Tag: maldives

EC concerned over insufficient funds to hold Majlis election

With parliamentary elections due to be held on March 22, Elections Commission (EC) member Ali Mohamed Manik has stated that the commission’s budget does not currently have sufficient funds to hold an election.

Manik stated that, while an estimated MVR38 million is needed for the parliamentary elections, the commission’s budget has a remainder of MVR9 million after the salaries of staff and allowances for political parties are subtracted from the total value.

“Currently, even the unpaid bills amount to more than MVR9 million,” Manik told local media on Thursday.

“The Finance Ministry is saying that there is money in the budget because they are considering the money put aside for salaries and political party allowances,” Manik explained.

“In that manner, yes, there might be MR30 million. But the fact is that that money is reserved for a particular purpose.”

Manik stated that the commission is facing numerous difficulties because of the budget insufficiency.

“Even now, we are having to send some staff to election trainings without their food allowances. This would affect staff motivation, and in turn affect the work of the commission.”

“We have also been unable to pay some staff who worked in the local council elections. There are also numerous bills from that election which still remain unsettled,” Manik revealed.

He assured, however, that all preparations were continuing to be made for the upcoming parliamentary elections despite the budget difficulties.

The EC informed the Majlis government oversight committee on March 3 of the failure on the part of the Ministry of Finance and Treasury to provide the allocated budget for the election in full to the committee.

The ministry subsequently responded to the committee via letter – stating that the funds had not been released as the commission already has unspent money in its budget.

Concerns over the ability of the commission to fulfill its mandate independently has been voiced both in the Maldives and abroad in recent weeks as the Supreme Court continues with contempt of court proceedings against all four EC members.

After telling the oversight committee that he no longer considered the EC to be an independent institution earlier this week, EC President Fuwad Thowfeek and his colleagues were summoned to the court and reprimanded once again for questioning the court and its rulings.

Shortly after yesterday’s session, the court imposed a travel ban on all four members of the commission.

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MBC asks DhiTV to respond to the case filed by ACC

The Maldives Broadcasting Commission (MBC) has asked private TV station DhiTV to respond to a case file by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) alleging that the TV station had misled the public.

Speaking to Minivan News today, ACC President Hassan Luthfee said that the commission had filed the case with MBC after DhiTV had irresponsibly criticised the commission.

“It is alright to criticise me, but the Anti-Corruption Commission is a state institution and everyone must respect all the state institutions,’’ he said. “We accept criticism but it also has to be done professionally.’’

Luthfee said he does not remember the exact quotes broadcast on DhiTV.

“We normally do not give any information about cases before the investigation is concluded and I do not know how the media knew that we filed a case with the MBC,’’ he said.

Furthermore, Luthfee said that everyone must work together to correct issues with the state institutions, and that criticism alone could not solve any issue.

Online newspaper Sun reported that the MBC had sent a letter to DhiTV asking it to respond to the allegations by March 13.

Sun reported that the ACC had filed the case with MBC claiming that on January 20, 2014, DhiTV aired a TV program called ‘Talk of the town’ in which the TV station had broadcast content that was disrespectful of the corruption watchdog.

According to Sun, MBC told DhiTV that the station was alleged to have violated the MBC Code of Practice Article (3)(1), though it had not yet concluded its investigations.

Last month, MBC asked DhiTV and its sister company – the radio station DhiFM Plus – to stop using upside down images of Elections Commission (EC) President Fuwad Thowfeek.

MBC President Mohamed Shaheeb sent a letter to the two stations advising them not to broadcast anything in a way that might encourage unrest, and to keep in mind that the parliament elections were ahead.

MBC gave similar advice to the two stations in November after they had shown photos of three members of the EC – Thowfeek, Ahmed Fayaz, and Ali Mohamed Manik – upside down with a caption alleging that they had committed electoral fraud in the annulled September 7 presidential election.

Following the incident, MBC sent a circular to all broadcasters noting that complaints regarding the disrespectful use of photos had led to it taking action against media outlets for violating the broadcasting code.

In January this year MBC ordered both the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) aligned Raajje TV and the Jumhooree Party-aligned VTV to issue apologies for content broadcast during the prolonged presidential election.

