Tag: maldives

The government to take all major lands from Malé City Council

Following a cabinet decision on Tuesday, the Ministry of Housing and Infrastructure has decided to take all major lands in Malé City from the city council.

Minister of Housing and Infrastructure Dr Mohamed Muiz today told Haveeru that the lands that will be taken from the council including the artificial beach, carnival area, south harbour area, lands near the T-Jetty, Usfasgandu, and Dharubaaruge.

Muiz told that the decision was made to develop these lands under a master plan formulated by the ministry, and that it was not because of any problems existing between the council and the ministry.

“We are taking almost all big lands [in Malé]. We will very soon inform the council in writing that those have been taken [from the council]. We will work with the council. I don’t think this will create any problems,” Muiz said.

The government has the authority to take such lands to utilise them for social and economic purposes. He said that all arrangements of transfer, including the issue of any existing contracts with a private party, will be dealt according to the laws and regulations.

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Coalition to field separate candidates for Majlis speaker position

President Abdulla Yameen yesterday announced that his Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) will forward its own candidate for the position of speaker of the People’s Majlis.

The move follows Jumhooree Party (JP) leader Gasim Ibrahim’s claim earlier this week that he had the full backing of his coalition partners to stand for nomination to the chair.

Parliament should be an institution that “sincerely and responsibly” fulfils the duty bestowed by the public, Yameen told supporters yesterday.

“For this reason, our party wants the speaker’s post in the next People’s Majlis,” he said during a rally held last night to celebrate the Progressive Coalition’s garnering of a 53 seat majority in Saturday’s Majlis elections.

Notably absent from the event were leaders of the JP – the winner of 15 of the coalition’s seats – with party Secretary General Dr Mohamed Saud telling CNM that the party had not attended as it had not been made aware of the agenda.

Complaints from within the JP immediately after polling, regarding PPM-affiliated candidates having stood as independents in constituencies reserved for the JP, appeared to have been justified today as local media reported that two of the five successful independent candidates had signed for the ruling party.

Following his loss to an independent candidate last weekend, JP MP for Lhaviyani Naifaru, Ahmed Mohamed, accused the PPM of attempting to “destroy” its coalition partner.

Differences of opinion among coalition partners should be settled through dialogue, President Yameen said during yesterday’s rally, suggesting that the coalition had lost 15 seats as a result of members of coalition parties contesting as independents.

“This wasn’t the fault of the people. It was a mistake made by our parties,” he said, noting that coalition leaders had “repeatedly urged” party members to vote for the coalition’s official candidate.

Senior members of the JP, including Secretary General Dr Saud and Deputy Leader Ameen Ibrahim, told Minivan News today that they were unwilling to comment on political issues on behalf of the party.

The addition of two members would bring the PPM’s parliamentary group for the 18th Majlis – scheduled to hold its first session in late May/early June – to 35 of the chamber’s 85 seats.

The third coalition partner – the Maldives Development Alliance (MDA), which is more closely allied with the PPM – took five seats on Saturday.

Local media yesterday, however, reported Ahmed Mahloof as saying that both he and fellow re-elected PPM MP Ahmed Nihan had pledged to support Gasim’s candidacy for speaker while negotiating during the 2013 presidential election.

Mahloof suggested that the nomination of a PPM candidate would be likely to cause a rift within the Progressive Coalition, and would be a decision he would find difficult to support.

Neither Mahloof nor Nihan were responding to calls at the time of press. PPM leaders have told local media that no official coalition discussion on nominations to the speaker’s chair have been held.

Adding further uncertainty to Gasim’s attempts to become speaker, reports published in the Gasim-owned Vnews media outlet today that the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) – winner of 26 seats – had decided to support Gasim’s nomination to the chair have been denied.

“He’s capable, but there are many others in the parliament who are capable, we have not yet decided,” MDP Parliamentary Group Leader Ibrahim ‘Ibu’ Solih told Minivan News.

The election of the new speaker – a position currently held by the MDP’s Abdulla Shahid – is scheduled to take place through a secret ballot of MPs at the first sitting of the new session.

Majlis regulations note that the speaker “shall be the highest authority of the People’s Majlis responsible for the conduction of all matters pertaining to the People’s Majlis including the administration, the sittings and the committees of the People’s Majlis in accordance with the Constitution and the Regulations.”

The speaker is also charges with preserving “order and decorum” within the Majlis, as well as observance of the institution’s regulations.

