Tag: maldives

Police request prosecution of 27 year-old male over traffic collision death

Police have concluded an investigation into a collision that left a woman dead in Male’ last month, requesting the state prosecute a 27 year-old male accused of driving the motorcycle that had struck the vehicle on which she had been riding.

In a statement issued today, police said they had requested the Prosecutor General’s Office (PGO) charge 27 year-old Ahmed Gassam from Naifaru in Lahviyani Atoll over his role in the collision that led to the death of Aishath Anwar, also 27.

On May 6, 2013,  police alleged that the bike which Gassam was riding collided with another bike near Coffee Corner on Buruzu Magu.

Police said that incident occurred at 12:38am.

The Maldives Motor Vehicle Act states that in the case of traffic collisions resulting in death, a suspect accused of carelessness while in control of a vehicle should face criminal charges.  In such a case, the suspect is required to face the punishment outlined under the Islamic Sharia, while also  having their driving license withheld for 10 years if found guilty.

Police previously identified the woman who died in the collision on May 6 as Aishath Anwar, 27, from Thinadhoo in Gaafu Dhaalu Atoll.

Aishath Anwar died in a hospital in Sri Lanka on 11 May 2012, five days after the collision.  She had been receiving treatment for severe injuries sustained to her head at the time of her death.

Local media at the time quoted Anwar’s family of accusing Indira Gandi Memorial Hospital (IGMH) in Male’ of being unable to provide her with prompt and proper treatment.

Anwar was admitted to IGMH after the accident, before being transferred to Sri Lanka for further medical treatment.

Her family were quoted in media as claiming doctors at the Sri Lankan hospital had said that the chances of saving Anwar’s life would have been high has she been brought to the country earlier.

The family alleged at the time of there being a delay in transferring Anwar from the Maldives to Sri Lanka as a result of the unspecified actions of IGMH hospital.

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Two males and a minor arrested on Muli over assault of foreign national

Police have arrested two suspects in connection with the assault of a Bangladeshi national on the island of Muli in Meemu Atoll yesterday (June 17), according to media reports.

The two male suspects, aged 24 and 23 years, were arrested at around 4:50am this morning whilst attempting to hide in house on the island, Sun Online has reported. Police have also reportedly arrested a minor in connection to the attack.

Sun Online reported that the as yet unidentified victim, who was found to have suffered multiple head injuries, was presently in Muli Regional hospital where his condition was said to be improving.

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Political instability is key concern at Maldives renewable energy investment conference

Participants attending this week’s Maldives International Renewable Energy Investors Conference consider the event a “good beginning”, but claimed political instability was presently hampering foreign investors’ confidence in the sector.

The two day event, which concluded yesterday (June 17), aimed to facilitate long-term partnerships between international investors, project developers, energy companies and utilities groups in order to enable successful renewable energy projects throughout the Maldives.

The Ministry of Environment and Energy hosted conference at Bandos Island Resort and Spa in an effort to boost investor confidence and attract renewable energy financing.

Although Environment Minister Dr Mariyam Shakeela noted that the conference was successful, she also urged participants to “reflect on our mutual needs” and emphasised that investments will be “protected, facilitated, and supported by the government” during her concluding speech yesterday.

“Your need to promote your [renewable energy] products and our need to reduce energy costs – that of course is a huge issue as was mentioned here so many times – and also of course to combat climate change,” said Shakeela.

“We currently rely extensively on imported fossil fuels, as we have heard here over and over and over again these last few days. Yet paradoxically, many islands have ample but underutilized renewable energy resource potential,” she continued.

“The Ministry of Finance and Treasury is working to create an enabling environment for investments in general, which I believe is a concern of a lot of investors,” she added.

Meanwhile, Maldives-based representatives from the World Bank (WB) and Asian Development Bank (ADB) present at the conference pledged their continued support in an effort to attract renewable energy investors.

ADB Director Mr Yongping Zhai pledged to “go as far as it costs” to transform Maldives into a renewable energy dependent country, as opposed to oil dependent, according to the Environment Ministry.

However, he noted that although the Maldives has the commitment, market potential, resources, and willing investors for renewable energy, there is a “missing link to put these pieces together”.

“In theory things should work, but why things are not working so far is [the lack of] the right business model,” said Zhai. “That’s the purpose of this conference and of the ADB’s work.”

The WB considered the conference to be a “good initial first information gathering” event for facilitating renewable energy investments and emphasized that it was working very closely with the Maldives government to develop the energy sector and national financial institutions, said WB Senior Energy Specialist Abdulaziz Faghi.

In an effort to boost investor confidence, the Environment Ministry emphasised the WB would guarantee any investments made in the Maldives.

“One of the issues facing the private sector investing in any sector is the payment guarantee and their concern with the return on investment,” State Minister for Environment and Energy Abdul Matheen Mohamed told Minivan News yesterday.