While Raajje TV was found to have aired content defamatory to the Supreme Court, VTV was asked to issue an apology for material defaming the MDP’s presidential candidate Mohamed Nasheed, as well  as MP Rozaina Adam, and EC President Thowfeek.

Broadcasting any image or video footage that disrespects the honor or sanctity of a person or a group of persons is in violation of MBC’s Code of Practice.

The broadcasting commission is a 7-member body entrusted with implementation of broadcasting policy, regulation of broadcasting industry, and the promotion of responsible broadcasting, was formed in 2010 under the Broadcasting Act.

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Supreme Court imposes travel ban on Elections Commission members

The Supreme Court has today ordered Elections Commission (EC) members not to leave Male’ until a verdict is reached in the ongoing contempt of court case.

EC Director General Mohamed Shakeel has said the order was addressed to all four members separately.

EC President Fuwad Thowfeek has revealed that he yesterday asked the court for a two day medical trip to Sri Lanka.

“I requested to leave from Thursday to Tuesday, but I have now postponed the trip till the case is over,” said Fuwad.

The order came just hours after the court concluded a hearing in the ongoing contempt of court case against the commission today.

Today’s hearing had focused mainly on Thowfeek’s comments about the court’s guidelines, made in the Majlis government oversight committee on Monday.

The judges questioned Thowfeek over his statements, asking if he would follow the guidelines in the coming elections.

Similar comments made by EC members in the same committee were also used by the court in the previous hearing of the trial.

While Article 90 of the constitution provides parliamentary immunity for anything said in the People’s Majlis or it’s committees with the exception of statements “contrary to a tenet of Islam”, Justice Abdulla Didi today repeated his argument that contempt of court is against a tenet of Islam.

Chief Justice Faiz said that, even within the parliament, an ongoing case should not be discussed and when asked about such a case one could object to answering.

Judge and plaintiff in the same case

When Justice Dr Ahmed Abdulla asked if Thowfeek had made any comments stating that the court had acted against the constitution, he responded by saying that the judge, plaintiff, and defendant should be three separate people.

He said going against it would be against the spirit of the Constitution and Islamic Shariah.

Justice Abdulla Didi responded by saying that initiating a case on a court’s own accord is practiced in civilised societies and said that the constitution allows referring to practices used in democratic and civilised societies.

When Thowfeek reiterated that the court could not be a plaintiff in their own case, he was interrupted and asked not to create ‘fitna’ (mischief) without proper legal knowledge and warned that such comments could be considered as contempt of court.

The EC Chief later said the court’s Suo Motu regulation is against the spirit of the constitution and that it has created legal some conflicts.

Justice Abdulla Saeed explained that in Islamic Shariah and historical practice in Maldives it was the court or the judge that summoned people, and that prosecution by the state was recent innovation.

When Thowfeek asked if the case against EC was a criminal or a civil case, Justice Abdulla Didi said it was a Suo Motu case.

Following SC guidelines

The second major issue raised at the hearing was the obligation to follow all requirements SC guideline that came with the verdict which annulled the September 7 presidential poll.

Fuwad told the court that it was impossible to gain the signatures of all election candidates as required by the guidelines.

Justice Abdullah Saeed said that “the court verdict is the law and what is meant in the constitution” and warned that EC’s refusal to follow verdicts could prompt members of the public to do the same, leading to lawlessness in the country.

Though he insisted that the EC was willing to follow the verdict, Fuwad said that candidates could not be forced to sign the voters list.

Justice Adam Mohamed Abdulla explained the independence and powers of the judiciary, referring to Article 141 (d) and (c) of the constitution and other regulations.

He questioned the rest of the EC members separately about their views on Thowfeek’s comments on the case and the the Supreme Court guidelines.

All members agreed that the guidelines should be followed, but expressed there were difficulties in following these guidelines. Like Thowfeek, the statements of other EC members who tried to detail the difficulties were interrupted by the judges.

Justice Abdulla Didi said that the guidelines were not impossible, and criticised the commission’s spending on ballot boxes in foreign countries such as the UK.

