Tag: maldives

Environmental regulations amended to allow dredging for Kulhudhuffushi airport

The government of Maldives has amended environmental regulations to allow dredging in protected areas in order to facilitate the development of an airport in the protected mangrove site on Kulhudhuffushi island.

Speaking at a press conference today, Minister of Transport Ameen Ibrahim said the government would seek advice from environmental specialists to decide to dredge all or part of Kulhudhuffushi’s only remaining mangrove.

“We have to dredge the mangrove. We will determine whether it will be part or whole of the mangrove later,” he said.

Amendments to the regulations on dredging islands and lagoons will allow the government to dredge protected areas for development projects on the condition that an area with similar geographical characteristics is designated as protected.

The government must also determine if dredging in an environmentally protected area would cause flooding or damage underground fresh water aquifers – a critical water resource in inhabited islands.

Establishing an airport on the most populous island in the north was a key campaign pledge of President Abdulla Yameen, although with a regional airport on Hanimadhoo Island – just 16.5 km or a 30 minute dhoni ride from Kulhudhuffushi, critics have questioned the feasibility and economic viability of the venture.

The government has said airport developers will be given a contract of 25 years and will be awarded an island for resort development for 50 years in order to subsidise the airport.

“It may not be profitable to only serve Kulhudhuffushi residents. But it will become a profitable investment when islands nearby are developed as resorts,” Ameen told the media today.

Environmental NGO Ecocare has expressed concern over the government’s plans to abrogate its constitutional responsibility to protect the environment as long as the proposed plans are termed ‘development’.

“Though the constitution itself calls for sustainable development, it is sad and absurd when politicians care less about the vulnerability of the Maldives and its ecological diversity,” Ecocare has said.

The group pointed out that – following the complete reclamation of the island’s southern mangrove for the construction of housing -the northern mangrove had been designated to be an environmentally protected zone.

Marine biologist with local environmental consultancy Seamarc, Sylvia Jagerroos, has explained the importance of such wetlands, describing them as “one of the most threatened ecosystems on earth”.

“Mangrove support the seabed meaning they prevent erosion on beachline and also enhance protection of the island in case of storm and higher sea levels,” she said.

“They support a nursery for fish and marine fauna and aid and the reef and seagrass in the food chain. The mangrove mud flats are also very important in the turnover of minerals and recycling.”

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Criminal Court ignores Supreme Court order to begin trials

The Criminal Court has today refused to accept cases sent to the court by the Prosecutor General’s Office despite the Supreme Court’s insistence that the court start accepting cases.

A media official from the court has told online newspaper CNM that the Supreme Court’s order stated that cases must be accepted according to the regulations, but that cases accepting cases in the absence of a Prosecutor General would violate court regulations.

The paper reported that the court had received the Supreme Court order.

Speaking to Minivan News Deputy Prosecutor General Hussain Shameem said he had sent a letter informing the Supreme Court of the Criminal Court’s actions.

‘’Following the Supreme Court order, I was expecting the court to resume accepting cases as usual to establish justice,’’ he said.

Shameem also said that if the Criminal Court was accusing the PG’s Office of violating a regulation, then the court must specify the article and name of the regulation.

“There is no such regulation,’’ he said. “I have not seen a regulation that says so.’’

He said that 30 cases were sent to the Criminal Court today, and all were rejected.

“There are serious cases in there such as the recent incident where the wife of an MP was stabbed,’’ Shameem said, adding that there were over 400 cases pending in the PG’s Office to be sent to the Criminal Court.

On November 25, former PG Ahmed Muiz submitted his resignation, shortly before parliament was set to debate a no-confidence motion against him.

On January 8, the Criminal Court decided not to accept any cases submitted by the PG’s Office and to halt all existing cases because the position of PG has been vacant for over 30 days

On December 10, President Abdulla Yameen proposed his nephew Maumoon Hameed for the post of Prosecutor General and submitted the name to the parliament for the MPs to approve.

The issue was sent to parliament’s independent commissions committee, with the committee decided to seek public opinion before sending Hameed’s name to the parliament floor for voting.

However, the parliament is now on recess and will not re-commence work until March.

On January 9, the Supreme Court had ordered the Criminal Court to continue pending trials in the court.

Article 4(a) (4) of the Contempt of Court regulation states that willful failure to obey an order of the court or a court verdict will be considered as contempt of court.