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Unsafe dredging in Meedhoo can cause lung and respiratory diseases, says HPA

In a letter addressed to the minister of environment and energy, the Health Protection Agency (HPA) has said that said unsafe dredging in Meedhoo, Dhaalu atoll, will have great health risks for the local population.

The Meedhoo land reclamation project was halted by the Environment Protection Agency (EPA) for failing to take measures to minimise the environmental impact of the work as per regulations.

The HPA launched an investigation to identify the health impact of the project after having received complaints.

HPA’s letter – a copy of which was obtained by Minivan News today – noted that there is a high chance that the continuation of the project as it is would have a negative health impact in the long run.

According to the letter, the agency’s investigations indicated that it is highly likely to cause lung and respiratory diseases.

“Therefore we request to find another way of carrying out the work, and to encourage working in a way that would not have any negative impact on human beings,” read the letter.

Using the rainbowing technique – the propulsion of materials through the air in a high arc – rather than using pipelines to take the the sand closer to the land, has left a large part of the island’s shoreline vegetation and many houses near the beach covered in fine sand and sea water.

Environmental NGO Ecocare earlier said that the project’s environmental implications are “frightening” and both public and private property are at risk.

“While layers of sedimentation found on some rooftops were 2-3 inches thick, large trees on the shoreline and inland had also effected loosing its leaves, and are now drying and dying,” the organisation said in a statement issued yesterday.

Meedhoo Council President Ahmed Aslam confirmed that rainbowing has affected destroyed the vegetation on the island and caused some damage to property as well.

“It is true, rainbowing has caused some damages to the island. Soil and seawater was sprayed all over the place. And as this is a small island, it was all over the houses near the beach and had damaged the vegetation all over the island,” Aslam explained.

He said that when the council took the issue to the Housing Ministry, they requested they communicate with Boskalis International – the company contracted to carry out the work – to ensure mitigation measures are taken properly.

Aslam however denied media reports that the dredging vessel had left the island due to the environmental issues.

“We communicated directly with Boskalis people. They confirmed that the vessel was leaving the island to repair a pump. They are bringing in mechanic from abroad. We expect the work to resume within four days,” he said.

Meanwhile, Minister of Housing Dr Mohamed Muiz told Haveeru that the EPA had acted without discussing the issue with the ministry and that there were political reasons in the EPA’s suspension of the operation.

“The issue of EIA [Environmental Impact Assessment] came up while some political people were trying to stop the work, because we are speeding up a work which they were unable to do during MDP’s three years in government,“ Muiz was quoted as saying in Haveeru.

While the EPA is a legal regulatory authority, the agency it not independent and functions under the Ministry of Environment and Energy.

Muiz confirmed to Haveeru that the work was halted due to violation of EIA conditions and said Boskalis International had now been asked to suspend operations and to continue work after resolving the issues.

The US$10.8 million government project to have 17.5 hectors of land reclaimed and a 485 metre revetment constructed in Meedhoo is being implemented by Netherlands’ Boskalis International.
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Adhaalath Party blames vote-splitting and bribery for poor elections result

The Adhaalath Party has today said that it lost many seats it ought to have won in the Majlis elections due to bribery and undue influence from competing candidates.

“We saw it both from the ruling party and opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) but we really did not want to buy votes –  instead we tried to change the way people think,’’ party Spokesperson Ali Zahir told Minivan News.

After fielding 12 candidates in Saturday’s polls, the religious party saw just a single MP elected to the 18th People’s Majlis – Anara Naeem for Makunudhoo constituency in Haa Dhaal atoll.

“It was really sad that a lot of money transactions were involved in it, it was an obstacle to electing the most capable person to the parliament.’’

Senior members of the MDP have themselves noted the use of similar techniques in Saturday’s poll – pointing the finger at coalition parties – while civil society and international observers have expressed alarm at such practices.

“It wasn’t the best results, or the results we expected,’’ Zahir told Minivan News today. “There are many reasons behind the loss.’’

Zahir said that one of the many reasons was the decision by the ruling Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) to give party tickets to candidates to contest in constituencies that Adhaalath had taken.

“It made the people divide their votes which the coalition should have got,’’ he said.

He said that the party had not started discussion on the issue with its, unofficial, coalition partners.

Following Adhaalath’s exclusion from the coalition’s parliamentary election plans, PPM Deputy Leader Abdul Raheem Abdulla told the press that the party was not “an official partner of the Progressive Coalition.”

