maldives news – Page 962 – Minivan News

PA split from DRP forces reworking of committee composition

Speaker Abdulla Shahid urged parliamentary group (PG) leaders today to agree upon a revised composition for standing committees by the end of the day, following official notice of the People’s Alliance’s (PA) split from the main opposition Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP).

“Due to this change, according to the rules of procedure we have to carry out the task of allocating members to the Majlis’ standing committee,” he said, appealing for the parties to determine the composition by the end of the day. “A month and a half of this session has passed without any committees functioning.”

Shahid noted that with the opposition coalition dissolved, 24 MPs remained to the DRP after the departure of PA’s seven MPs.

Article 101(b) of the parliamentary rules states the number of MPs each party has “should be taken as the basis” for determining the composition of committees.

Prior to the split, the combined strength of the DRP-PA entitled the opposition coalition to 39 percent of each of the 11-member committees, or four seats in each committee.

The ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) with its 34 MPs meanwhile commands five seats (45 percent) in each committee.

MP Ibrahim ‘Ibu’ Mohamed Solih, parliamentary group leader of the MDP, told Minivan News that PG leaders met today and “have reached an agreement.”

“I hope that it will be announced tomorrow,” he added.

Ibu Solih revealed that the ruling party had not demanded control of specific committees.

“In some committees, we have even let go of one of our five seats,” he said. “In any case, I hope the decision will be announced tomorrow.”

Much of the current parliament session that began in June has been consumed by disputes over committee composition, which was sparked by the defection of opposition MPs to the ruling party during the May recess.

The committee reshuffle was necessitated when the MDP became the majority party with 34 seats.

As all eight Independent MPs had a voting record favoring either the government or opposition, the parties had to agree upon which Independent MP would sit on which committee.

After weeks of forced cancellations and wrangling at the negotiation table, parliamentary group leaders reached a compromise to allow the opposition to retain control of the influential Public Accounts Committee and Government Oversight Committee.

The ruling party meanwhile won provisional control of the coveted ‘241’ Security Services Committee with MPs Ismail Abdul Hameed and Ali Mohamed chosen among three Independent MPs on the committee.

MPs of the DRP’s breakaway Z-faction however objected to both the compromise and the nature of the sitting where it was voted through, vowing to disrupt future sittings in protest.

Defending the party leadership at the time, DRP MP Rozaina Adam told press that the party had “sacrificed” its slots on some committees to allow Independents and DQP MP Riyaz Rasheed to have a seat.

Rozaina explained that two of the Independent MPs on the 241 committee were “two MPs that both sides believe to be neutral.”

Revised composition of the most influential standing committees as agreed upon on July 5,

Public Accounts Committee – five seats for MDP; four seats for DRP-PA; one seat for Dhivehi Qaumee Party (DQP); Eydhafushi MP Ahmed “Redwave” Saleem as the Independent MP

Economics Committee – five seats for MDP; three seats for DRP-PA; one seat for Jumhooree Party (JP); one seat for DQP; Kaashidhoo MP Ismail Abdul Hameed as the Independent MP

Independent Institutions Committee – five seats for MDP; five seats for DRP-PA; Kulhudhufushi South MP Mohamed Nasheed as the Independent MP

Government Oversight Committee – five seats for MDP; five seats for DRP-PA; one seat for JP

National Development Committee – five seats for MDP; five seats for DRP-PA; Meedhoo MP Ahmed Shiyam Mohamed as the Independent MP

National Security Committee – five seats for MDP; four seats for DRP-PA; Dhuvafaru MP Mohamed Zubair and Guraidhoo MP Ibrahim Riza as the Independent MPs

Ethics Committee – four seats for MDP; four seats for DRP-PA; one seat for JP; Meedhoo MP Ahmed Shiyam Mohamed and Kudahuvadhoo MP Ahmed Amir as the Independent MPs

’241′ Security Services Committee – four seats for MDP; two seats for DRP-PA; one seat for JP; one seat for DQP; Guraidhoo MP Ibrahim Riza, Velidhoo MP Ali Mohamed and Kaashidhoo MP Ismail Abdul Hameed as the Independent MP

Likes

(0)Dislikes

(0)

Some 8,600 businesses registered at MIRA

Some 8,600 businesses have registered at the Maldives Inland Revenue Authority (MIRA) ahead of the introduction of business profit taxes, which came into effect today.