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Mauroof Zakir to contest Kendhoo constituency as an independent

General Secretary of Tourism Employees Association of the Maldives (TEAM) Mauroof Zakir has said he will contest the Baa Atoll Kendhoo constituency as an independent candidate.

“I have support from the constituency and I believe I can win this seat,” Zakir told local media.

Zakir lost the opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) primary for the constituency to former Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) leader and incumbent MP Ahmed Thasmeen Ali.

However, Zakir has said he does not accept the results of the primary claiming MDP members in Baa Atoll Kendhoo island were not given an opportunity to vote.

The MDP said Kendhoo members had refused to allow a re-vote to proceed after an initial vote was invalidated due to irregularities.

His decision follows that of recently stabbed MDP MP Alhan Fahmy, who announced his decision to run as an independent after losing what he alleged to have been an unfair poll in Feydhoo constituency.

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Malé City Council to introduce 200 dustbins

Malé City Council is to install 200 dustbins in the capital city under new regulations on waste management.

The bins are to be placed in parks, near government offices, and on main streets. The first 50 dustbins – donated from Taiwan – will be installed tomorrow in 18 districts including Republic Square, the Social Center, Friday Mosque, Nalahiya Hotel, and Fishermen’s Park

“We will place red and green dustbins. Place recyclable materials in the red bins and all other rubbish in the green bins,” deputy mayor Ibrahim Shujau said.

“We hope the public uses these dustbins appropriately. Household waste including kitchen waste should not be dumped into these,” he added.

Business Image Group (BIG) was awarded a contract to oversee the dustbins in exchange for concessions to install billboards in certain districts in Malé.

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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Teachers Association threatens strike over pay discrepancies and education sector reform

The Teachers Association of Maldives (TAM) has announced a nationwide teachers’ strike to protest against pay discrepancies and the state’s failure to improve the education sector.

President of TAM Athif Abdul Hakeem said the strike can go ahead any time, with all preemptive steps having been taken, but noted that a priority would still be given to resolve issues through dialogue.

Athif said that meetings with the education ministry had resulted only in the promise of more meetings

“So in late January (2014) we requested to arrange a meeting but there was no response. So sent another letter this month. now we are waiting to discuss our issues. our next step will depend on how that goes,” Athif said.

Pay discrepancies

TAM president said  the association’s main concern is pay discrepancies:

“We are not exactly asking for a raise here, the government can never compensate teachers for their service, that is impossible. We are only asking to be treated fairly. There already is a huge gap between teachers’ pay and the pay for less qualified persons doing less work in other institutions. And now they have increased pay for some,” he said.

Comparing teachers’ pay with that of other institutions, Athif noted that an office assistant who hasn’t completed high school working at an independent institution will earn an amount equal or more than a qualified teacher with a degree.

“Such a teacher will earn around nine thousand rufiya in that assistant director level job. An assistant director at an independent institution will earn more than sixteen thousand. In health sector a nurse with a diploma will earn even more,” he continued.

‘Edhuru Vehi’ Flats

According to TAM, the meeting with the minister in December was cut short due to “lack of time” with some of the issues not raised during the meeting later shared in a letter.

One of the issues detailed in the letter was concern over the ‘Edhuru Vehi’ teachers’ flats in Villimalé . TAM requested the eviction of 27 flats already occupied by unqualified persons and the assurance that all flats were given only to “technical staff” in the education sector.

The letter stated that three of these apartments could be reserved for school heads and senior teachers traveling to the capital.
TAM said that if the issue was not resolved, the organisation would file a case with the Anti-Corruption Commission.

Education sector reform

Other major issues raised by TAM concerned  improving the education sector and the quality of services provided. According to the association, qualified young graduates are turning away from the sector due to poor pay and working conditions.

“Teachers should focus on each and every student in a classroom, but there are 35 students to focus on within 35 minutes. To compensate for this, parents have to pay thousands for private tuition. This is not free public education,” said the TAM president.

The association has requested that the ministry of education involve teachers in discussions regarding the sector. Last week, the association released a report titled ‘Education sector in a deep pit’ – highlighting the state’s “total disregard” towards the sector.

The report stated that 60% of schools in the Maldives are run without a principal, and contrasted reduced spending on education with significant increases in areas such as the military, political posts, and independent institutions.

Teachers’ complaints

An experienced teacher from Thaa Atoll School told Minivan News today that, even though the pay is no match for the work teachers do, they don’t always complain about it.

