Police arrested two men with 30 packets of suspected narcotics at 2.15am this morning.
A police patrol stopped the suspects, Ahmed Fazeel, 26, of H. Filmysite, and Maumoon Hussein, 25, of H. Raylightvilla, on the street and took them into custody.
According to police, both suspects have criminal records and had been arrested on numerous occasions in the past.
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(0)The cabinet is working to finalise proposals for upgrading Kulhudhuffushi Regional Hospital and Addu City Regional Hospital in order to match the services provided at Male’s Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital (IGMH) and better meet the challenges facing the country’s health sector.
The Ministry of Health was not able to detail the exact nature of these proposed upgrades when contacted by Minivan News, but said discussions would continue in cabinet over the next few days regarding the “improvements” required to the hospitals and the wider health sector.
According to the President’s Office, a steering committee of cabinet ministers has been drawn up to try and outline the direction of the hospital upgrades and identify present shortcomings within the country’s health services. Efforts for combating the spread of dengue fever are also said to be a part of the discussions.
(0)Dislikes(0)Although the MNDF has been drafted in to help combat the problem of dengue fever that is affecting Male and several other atolls, it is important that people don’t stand back and think that this action alone will solve the problem.
Experience in many other countries has shown that a ‘top-down’ or vertical campaign against dengue fever is only part of the solution to preventing outbreaks of the virus from getting worse.
Most people know that dengue fever is spread by a mosquito that takes the blood of an infected person. The blood contains a virus that causes dengue fever and this is passed on to a new person when they are bitten in turn by the mosquito. The mosquito seems fine – but people infected by the virus may become very seriously ill and a small proportion may die.
Most action to prevent the spread of dengue fever is aimed at the mosquito itself. If the mosquitoes are stopped from breeding then the transmission of the dengue virus from person to person will be interrupted and no new cases will occur. Often the strategy against the mosquito relies on spraying chemicals and treating water storage containers. But without having fully integrated community involvement, this strategy has failed almost everywhere in the world that it has been tried. The mosquitoes will always find ways to outwit their human adversaries unless locally tailored eradication programmes are implemented.
Community involvement is key to the success of the eradication programme and every member of the community should be involved in understanding the problem of controlling the mosquitoes (vector control). Within each community the local community leaders should be involved in forming a dedicated steering committee that can create formal task forces or community working groups that will undertake environmental management. The working groups will need to know in detail exactly what they are supposed to be doing and precise training sessions need to be organised. Every locality is different so each community task force needs to identify the exact local conditions in which their mosquitoes will be breeding. Precise local knowledge is the most important resource for beating the disease. In particular waste water needs to be evacuated efficiently; water pipelines and water storage containers must be protected and communal waste collection improved.
A research programme in Cuba compared the usual ‘top down’ ways of combating dengue fever with a community activist approach as described above. They found that the community based environmental strategy was much more effective that the usual eradication programme. You can read more about this research on:
http://www.bmj.com/content/338/bmj.b1959.full
Garbage: a special problem throughout the Maldives
The mosquitoes love little collections of water. When I was in the Maldives as a volunteer for the Friends of Maldives health programme I noticed that outside almost every house there is a little collection of garbage. This includes plastic drink containers, tins, discarded tyres, containers and invariably a pile of half coconuts. These are ideals breeding sites for the mosquitoes that carry dengue fever. Unless each and every one of these piles is cleaned up, dengue fever will continue to be a problem throughout the Maldives in urban and rural areas.
Mosquitoes love the little collections of water that form in garbage piles.
Dr Tom Heller is a Senior Lecturer in the Open University’s Faculty of Health and Social Welfare. He has previously visited the country as a medical volunteer for the UK-based NGO, Friends of Maldives.
All comment pieces are the sole view of the author and do not reflect the editorial policy of Minivan News. If you would like to write an opinion piece, please send proposals to [email protected]
(0)Dislikes(0)MPs of the main opposition Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party’s (DRP) breakaway Z-faction vowed today to disrupt future sittings of parliament in protest of last night’s “unlawful sitting,” claiming that the revised committee composition voted through was not the same proposal agreed upon by parliamentary group (PG) leaders.