The EC was accused of spending a lot of money on that included “staying in five star hotels”.

Stating that it was against international best practices, he said that if the EC wanted they could send the list to the candidates who refuse to come to Male’ and sign the lists.

EC members were first summoned to the court on February 12 when the court launched the trial on charges of contempt of court under newly introduced ‘Suo Motu’ regulations which allows it to initiate hearings on it’s own accord.

The next hearing of the trial have been scheduled for Sunday at 1400 hours.

The court proceedings have been criticised by the civil society and the European Union.

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State to cover all expenses of HIV infected woman’s children: Health Minister

Minister of Health and Family Dr Mariyam Shakeela has said the state will cover all expenses of all children of the woman infected with HIV due to the negligence of state hospital IGMH up until the completion of their studies.

However, details of how many children the woman has or to what standard the government will sponsor their studies and livelihood were not provided.

Shakeela further stated that the unborn child of the pregnant woman is of “good health” and that the baby is “showing a good response” to medication.

“God willing the baby’s progress is good, and is under continued supervision,” she told media after a press conference held together with the World Health Organization (WHO) on Wednesday.

Shakeela confirmed that the baby is receiving the “best treatment for HIV that is given by the WHO”, adding that the organisation’s head office in Geneva and the Health Ministry is continuing to hold daily teleconferences on the status of the mother and her unborn baby.

WHO Regional Director for South East Asia Dr Poonam Khetrapal Singh reiterated that the organisation is extending assistance, and applauded the Maldives government for having taken “productive action” following the incident.

“As a result of the investigation launched by the government, other such issues in the Health Sector will come to light and incidents like this can be avoided in future. Together with this, the capacity of the laboratory can be increased,” Singh said, mentioning that she had visited the IGMH laboratory on Tuesday.

WHO pledges assistance to the health sector

Today’s press conference was officially held to mark the end of Dr Singh’s two day visit to the Maldives. Dr Singh commended the government for its “commitment and vision for universal health coverage for all its citizens”.

Last week, President Abdulla Yameen’s administration announced the introduction of universal healthcare, maintaining that the enhanced coverage – previously capped at MVR100,000 – was financially sustainable.

“The most major challenges faced by the Maldives, like many other countries in the region, is the issue of having sufficient human resources, and the procurement of medicine,” Singh noted.

She said that the WHO was currently working with the government to explore ways in which to ease the procurement of medicines, adding that some initiatives include purchasing generic medicine instead of patented ones, and promoting bulk purchase of medicines – both of which would bring down costs considerably.

Health Minister Shakeela further stated that the government is paying special attention to training more locals to work as nurses and doctors, stating that this would bring down the number of foreign nationals working in the health sector.

Singh further noted that the Maldives has achieved much on the front of strengthening its disease surveillance, response,and case management capacity for dengue control.

“Despite challenges such as high turnover of doctors in the islands, and difficulty in retaining experience and expertise, Maldives has maintained a low case-fatality rate for dengue.”

“This is a country whose collective efforts and strong determination have successfully eliminated malaria and has sustained this remarkable achievement. Maldives is the only country in WHO’s South- East Asia Region to achieve this goal,” she continued.

“We would like Maldives to reflect on the malaria experience and use their expertise to prevent dengue which poses a major public health risk to its citizens.”

Dr Singh also met with Vice President Dr Mohamed Jameel Ahmed on Tuesday and congratulated him on Maldives’ achievements made towards the Millenium Development Goals and what she termed as “gains in public health more broadly over the past decade”.

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Judiciary excluded from presidential address due to Yameen’s trust in the institution

President Abdulla Yameen’s failure to discuss judicial reform in his first presidential address was due to the “trust [he] has in the institution” and because of the respect the government feels towards the bench, he has said.

Speaking at the opening of a campaign office for PPM candidate Mohamed Ameeth, Yameen stated that the government will not criticise the judiciary’s verdicts, and that the institution has the government’s trust.

Yameen had been the subject of criticism from the political opposition, who described his speech at the opening of the People’s Majlis as failing to address the country’s most pressing issues.