Newspaper Haveeru reports that MIRA has decided on the advice of the Attorney General’s Office (AGO) to consider the first tax year to begin on July 18, 2011 and end on December 31, 2011. The Business Profit Tax Act stated that taxation would begin six months after the legislation was ratified, with the deadline falling on July 18.

Commissioner General of Taxation Yazeed Mohamed explained that the first tax payment would be due before January 31, 2012. Businesses would have the option of paying taxes in full or in installments.

Businesses making an annual profit in excess of Rf500,000 would be required to pay 15 percent of profits above that amount as taxes.

Likes

(0)Dislikes

(0)

“Maizan” Ali Manik elected Male’ City Mayor

Members of the Male’ City Council elected Hulhu-Henveiru Councillor “Maizan” Ali Manik (Alibe) to the vacant post of mayor today with ten votes from the 11-member council.

Former head of the Male’ municipality “Sarangu” Adam Manik had resigned as the first mayor of Male’ earlier this month, following a no-confidence motion instigated by fellow councillors from the ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP).

The Male’ City Council has nine MDP councillors and two opposition Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) councillors.

Following his election today, Alibe told Sun Online that the council would restart stalled projects in the capital.

The new mayor said that his first priority would be implementing the government’s flagship “Veshi Fahi” Male’ decongestion programme.

Alibe revealed that former Mayor Adam Manik had assured him of full cooperation as the new chair of the city council.

Likes

(0)Dislikes

(0)

Police reopen Innamaadhoo council office

Police have reopened the council office at Raa Atoll Innamaadhoo a day after angry islanders locked the office in protest.

Sun Online reports that islanders nailed wooden panels to the council office door at about 7:00pm last night door in protest of the council’s failure to heed repeated request by parents of preschool children to shut down carpentry workshops near the island’s preschool.

The parents had complained that fibre and wood dust from the boat sheds were being blown into the preschool. However the council was allegedly in talks with the workshop owners to extend leases.

Sub-Inspector Ahmed Shiyam said that police reopened the office after employees were unable to enter this morning and requested police assistance.

He added that the matter was currently under investigation.

Likes

(0)Dislikes

(0)

Bill on discontinuing state benefits to ex-Presidents rejected

An amendment proposed to the Protection and Privileges for former Presidents Act by MP Mohamed Musthafa of the ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) was rejected 37-32 at today’s sitting of parliament.

In his closing statement after the debate on the parliament floor, Musthafa said that he did not have “anything more to say about this bill.”

“What I want is for those who have ruled this country to receive benefits and for them to stay silent at home under protection,” he said. “[I want] to give them benefits and for them not to come out to the street and act like children.”

In March this year, a leaked phone call between Musthafa and Deputy Speaker Ahmed Nazim emerged in the local media, suggesting a secret relationship between the MDP MP and embattled Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) Leader Ahmed Thasmeen Ali.

Musthafa explains in the leaked audio that while he did not believe that former President Gayoom deserved financial benefits after returning to active politics, he had considered withdrawing the bill but was dissuaded from doing so by Thasmeen.

Likes

(0)Dislikes

(0)

DRP Leader Thasmeen “failed as majority leader”: MP Mahlouf

MPs of the opposition Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party’s (DRP) Z-faction are in the process of joining forces with minority opposition parties People’s Alliance (PA), Jumhooree Party (JP) and Dhivehi Qaumee Party (DQP) to form a new “opposition parliamentary group.”