Today’s sitting was meanwhile cancelled after just 15 minutes when the Z-DRP MPs and Dhivehi Qaumee Party (DQP) MP Riyaz Rasheed left their seats to protest in front of the secretariat desk.
With the latest forced cancellation, parliament has now been deadlocked since Tuesday (June 28) last week.
At a press conference after the cancellation, DRP Deputy Leader Ilham Ahmed argued that last night’s sitting was “unlawful” because MPs were informed via text message just two hours before it began.
Ilham’s Z-DRP colleague MP Ali Arif explained that MPs were not sent agendas as required by parliamentary rules nor provided details of the revised composition: “Therefore, as last night’s sitting was illegitimate and unlawful, we do not accept any decision made at the sitting.”
The Z-DRP MPs objected in particular to the composition of the coveted ‘241’ Security Services Committee, which the MDP could potentially control with the support of the two Independents Ali Mohamed and Ismail Abdul Hameed.
While the former resigned from DRP last month, the latter has a record of voting with the ruling party. However Velidhoo MP Ali Mohamed notably voted against the MDP to approve Jumhooree Party (JP) Leader Gasim Ibrahim to the Judicial Service Commission (JSC).
Meanwhile Z-DRP MP Ahmed Mahlouf alleged that Speaker Abdulla Shahid held a secret meeting with President Mohamed Nasheed after last night’s sitting.
All three Z-DRP MPs strongly criticised DRP Leader Ahmed Thasmeen Ali as “incompetent,” reiterating their accusation against the minority leader of “making deals with the government.”
The Z-DRP MPs demand that last night’s vote should be invalidated and the committee composition revisited.
However the parliament secretariat has issued a press statement in response to the Z-DRP MPs’ claims, noting that the revised rules of procedure does not require MPs to be informed three days in advance.
It adds that both the agenda and items up for a vote could be viewed on the computers at each MPs’ desk.
Moreover, MPs were informed of sittings via text message on two occasions in the past: “The 79th sitting of the 17th parliament held on 28 December 2009 and the 26th sitting of the third session of 2010 on 20 December 2010 were held after MPs were informed on short notice via text messages. Those sittings took place at 8.30 at night.”
DRP response
Meanwhile at a press conference by the rival opposition faction, DRP Deputy Leader Ibrahim ‘Mavota’ Shareef defended the compromise agreed upon by DRP Leader Thasmeen following “a long negotiation process.”
Shareef revealed that Jumhooree Party (JP) Leader Gasim Ibrahim refused to enter into a formal coalition with the DRP “for some reason after [the coalition agreement] was signed and finalised to be sent to the Majlis secretariat. We are seeing the bitter [consequence] of that now.”
If the coalition agreement had been signed, the allied opposition parties in parliament would have been level with the MDP at 34 MPs each.
“Considering the composition of the People’s Majlis today, in circumstances where our coalition has less than 34 seats, there is no way that we could have got more than what we have achieved through negotiations,” he said. “We have not lost even one seat that we deserved.”
He added that the opposition retained control of influential committees such as the Public Accounts Committee and the Government Oversight Committee.
As it was “a political reality” that MDP were entitled to control of some committees, Shareef said that the Z-DRP MPs’ claims were “deliberate lies intended to deceive the public.”
The DRP deputy leader also warned that opposition politicians risked raising “doubts about our sincerity” due to the ongoing internal squabbles: “Any loss to the DRP is a gain for the government and a loss to the whole opposition effort.”
Shareef called on the Z-DRP to “set aside political rivalry and dreams of winning the 2013 presidential election for the sake of the nation.”
DRP MP for Thulusdhoo Rozaina Adam meanwhile pointed out that JP Leader Gasim Ibrahim had also voted to approve the compromise reached by PG leaders.
She added that Thasmeen held out on a compromise until leaders of minority opposition parties People’s Alliance, JP and the DQP endorsed the agreement.
“Last night’s sitting was held because opposition parties reached an agreement, not at all because the Speaker himself wanted it,” she said.