Yameen did acknowledge, however, that there are delays in the completion of some cases by the judiciary, adding that the executive is currently working with the judiciary to seek solutions to the issue.

“Even during the presidential election campaigns we never criticised any judgement or verdict of the judiciary. What we did criticise was the slow rate of cases going through, and how some cases get delayed for long periods of time,” said the president.

“That is still the case, and we will continue talking about this lack of speed,” Yameen said.

Following the president’s address, Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) spokesman Imthiyaz Fahmy accused the president of omitting critical issues from the address, including the state of the judiciary, and decentralised governance.

Discussing the approaching parliamentary elections yesterday, the president suggested that the MDP had a record of acting dictatorially when holding a Majlis majority.

He accused the now-opposition party of unduly influenced independent institutions when in power, asserting that this behaviour will never be seen from the ruling Progressive Party of Maldives government.

Yameen further stated that the MDP, while loudly advocating for the separation of powers, had “locked and bolted the powers”.

While the opposition currently hold the majority of seats in parliament, they have so far failed to appoint a prosecutor general or a member for the vacant seat in the EC, he noted.

The MDP has pledged judicial reform during it’s Majlis campaign, while the party’s slogan for this year’s campaign is ‘Vote for the scale for separation of powers’.

Case against the EC

Yameen also addressed the case against the Elections Commission (EC) in the Supreme Court, stating that it was not a matter that concerned the executive.

He stated that, while some foreign countries are raising concerns about the matter, he believed the court case against the EC was something the government need not interfere with.

Yameen questioned the logic of countries who expressed concern about the matter, stating that it was “inexplicable” when the separation of powers was generally accepted.

“It is these foreign powers who most strongly want assurance that the executive will not interfere with matters of the judiciary. And yet today, when there is a case against an independent institution, they are worried that we are not interfering and making comments on the matter.

“Our foreign policy is to respectfully accept their concerns, and to still not comment on an institution which in our sovereign right the government wishes to refrain from commenting on,” Yameen stated.

He asserted that justice would be served to all alike – whether they be from among the general public, or someone holding a senior office in a state institution. The president concluded by saying that even if he himself was summoned to the Supreme Court, he would attend dutifully and without question.

While addressing the UN Human Rights Council this week, Foreign Minister Dunya Maumoon also called upon the international community not to undermine the Maldives judiciary .

The judiciary has been criticised by a number of international actors as being both under qualified and lacking independence.

Prominent critics have included the UN Special Rapporteur on Independence of Judges and Lawyers Gabriela Knaul, the International Committee of Jurists, the UK Bar Human Rights Committee, and the US State Department.

In June 2013, spy camera footage revealed a Supreme Court judge allegedly speaking about the politicisation of the judiciary, stating “even [Parliament Speaker]Abdulla Shahid will know very well that my stand is to do things the way [current president] Yameen wants.”

In the tape, the judge also claimed to be a person who “even Yameen cannot play with” and that over time he had “shown Yameen” who he is.

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State to appoint lawyer to Hanaa in her appeal case

The Attorney General’s Office has said that it will appoint a lawyer for Fathimath Hanaa, who was sentenced to death after the court found her guilty of assisting Ahmed Murrath in murdering of prominent lawyer Ahmed Najeeb.

In the latest hearing of her appeal case, the High Court bench had announced that Hanaa was not eligible for a state-appointed lawyer.

Hanaa had subsequently told the court that she needed three months to appoint a lawyer, with the Prosecutor General’s Office giving no objection to this request.

However, the Attorney General’s office has today told local media that Hanaa now meets the requirements after she submitted additional documents to the office.

On July 2, 2012, the 65 year-old lawyer’s body was found stuffed inside a dustbin at Masroora house – Murrath’s residence – badly beaten with multiple stab wounds.

Speaking at the Criminal Court during the 2012 trial, Murrath’s girlfriend said that her boyfriend killed Najeeb after he became “sure” the lawyer had attempted to sexually assault her. She admitted to tying Najeeb’s hand, legs, and taped his mouth while Murrath threatened him with a knife.

“We thought he must have a lot of money as he is a lawyer,” she told the court, after declining representation from a lawyer.