Adhaalath was excluded from the governing coalition’s seat allocation, which eventually allocated 30 seats to the PPM, seven to the Maldives Development Alliance (MDA), and 28 to the Jumhooree Party (JP).

After failed negotiations with the JP in February, JP leader Gasim Ibrahim slammed the Adhaalath Party’s decision to contest in JP-reserved constituencies.

“Their actions are not in the general interest, in the name of Adhaalath (justice) they are doing everything in the wrong way,” said Gasim. “We gave them four seats. They did not accept it.”

Both Gasim and President Abulla Yameen have admitted that vote-splitting detracted from the size of the Progressive Coalition’s margin of victory.

Zahir today said that the workload of the senior party members had prevented the further discussion of the result within the party’s ranks, noting that talks with the government may follow such analysis.

He said that the party believed it had still made progress compared to the 2009 elections result – in which the party won no seats.

“Adhaalath Party is very different from all the other parties that contested in the parliament election – Adhaalath Party is a party that had to start from the bottom,” said Zahir.

“We will not stop our political activities and be silent,’’ he said. “We will compete in all the future elections and work to get better results.’’

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Meedhoo dredging halted for noncompliance with environment regulations

The Environment Protection Agency (EPA) has stopped dredging in Meedhoo, Dhaalu atoll, after the recently started project failed to take measures to protect its environmental impact.

Director General of the agency Ibrahim Naeem told Minivan News that the project was approved by the agency after completing an Environment Impact Assessment (EIA), but that the dredging was carried out against the conditions under which it was approved.

The US$10.8 million government project to have 17.5 hectors of land reclaimed and a 485 metre revetment constructed in Meedhoo is being implemented by Netherlands’ Boskalis International.

It was inaugurated last week by President Abdulla Yameen and is expected to be completed within eighteen months of commencement.

Minister Dr Mohamed Muiz had told local news agency Sun today that the dredging had been halted in order for the vessel to be brought to Malé to repair a pump.

Acknowledging that dirt was sprayed on to the island while dredging, he said that safety measures will be taken in the future.

Minivan News was unable to obtain a response from the Ministry of Housing regarding the issue at the time of press.

According to the EPA, one of the main issues leading to the project’s halting was the failure to build a ‘bund wall’ to contain the excess dredge spoil from spilling into the ocean. Another key issue was using the rainbowing technique – the propulsion of materials through the air in a high arc – instead of using pipelines to take the the sand closer to the land.

“If it is required, action will be taken as per regulations,” Naeem explained.

Local environmental NGO Ecocare which – also looking in to the issue – said the organisation is currently communicating with head office of the Royal Boskalis Westminster in the Netherlands,  who are also “concerned and very much alarmed about the situation”.

“As soon as we got information from the island we informed the authorities and we are communicating with Boskalis as well. It is very sad that such an incident happened,” said Maeed M. Zahir of Ecocare.

“Boskalis has a reputation for implementing their projects in a sustainable and environment friendly manner and follow international standards. They are also investigating the incident,” he added.

He said from the reports and pictures from the area, the failure to take mitigation measures had resulted in a negative impact on the island.

“The whole shoreline vegetation is covered in sea water and sand. It is all white now. In addition to this, trees inland have also been affected by this. Leaves are falling off many trees,” Maeed explained, noting that  people living there have also been directly affected by the incident.

According to Ecocare, rainbowing has left “fine sediments ‘raining’ on rooftops and on the vegetation cover near shore and inland”.

A statement issued today by the NGO said that layers of sedimentation found on some rooftops were 2-3 inches thick, large trees on the shoreline and inland had also been affected and are now drying and dying.

“The implications to the environment are frightening while property both public and private are at risk,” the statement added.

Applauding the swift action taken by the EPA concerning the issue, Maeed expressed concern that such an incident had happened on a government project.

“It is very important for them to monitor such projects even if it has been handed over to a private company,” he said.

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Ongoing strike at Vilu Reef resort sees 18 staff fired

Vilu Reef resort has allegedly terminated 18 members of staff, with some given just one hour to leave, after employees had presented management with a list of grievances.

Speaking with Minivan News, Ahmed Rasheed – a Vilu Reef employee for two years before his dismissal yesterday – described his termination:

“They sent me with 5 police guards into my room. They locked the door and asked me to pack within one hour.”

Vilu Reef is part of the Sun Travel & Tours group – a company owned by the prominent businessman and Maldives Development Alliance (MDA) leader Ahmed ‘Sun’ Shiyam.