The DRP had also “sacrificed” its slots on some committees to allow Independents and DQP MP Riyaz Rasheed to have a seat, Rozaina said.
She added that the Independent MPs on the 241 committee were “two MPs that both sides believe to be neutral.”
Z-DRP MP Ahmed Nihan however told Minivan News today that the Z-DRP MPs’ protest last night sprang from concerns about the Speaker’s political affiliation.
“We strongly believe he has connections with the government as he is working to an unknown agenda in their favour,” he said.
Nihan added that he expects protests on the Majlis floor to continue indefinitely.
“Today, we are seeing the government appoint the Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) to step in to run immigration here in the country,” he said. “How can we hold this government accountable if the opposition is not in control of the 241 committee?”
(0)Dislikes(0)The Maldives Customs Service has said it last month foiled a “major” attempt to smuggle Rf1 million worth of heroin int0 the country after 100 packets of the drug were found to have been swallowed by a Pakistani national.
Customs representative Mohamed Ibrahim told Minivan News today that 100 packets of “high-grade” heroin, a combined total weight of 797 grammes, were found to have been swallowed by a 23 year-old male from Pakistan when he had arrived at Male’ International Airport on June 25. Police are now said to be investigating the case, which is said to remain at an early stage.
The seizure come as the government pledges to crackdown on the sale, packing and distribution of hard drugs in the country.
In committing to this crackdown, Mohamed Ibrahim said the challenge of detecting drug packages that have been swallowed by smugglers was nothing new for customs and did not require authorities to review their screening processes in the future. The customs spokesperson claimed it had made similar “significant seizures” in the past.
However, Ibrahim added that the financial value of drugs found during the seizure was particularly significant.
“[The seizure] was worth quite a lot. Heroin like this is very expensive when you compare it to cannabis leaf or hash oil,” he said.
Just last month, the government has vowed to crackdown further upon significant players within the country’s hard drugs trade. Police announced on June 24 that they had arrested an individual suspected of being one of the country’s most high-profile drug kingpins following months of investigation.
About 896 grammes of drugs were said to have been discovered inside the suspect’s apartment during its investigation. The apartment, which was rented in a building belonging to MP ‘Redwave’ Ahmed Saleem, contained a number of tools that could be used to pack drugs, while powdered narcotics were also found, according to police. Saleem was not himself linked to the drug operation.
Speaking following the police raid last month, President Mohamed Nasheed promised a more compassionate approach would be adopted for dealing with the country’s addict population. However, he additionally pledged to directly target any individuals profiting from the trade of substances like heroin, even if it led back to friends or family.
“We can seize the hard drugs that enter the country. We can find out how it enters, too. And as I envision it we can stop [the trafficking]. While undertaking these efforts, it is now becoming very much certain to me…for example, what happened the other day [the raid] was the sort of thing I find quite shocking,” he said. “800 packets of heroin a night were getting sealed in the house of an honourable member of parliament. 800 packets of heroin were being distributed in the ground floor of this house. True, there might be no connection between the MP and his house to the people doing [the drug dealing]. But what I know is, in my home, in my own home…the laws of the country definitely say this. That I should know what happens in my own home, under my own shelter.”
(0)Dislikes(0)Revised composition of 13 standing committees as agreed upon by parliamentary group leaders and approved in a 36-1 vote last night : –
1. Rules Committee – five seats for the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP); five seats for the Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party-People’s Alliance (DRP-PA) coalition; Eydhafushi MP Ahmed “Redwave” Saleem as the Independent MP
2. 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
3. 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
4. Social Affairs Committee – five seats for MDP; five seats for DRP-PA; Velidhoo MP Ali Mohamed as the Independent MP
5. Independent Institutions Committee – five seats for MDP; five seats for DRP-PA; Kulhudhufushi South MP Mohamed Nasheed as the Independent MP
6. Government Oversight Committee – five seats for MDP; five seats for DRP-PA; one seat for JP
7. National Development Committee – five seats for MDP; five seats for DRP-PA; Meedhoo MP Ahmed Shiyam Mohamed as the Independent MP
8. 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
9. General Affairs Committee – five seats for MDP; four seats for DRP-PA; Kudahuvadhoo MP Ahmed Amir and Dhuvafaru MP Mohamed Zubair
10. Petition Committee – five seats for MDP; four seats for DRP-PA; one seat for JP; Kaashidhoo MP Ismail Abdul Hameed as the Independent MP
11. Privileges Committee – five seats for MDP; four seats for DRP-PA; one seat for JP; Guraidhoo MP Ibrahim Riza as the Independent MP
12. 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
13. ‘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
* Article 241 of the Constitution states, “A committee of the People’s Majlis shall be established to exercise continuing oversight of the operations of the security services. The committee shall include representation from all the different political parties within the People’s Majlis.”