“They are very dedicated and they work really hard to improve the results. Teachers are never free from their work. They bring books to mark at home, they take extra classes, they guide students in extracurricular activities, they are on-call 24 hours assisting students, even during weekends.”

According to the teacher, the total pay (with salary and allowances) for the most qualified teacher at the school – with a degree in social sciences and a professional degree in teaching – is approximately MVR10,500.

“For most teachers it would be around MVR9000 or less. The person in charge of cleaning up the health center takes home around MVR16000” She said.

A secondary school teacher from Laamu Mundoo complained that overtime payment for teachers has been limited to just 5 percent of their basic salary, which is an average of MVR280 per month.

“We are told that even if we work more overtime hours we will not get paid for that. But how can we be teachers and not work overtime? We need to prepare lesson plans and teaching aids, we have to assist students in extracurricular activities and mark their papers and books, we have take extra classes for students who need that. So basically we are doing volunteer work here” She said.

A teacher from Thaa Atoll Madifushi said that salaries for teacher are often delayed and that the pay for January had still not been disbursed.

“And we don’t have access to teachers text books, chemicals or other equipment in most islands here,” she added.

Other teachers noted issues of retaining senior management staff who are not receptive to changes or the use of technology and modern teaching methods. They also noted the ministry’s failure to monitor schools in islands on a regular basis.

Only as a last resort

Athif reiterated that teachers will go on strike only as a last resort. TAM is hoping for parents’ support, and will be meeting parents through Parent Teacher Associations (PTAs).

“We are currently discussing the matter within our organisation’s committees, we hope parents will stand with us in this. This is about their children’s rights, improving the education sector is a national issue. The less we spend on this sector, the more we will have to spend on prisons. But if parents don’t act, and if the government refuse to act, we will go on strike. But only as a last resort,” Athif said.

According to TAM the organisation has 1500 permanent member and an estimated 4000 Maldivian teachers across the country who will participate. Recent Civil Service Commission data shows there to be 5,676 teachers in the Maldives – 4,855 of them are locals.

“Foreign teachers work here on contract basis, so they are not involved in this officially. Even for local teachers, we are asking for their opinion. We will conduct a survey and see how many of them are with us and if they want to go on strike. It will be their decision. Even then, we will give a chance for the government to find temporary teachers to fill in during that period.” Athif said.

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Cabinet advises president to establish regulations for death penalty

The cabinet has today advised President Abdulla Yameen that there is no legal obstruction to implementing death sentences, asking him to establish regulations determining the appropriate procedure.

The cabinet noted murder to be a serious crime on a national level, calling upon the president to pursue implementation of the death sentence using lethal injection.

Meanwhile, Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) MP Ahmed Mahloof has today announced his decision not to seek a public referendum on capital punishment, giving his apologies to the public.

The decision followed the Fiqh Academy’s statement announcing that a public referendum on the death sentence was unlawful as the punishment was determined in Islamic Sharia.

Mahloof told the press today that he started the work with good intentions, but as religious scholars had said the referendum was unlawful, he no longer wanted to go ahead with it.

Mahloof held a press conference today at the PPM’s offices, telling media that he had never opposed the penalty, but rather had wanted – via the public referendum – to show how much the people were in need of it.

Mahloof said that the cabinet has the authority to enact the death sentence, and called upon it to realise that the implementation of capital punishment has to be started as soon as possible.

On February 4, Mahloof proposed conducting the referendum, suggesting that a poll could be held simultaneously with the parliamentary elections scheduled for March 22.

On the same day Islamic Minister Sheikh Mohamed Shaheem Ali Saeed wrote on his twitter page that a public vote was not allowed on something already determined under Islamic Sharia.

Mahloof’s actions followed Home Minister Umar Naseer’s order to the Maldives Correctional Service last month to begin preparations for implementation of death sentences by lethal injection.

Amnesty International subsequenty called on the government to halt any plans to end the current moratorium on the death penalty, describing such a move as “a retrograde step and a serious setback to human rights in the country.”

President Yameen – on a state visit to Sri Lanka at the time of Naseer’s announcement – meanwhile told the press that the home minister’s order was not discussed in cabinet, and promised “broad discussions” on the issue.

In December 2012, the then-Attorney General Azima Shukoor has drafted a bill outlining how the death sentence should be executed in the Maldives, with lethal injection being identified as the state’s preferred method of capital punishment.