After months of internal strife within the DRP, coalition partner People’s Alliance (PA) broke its agreement with the largest opposition party this week at the behest of the Z-faction, threatening DRP Leader Ahmed Thasmeen Ali’s status as the minority leader of parliament.

Formerly the majority leader, Thasmeen became minority leader at the beginning of the current parliament session in June when the ruling party secured 34 seats, making the parliamentary group leader of the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, the new majority leader.

Z-DRP MP Ahmed Mahlouf told Minivan News that the new parliamentary group will consist of MPs from PA, JP, DQP and a few Independent MPs along with about 11 DRP MPs disaffected with Thasmeen’s leadership.

“We will appoint a leader and deputy leader for the new parliamentary group very soon,” he revealed.

The DRP MP for Galolhu South added that embattled DRP Leader Thasmeen was “welcome to join” the new group.

“But it was Thasmeen’s failure that led us to form this opposition parliamentary group, he failed us as the Majority Leader,” Mahlouf said.

Mahlouf told Minivan News yesterday that 11 of the party’s MPs met with MPs of the minority opposition parties and an independent MP Saturday night “to discuss how to move forward.”

Parliamentary procedure prevented the Z-DRP MPs from forming a new party, Mahlouf claimed, but he speculated that the MPs would potentially leave the main opposition and operate either as independents, or join one or other of the opposition aligned parties.

If that scenario were to happen, the DRP would be reduced to 13-15 MPs and Thasmeen would no longer be minority leader, as the the new opposition PA-JP-DQP alliance would number 21-22 MPs.

Thasmeen has meanwhile hit out at the PA’s decision this week to split with the DRP. The PA had claimed lack of cooperation and “initiative” by the DRP leadership in holding the government accountable as the main reason for the decision.

The DRP leader told local media this week that the PA had to “take responsibility for the weakening of the opposition” due to the dissolution of the coalition.

Appearing on private broadcaster DhiTV last night, PA Leader Abdulla Yameen however contended that the termination of the coalition agreement did not entail “any disadvantage or loss to opposition parties.”

Yameen, half-brother of former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom and potential presidential candidate for 2013, explained that the party would still vote with the DRP to hold the government accountable.

“PA did not break the coalition to support MDP,” he said. “PA parted ways [with the DRP] because we believe that under our new management we can improve efforts to hold the government accountable.”

The opposition MP for Mulaku noted that six months had passed since the PA announced its decision not to follow the DRP’s whip line.

He added that the PA had voted with the DRP “91 percent of the time.”

Yameen said that “any weakening of the opposition” occurred “when the DRP-PA coalition was at its strongest.”

“The opposition parties were weakened when the [concession agreement to hand over management of the Male’ International Airport to Indian infrastructure giant] GMR issue emerged,” he claimed. “I was arrested. [JP Leader] Gasim [Ibrahim] was arrested. Where was DRP then? What hardship did they have to bear? No DRP senior officials were arrested.”

Likes

(0)Dislikes

(0)

Z-DRP requests PG investigate MDP MPs’ “act of terrorism”

Opposition MPs met with Prosecutor General (PG) Ahmed Muiz today to request criminal charges be pressed against MPs of the ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) for bolting the chamber doors and “hijacking parliament” on July 13.

Speaking to press outside the Prosecutor General’s Office, MP Ahmed Mahlouf said that the opposition MPs considered the incident an “act of terrorism” and “a serious criminal offence.”

“In addition, because neither the army nor police took any action against MDP members protesting outside the parliament building, where gatherings are illegal, we also submitted that complaint,” he said.

He added that the MPs requested an investigation into MDP activists locking parliament gates with chains “as a serious issue.”

Speaking to Minivan News today, MP Ibrahim ‘Ibu’ Mohamed Solih, parliamentary group leader of the ruling party, said that the opposition MPs’ decision to take matters up with the PG was “regrettable.”