Najeeb’s cash card was taken from him and the pair had used it to withdraw money.

According to Hanaa, she did not know that the victim had been killed until Murrath woke her up and told her at around 4:00am. At the time Hanaa said she was sleeping – intoxicated from drinking alcohol.

Murrath corroborated this course of events in his statement, saying that she was asleep when he killed the lawyer. He confessed to killing Najeeb out of anger and apologised to the family members.

On February 17, Ahmed Murrath – the man sentenced to death by the Criminal Court after being found guilty of murdering Najeeb – retracted the confession previously given to the court.

During the last hearing held in to the appeal case of Murrath, his lawyer Abdul Hakeem Rashadh told the High Court that his client’s hands were handcuffed behind his back when he made the confession which therefore could not be considered a confession made without coercion.

On February 9, the cabinet advised President Abdulla Yameen that there was no legal obstruction to implementing death sentences, after the Home Minister Umar Naseer had ordered an end to the 60 year moratorium on executions.

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Brohood Construction Company assigned to install waste management system in Raa atoll

The government has signed an agreement to install waste management systems in Rasgatheemu, Agolhutheemu, and Rasmaadhoo islands – all three islands are in Raa atoll.

A special function was held yesterday at the Environment Ministry to sign the contract with Brohood Construction Company.

State Minister for Environment Ministry Hassan Shah explained that the three projects will cost MVR2.1 million and that the company was to finish the project in 90 days.

The ministry has also revealed details of its recent waste management awareness-raising programmes conducted in both Malé and Hulhumalé.

The programme took place last Saturday (March 1) in Hulhumalé and on February 22 in Malé, sought to increase knowledge of the recently introduced laws that came into effect last month.

The waste management regulation came into force on February 5 and imposes an MVR100 (US$6.5) for littering and a fine between MVR10,000 (US$ 648.5) – MVR100,000 (US$6,485) if any authority in charge of public spaces fails to place public dustbins.

The regulations also mandate boat owners to place dustbins on sea vessels and imposes a fine between MVR100 million (US$6.5 million) and MVR500 million (US$32.4 million) on boats that dump waste into the ocean

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New MVR5,000 pension disbursed today, says pensions office

The Maldives Pension Administration Office has today disbursed the revised MVR5000 pension to 16,120 elderly people.

The benefit has been raised from its previous level of MVR2,300 by the government after President Abdulla Yameen made the pledge during his election campaign.

After some confusion over the introduction of the increase this month, the pensions office today confirmed that new amount had now been successfully handed out.

The government had already allocated MVR470 million (US$ 30.5 million) in the state budget for the MVR2,300 allowance (US$149). These funds will now be invested in the retirement pension fund or in financial instruments such as T-bills in order to generate the monthly MVR5000 stipend, Minister of Tourism Ahmed Adeeb has said.

While the government maintains this to be a sustainable model of financing the increase in pensions, critics have argued that, with a MVR1.3 billion (US$84.3 million) deficit budget, the move will plunge the country further into debt.

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Teachers association to organise ‘black protest’

The Teachers Association of Maldives (TAM) is organising a ‘black protest’ to draw attention to their issues ahead of a nationwide strike.

TAM President Athif Abdul Hakeem said today that as a protest, teachers will be wearing black to work on 6 April 2014.

“This is the first step, we want to draw attention to these issues. For the sake of our students we will go to work until we exhaust all other ways,” Athif told.

A potential nationwide strike was announced last month citing pay discrepancies and failure to improve the education sector.

According to TAM, the association in January requested for a meeting with the minister of education for discussing their issues, but it has still not been arranged.

“The lack of communication between teachers and the ministry is a serious concern. We have written to the ministry but no actions have been take about these issues.”

Athif said that teachers are still working overtime without being paid for it.

“Independent institutions haven’t noticed this. If they don’t do those work it could be reflected in their appraisal, and they even fear termination. So they work. But without getting paid for the work,” he said.

Teachers’ overtime allowances have been reduced to just five percent of the basic salary, which on average amounts to less than MVR300 per month. But teachers have complained that school will not run without teachers doing overtime work.

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