The last person to be judicially executed in the Maldives was Hakim Didi, who was executed by firing squad in 1953 after being found guilty of conspiracy to murder using black magic.

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Broadcasting Corporation chair must resign to compete in party primary: MJA

The Maldives Journalist Association (MJA) has called on Chairman of the Maldives Broadcasting Corporation (MBC) Ibrahim Umar Manik to resign after he contested in the ruling Progressive Party of the Maldives (PPM) ongoing primaries yesterday.

MJA President Ahmed ‘Hiriga’ Zahir said Manik’s actions do not conform to “best practices”.

Speaking to local media, Hiriga said journalists must resign from their posts to stand for political positions.

Manik had signed on to the PPM in January, but would only resign from his position if he won the party primary. Preliminary results show Manik lost the ticket to Ibrahim Falah.

MBC’s rules of procedure do not prohibit any member from joining a political party, Manik argued previously.

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Malé City Council urges local hotel owners to beware of bikinis

Malé City Council has urged hoteliers and guest house owners in the capital to inform tourists of the importance of dressing modestly in the country’s inhabited islands.

Responding to a letter of complaint from the Islamic Ministry, city Mayor ‘Maizan’ Ali Manik has made a public announcement calling upon patrons to be more aware of the issue.

“Please look carefully at these kind of things that happen in Malé’s streets, and Hulhumalé’s streets,” said Manik.

“People have to be careful on this, because this is an islamic country. In inhabited islands, people should not walk in bikinis.”

“The ministry has to take that kind of action. If it prolongs it may be something beyond control.”

When asked about the letter today, State Minister for Islamic Affairs Mohamed Ali denied any such message had been sent.

While the resorts islands have thrived on so-called ‘bikini and booze’ tourism for decades, Islamic Shariah is practiced among the local populace of the 100 percent Sunni Islamic country.

Despite the country’s billion dollar tourism industry being founded on high-end luxury resorts – located on individual ‘uninhabited’ islands – mid-market tourism has risen rapidly over the past five years.

The number of guest houses has grown rapidly after the rise to power of the Maldivian Democratic Party in 2008, tripling in number in the past five years – although the most recent government figures show guest houses to comprise just over 4 percent of the industry’s registered bed capacity.

While promoted as by the MDP as a way for communities and smaller businesses to tap into the country’s largest source of income, the rise in tourists staying on inhabited islands has caused concern amongst some Islamic groups who suggest tourists and locals ought to be kept apart.

“If the hippy-type of travellers come, along will come drugs and narcotics which even now our society is suffering from. Things like nudity are not acceptable in a place where people are living. The people complain that they are praying in the mosque and just outside there are tourists in bikinis,” Vice President Mauroof Hussain of the Adhaalath Party recently told the AFP.

One Malé guesthouse owner –  who wished to remain anonymous – stated that moderation should be shown by tourists when walking the streets of the capital.

“Bikinis in public I think it’s unethical considering our traditions and culture.”

The owner,went on to say that he did not feel the issue to be a serious one, however, noting that most tourists were “very disciplined”.

Mayor Manik also expressed his belief that this was not a growing problem, saying that he had received no complaints from members of the public.

The current government – having been elected on a protection of Islam platform – is planning to experiment with ‘guest islands’, which aim to utilise uninhabited islands while still giving smaller entrepreneurs the opportunity to enter into the industry.

Speaking with Minivan News last month, Tourism Minister Ahmed Adeeb said that while the current government was not against the guest house concept, he felt that publicising this small area of the industry could hurt the brand’s overall image.

“The thing is, from a marketing perspective, we have positioned the Maldives as a high-end destination. A-category guests will continue coming for as long as we market the country as an A-category destination,” he said.

Adeeb also noted that local concerns played a role in his reluctance to promote the guest house sector.

“Even locally, culturally, people get disheartened when we talk about guesthouses. So although I don’t much talk about it, guesthouse owners are aware that they have my full cooperation.”

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MP Mohamed Hussein joins JP

Kanditheem MP Mohamed Hussein has signed on to the Jumhooree Party on Saturday.

JP Leader Gasim Ibrahim accepted Hussein’s form and said: “I do not doubt that the Jumhooree Party and the coalition will receive majority of the support from the Kanditheem constituency and the whole of Maldives.”

Hussein has already been awarded the JP ticket to contest the upcoming parliamentary elections scheduled for March.

He had left the Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party in April 2013, local media reports.

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