“There are internal arrangements [within parliament] to deal with such matters,” he explained. “If there was an issue of privileges or ethics, we have a privileges committee and an ethics committee that can investigate [complaints].”

Ibu Solih insisted that there was no criminal element to the disturbances in parliament last week.

Z-DRP MPs Mahlouf, Ilham Ahmed, Ali Arif and Ahmed Nihan were joined at the meeting this afternoon by MPs of the minority opposition Jumhooree Party, People’s Alliance and Dhivehi Qaumee Party.

Mahlouf told reporters that “rocks and water bottles” hurled into the building caused harm to both MPs and officers of the Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF).

He claimed that PA MP Abdul Raheem Abdulla was hit by a rock while an MNDF officer’s eyes were “seriously hurt” by a projectile.

The DRP MP for Galolhu South noted that neither the MNDF nor police moved to offer protection to Deputy Speaker Ahmed Nazim “an hour and a half after the hijacking.”

“After the sitting finished, for the security forces to stand by and do nothing while the Deputy Speaker and MPs were hijacked in there is a very serious problem,” he said.

Asked if any MP was directly prevented from leaving the chamber that day, Mahlouf said that he “tried to get out [of the chamber] but couldn’t do it.”

“My grandmother was at the ICU at the time and I couldn’t go there,” he said. “We couldn’t even go to the toilet. We have videos of all of this and we have even shared some with the media.”

Likes

(0)Dislikes

(0)

TEAM urges employers to pay allowance before Ramadan begins

Tourism Employees Association of Maldives (TEAM) has urged employers to pay Ramadan Allowances prior to the beginning of the month as stated in the Employment Act.

‘’We call on all employers to pay the Ramadan Allowance they are obliged to pay in the Employment Act, to be paid before the beginning of the month of Ramadan,’’ TEAM said in a press release .‘’Article 51[a] of the Employment Act states that each year, prior to the beginning of the month of Ramadan, one third of the employee shall be paid as Ramadan Allowance.’’

TEAM expressed concern that some of the employees working in the tourism sector have not received last year’s Ramadan Allowance.

‘’We also call on all employees to work to have the Ramadan Allowance paid,’’ TEAM added.

Vice President of TEAM Mauroof Zakir told Minivan News that TEAM’s press release was not only targeted at employers in the tourism industry but to all employers.

‘’It is a right of all the Muslim employees and it is also mentioned in the Employment Act,’’ Mauroof said.

Mauroof expressed concern that although the Ramadan Allowance was introduced in 2008, there have been some employees that were not receiving the allowance.

‘’We have received information that 12 tourist resorts in the Maldives have not paid Ramadan Allowance to their employees last year,’’ he said. ‘’Following an amendment presented by the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) MP Ahmed Easa, now all employees earning less than Rf2000 are supposed to be paid Rf2000 as Ramadan Allowance according to the Act, and we urge all employees working in all the sectors not only tourism sector, to work to have it.’’

Mauroof said he did not wish to reveal the names of the resorts that have not paid last year’s Ramadan Allowance.

”It would be better not to mention their names, just not yet,” he added.

Likes

(0)Dislikes

(0)

DRP-PA split could see rise of new opposition majority

The decision by the People’s Alliance (PA) to split from the opposition Dhivehi Rayithunge Party (DRP) could redraw the political boundaries in parliament.

The PA decided on July 13 to break the longstanding coalition agreement, with the backing of DRP MPs loyal to former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom collectively known as the party’s Z-faction.

“I believe it is a good move. Since Ahmed Thasmeen Ali’s leadership there has been no cooperation with the PA,” said Z-DRP MP Ahmed Mahlouf. “Nothing has been done with the PA for the past two years – they were just told how to vote.”

Mahlouf told Minivan News that 11 of the party’s MPs last night met with the opposition-aligned Jumhoree Party (JP), the Dhivehi Qaumee Party (DQP) and an independent MP “to discuss how to move forward.”