(0)Dislikes(0)An estimated 1,120 Maldivians are expected to take part in a pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, later this month in celebration of the Islamic holy month of Ramazan, according to local media.
Miadhu reports that 10 different organisations within the country are said to be involved in providing Umra packages that include transportation to Saudi Arabia, as well as accommodation and food. Each year, around two million people are said to take part in the Ramazan Umra pilgrimage.
According to the report, packages are believed to cost around Rf30,000, though these costs are thought to have increased by 15 percent since changes imposed to the fixed US dollar exchange rate came into effect earlier this year.
A spokesperson for the Ministry of Islamic Affairs was unavailable to confirm the figures when contacted by Minivan News at the time of going to press.
(0)Dislikes(0)India-based construction giant Tata Housing Development has announced a multi-million dollar cooperation agreement with the Maldives government to construct residential and resort properties in the country.
The Wall Street Journal newspaper reports that as part of a Maldives government-commissioned programme valued at an estimated US$190million, Tata will develope around 350 residential flats and a number of island villa properties that will be sold both to the state and on the open market.
Tata estimates that about 80 per cent of the flat developments from the project would be sold to the Maldivian government, with the remaining properties sold privately in the country. No plans were mentioned for the proposed island villas.
Tata Housing Managing Director and Chief Executive Brotin Banerjee has told media that the project is expected to be completed within two to three years, with work carried out by a company called Apex Realty, part of the SG18 Developers group.
(0)Dislikes(0)Pandemonium broke out in the chamber tonight as Speaker Abdulla Shahid called a vote to approve a compromise reached by parliamentary group (PG) leaders over the revised composition of standing committees.
In a riotous sitting that saw Jumhooree Party (JP) MP Ibrahim Muttalib tear off his mic and opposition ‘Zed-faction’ MPs on their feet in protest, the proposal agreed upon by the PG leaders was passed with 36 votes in favour and one against.
MPs of the Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party’s (DRP) breakaway Z-faction and some MPs of the coalition partner People’s Alliance (PA) were gathered in front of the Speaker’s desk when the vote was taken. The MPs contended that the agenda item was tabled against parliamentary rules and did not participate in the vote.
After the result was announced, some MPs were seen screaming and chasing after their erstwhile colleague.
Minivan News understand that Shahid was unharmed after security personnel stepped in between the Speaker and irate MPs.
The Z-DRP and some PA MPs had objected that they were not consulted before the committee lists were agreed upon by PG leaders.
The revised composition of the committees and list of MPs will be announced tomorrow.
Dispute
The dispute over control of voting majorities in powerful and influential committees was sparked by the defection of two opposition MPs to the ruling party in May. It has since led to forced cancellations and rendered the 12 parliamentary committees dysfunctional.
As parliamentary rules dictate proportional representation, the committee reshuffle was necessitated at the beginning of the current session in June when the MDP became the majority party with 34 seats.
The increased share of the ruling party in parliament (45 percent) had to therefore be reflected in the 11-member standing committees (45 percent or five seats).
With the DRP-PA coalition entitled to four seats, the dispute got drawn out with disagreements over filling the two remaining seats with either one of eight Independents or four minority opposition MPs (three Jumhooree Party MPs and one Dhivehi Qaumee Party MP).
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