not paying the loans in compliance with the agreement and authorised the bank to sell mortgaged properties – including Reethi Beach Resort – to recover the outstanding debts along with incurred interest and fines.

The court ordered the company to settle the outstanding debt in a one year period. However the verdict was appealed at the High Court and remained stalled for almost two years.

The second case meanwhile involved a US$3.3 million loan issued to Kabaalifaru Investment and the appeal of a Civil Court verdict on September 30, 2009 ordering the company to settle the debt in the next 12 months.

Meanwhile a third case involving a Civil Court verdict in December 2009 ordering luxury yachting company Sultans of the Seas – with close ties to the DRP leader – to pay over US$50 million in unpaid loans and incurred interest and fines had also been appealed at the High Court.

In a BML audit report released in January 2009, Auditor General Ibrahim Naeem warned that defaults on bank loans issued to influential political players could jeopardise the entire financial system of the country.

Over 60 per cent of the US$633 million worth of loans issued in 2008 was granted to 12 parties, the report noted.

According to the report, US$45 million was granted to Sultans of the Seas and US$36 million to Fonnadhoo Tuna Products, two loans which comprised 13 per cent of the total loans issued in 2008.

The report noted that Fonaddhoo was owned by current DRP Leader Ahmed Thasmeen Ali – running mate of former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom in the 2008 presidential election – while the owners of Sultans of the Seas were closely associated with the minority leader.

In September 2009, Maldives Customs filed a case at Civil Court to recover US$8.5 million from Sultans of the Seas in unpaid duties and fines for allegedly defrauding customs to import two luxury yachts.

In February 2010, the court ordered the company to pay Rf110 million (US$7 million) as fines and evaded import duties.

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