Parliamentary procedure prevented the disaffected MPs from forming a new party, Mahlouf claimed, but he speculated that the MPs would potentially leave the main opposition and operate either as independents, or join one or other of the opposition aligned parties, and had discussed the appointment of a parliamentary group leader.

If that scenario were to happen, the DRP would be reduced to 13-15 MPs and Thasmeen would no longer be minority opposition leader, as the the new opposition PA-JP-DQP alliance would number 21-22 MPs.

Asked whether this move would leave Thasmeen open to cooperation with the ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), Mahlouf alleged that “Thasmeen and [Speaker] Abdulla Shahid have already been helping President Mohamed Nasheed for two years. The separation won’t change that.”

“I don’t think he will join them though – Thasmeen will want to run in the Presidential elections,” Mahlouf predicted.

The MPs affiliated with the Z-DRP include Ilham Ahmed, Ahmed Mahlouf, Ahmed Nihan, Ali Arif, Abdul Muhsin Hameed, Dr Afrashim Ali, Hamdhoon Hameed, Yousuf Naeem and Mohamed Rafeeq Hassan.

Mahlouf noted that joining another party would also involving discussing potential Presidential candidates once the party lines were redrawn.

Addressing concerns raised yesterday by DRP MP Abdulla Mausoom – that the representation of constituents in strong DRP areas such as Laamu Atoll who elected opposition coalition MPs would effectively become PA electorates – Mahlouf said that such islands “voted for the PA because President Gayoom asked them to do it. Even now Zaeem is with the PA, they are working together. Voters in Laamu didn’t vote for Thasmeen – they voted for Gayoom.”

The redrawing of party lines will likely affect the controversial compromise on the composition of committees, which led to fistfights in parliament last week.

Article 101(b) of the parliamentary rules of procedure states the number of MPs each party has “should be taken as the basis” for determining the composition of committees.

The DRP-PA coalition, with 39 percent of seats in parliament, were therefore entitled to four seats in each of the 11-member standing committees.

The rules also states that Independent MPs should be given equal opportunity to select a committee of their preference.

Meanwhile, a statement released by PA yesterday notes that the proposal to break the coalition agreement was put forward by members of the parliamentary group.

“Following discussion on the issue by the PA council, as the DRP leadership elected during its 2010 congress has not given priority to adhering to the coalition agreement, the council members noted three main points,” it reads.

The PA council accused the DRP leadership of not putting “a substantial effort into maintaining the DRP-PA coalition” and failing to adhere to “the spirit of the [coalition] agreement.”

Moreover, the DRP leadership did not “take initiative for the many efforts needed to hold the government accountable” while also not supporting or backing “the efforts of other opposition parties.”

It adds that DRP Leader Thasmeen did not adequately shoulder responsibility and take initiative as befits the majority leader of parliament when the opposition coalition controlled a narrow majority.

“PA council members also took note of the serious divisions within DRP and the failure to resolve the disputes as well as splits between DRP members in parliament and the failure to appropriately enforce the party’s whip line,” the party said.

The PA observed that “as a result of matters deteriorating to the point where DRP MPs cannot communicate with the leadership,” the party doubted that it could “perform the hard and noble work” of holding the government accountable.

The PA council members further noted that “senior figures of the Z-DRP faction that works closely with the PA” had urged the minority opposition to split with the DRP.

Following a compromise reached over the revised constitution of standing committees, DRP Deputy Leader Ilham Ahmed, affiliated with the Z-faction, publicly called on the PA to sever ties with the main opposition party.

DRP Leader Thasmeen acknowledged to Haveeru today that the decision would weaken the opposition, and said that “both sides failed to comply with the agreement.”

“I don’t think dissolving the agreement would make much of a difference now. As far as I’ve noticed, both sides failed to keep up with the agreement,” Haveeru reported Thasmeen as saying.

Likes

(0)Dislikes

(0)