After compiling a list of grievances against the resort, Rasheed explained that he had prepared a petition on which he managed to get 153 signatures from fellow staff.

He recalled that the demands were then presented to the hotel management on March 17, who came back to the employees, suggesting “if you don’t want to stay here you can leave.”

After conferring with the staff team, employees then decided to strike, stated Rasheed, with around 50 resort employees congregating at around 11pm with their demands on Sunday (March 23).

The management called police, but assured staff that no would be terminated, said Rasheed. They agreed to carry out amendments to meet the requests as of the April 30, he added, “so the next day we went back to work.”

“I was fired after two days,” continued Rasheed. “They just give me a call and said ‘hey can you come to the office’, then they gave me a letter. They asked me to sign.”

According to Rasheed’s termination contract, the reason Vilu Reef fired him was because his post was no longer available.

The termination letter stated that the employees were being fired due to their posts “being made redundant” and were asked to leave with “immediate effective (sic) of March 25”.

The letter acknowledges that there should be one month’s notice for the termination of staff, and therefore the management “have decided to as an extra measure compensation payment in lieu of three months notice period.”

The next steps, according to Rasheed, are being supported by the Tourism Association of Maldives (TEAM).

“We are not a member of TEAM but we are really thanking them for their help. They are helping us to do something good. At least we have some people who are trying to get our rights back.”

Workers’ right to strike

TEAM Secretary General  Mauroof Zakir told Minivan News that TEAM would assist the staff in taking the case to the Employment Tribunal, though felt there would be “no hope” for a fair case.

“Shiyam is very strong here,” he noted, “one of the partners of the government.”

“Since 2012 the decisions are against international standards and international best practice,” he added. “It’s all corrupt judiciary, and high court decisions against employment cases are one of the key factors.”

According to the Freedom of Peaceful Assembly Act 2013, tourist resorts, ports, and airports fall into a category of places in which protests are prohibited.

The US State Department expressed concern about the change in this law in their recently released 2013 Human Rights Report.

Local NGOs Transparency Maldives and the Maldivian Democracy Network have also expressed their concern that the law has impacted upon freedom of peaceful assembly.

No-one from the management team at Vilu Reef was available for comment when contacted by Minivan News.

Earlier this year the prestigious One & Only Reethi Rah resort saw an estimated 90% of its employees partake in an organised strike against perceived ill treatment and discrimination.

The strike was called following the management’s failure to meet employees to discuss concerns regarding discrimination against local workers, and a team of police were dispatched to the resort.

In a similar case in September 2013, staff at Irufushi Beach and Spa resort reported a “firing spree” affecting staff members professing to support the Maldivian Democratic Party.

The resort, which in May 2013 abruptly terminated its agreement with hotel giant Hilton – leading to the overnight resignation of 30 employees – is also part of the Sun Travel group.

A source working at the hotel at the time of publishing stated, “Shiyam took over this resort in what the staff refers to as another coup d’etat at the resort level. Since then we have been gradually stripped of rights we are legally entitled to as citizens of the Maldives.”

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Saudi Arabia donates 50 tonnes of dates to Maldives

Saudi Arabia has given the Maldives 50 tonnes of dates in celebration of the holy month of Ramdan, local media has reported.

Islamic Minister Sheikh Mohamed Shaheem Ali Saeed told Haveeru that the annual gift would be shipped to the country soon, after which he would decide on how the dates ought to be distributed.

The dates – a traditional gift from the Arab kingdom to the Maldives since 1988 – will be stored by the State Trading Organisation before being distributed by the Local Government Association.

Ramadan will fall at the end of June this year.

Growing links between the two countries in recent months have seen moves to increase educational and aviation links, as well as a Saudi pledge to build ten “world class” mosques by Saudi Crown Prince Salman bin Abdulaziz during a recent visit to the Indian Ocean nation.

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Man accused of sexually exploiting 13 year old girl

A 29 year old man has been taken into police custody after being found lying naked with a minor at a home in Alifu Alifu Rasdhoo.

According to a police statement released today (March 26) the raid on the house was carried out after a report was made by a member of the community. The individual taken in was a Maldivian male with police records for illicit narcotics and theft.

The police have reported that the individual was taken in on March 20, 2014, and has been remanded into custody at a secure location decided by the Home Ministry for a period of 10 days for investigative purposes.

Rasdhoo police station is investigating the matter further.

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