He explained that the government of Maldives has allocated US$5 million from the International Development Association (IDA) financing though the World Bank, which will be leveraged up to US$ 25 million.

“So basically the World Bank will be issuing a guarantee for this amount to give guarantees to the investors investing [funds] under the scaling-up renewable energy program (SREP) investment plan,” said Matheen.

He noted that conference participants concerns have “been resolved though the guarantee facilities introduced by the World Bank”.

Foreign investors lacking

Following the conference yesterday, Renewable Energy Maldives Managing Director Dr Ibrahim Nashid told Minivan News that he believed banks and foreign investors crucial to revitalising the national energy “didn’t turn up” at the event.

“The main idea was to bring investors here, but I don’t think that has happened,” said Nashid.

He explained that while Maldives-based institutional representatives from the WB, ADB, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and various other Maldivian institutions attended the conference, individuals with authority to authorize lending and/or donor funds were not present.

“Basically there wasn’t any financial institution that could give the finance or lend the money,” said Nashid. “No international banks came and what is very noticeable there wasn’t Indian investors. Not a single Indian company was represented.”

“ADB was saying they have earmarked funds for the Maldives, but their idea was also to leverage that with some other lending institution and that was not there,” he added.

Nashid noted that none of the Maldivian banks were present at the conference.

“The Islamic Development Bank (IDB) was there, but not the Islamic Bank in Male’, even the Bank of Maldives didn’t attend,” said Nashid.

“It shows the confidence that everybody has, [which is] the reason the World Bank is talking about giving a bank guarantee,” he continued.

Although Minister Shakeela was asked many times about what the government would do to guarantee investments “she skirted the question saying the ADB and WB is giving the guarantee,” according to Nashid.

“That was not the issue, the issue is what happens to our investments,” he said. “The GMR case is very very open and obvious to everyone. The issue of political instability was very much skirted, [but] everybody knew.”

Nashid claimed that most conference participants who discussed renewable energy investments said a decision would not happen until after the presidential election scheduled for September.

“We need political stability here, without political stability I don’t think any project is going to take off,” said Nashid.

“We can do the preparation of paperwork, etc. but money will not be put on the table. That’s the message we get from abroad,” he added.

These sentiments were echoed by conference participants representing various private sector businesses.

“It was a good start, but this is really just a beginning. There were not very many investors present,” an infrastructure company representative told Minivan News on condition of anonymity.

“The three things investors are looking for are credibility, stability, and return on the investment,” a telecommunications company representative told Minivan News on condition of anonymity.

The source explained that political instability was the main concern preventing investors from committing to renewable energy development. He also agreed with another conference participant’s observation that political instability in the Maldives was the ‘elephant in the room’ at the event.

“There were very few investors present, which is not surprising. No one is going to be eager to invest [in developing renewable energy] until after elections,” he added.

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Maalhos islanders shut down school, health post in protest

Residents on Maalhos in Alif Alif Atoll have today closed down the island’s school and health centre and staged a sit down protest to demand the government send a doctor and solve an issue concerning “lazy” teachers.

Speaking to Minivan News today, Maalhos Island Council President Ahmed Rashid said that the islanders had been demonstrating since 6:00am this morning.

“They are angry because the school does not have a principal and the teachers are not coming out for work,” he said. “If the school is run by teachers they would not have anyone to oversee their work, so they are not coming to work.”

Rashid said that the school principal was previously transferred to another island because someone complained at the ministry that he had been watching Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP)-aligned private broadcaster Raajje TV since he came to the island.

women of Maalhos Island protesting outside island school

“We have tried to solve this issue through the education ministry, but they haven’t responded to us and we have also tried calling the health ministry’s person in charge of sending doctors to the island and he is not answering to calls,” he said.

He alleged that the island health centre and school were both dysfunctional.

Rashid also said that protesters had warned that if there was no response from the government by tomorrow, they would also look to close down the island council.

According to Rashid, there are currently 74 students in the island school.

“We can only get things like panadol from the health center,” he added.

An islander who spoke to Minivan News alleged that the local teachers on the island had not been regularly attending work. The source added that in cases when teachers did turn up, they did were always angry at students and used inappropriate language when interacting with their pupils.

“The school and health centre in this island haven’t been functioning properly and today all the parents and senior islanders came out to protest,” he said. “It’s been three months without a doctor and we can only get treatment for minor injuries and common fevers.”

The islander claimed almost all the parents and islanders had joined the protest.

Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Health Geela Ali told Minivan News that she had not personally received any information today of protests on the island and could not therefore comment on the matter.

Geela added that she could not say whether the Education Ministry may have been notified of the matter.

Meanwhile, Education Minister Dr Asim Ahmed was not responding to calls at time of press.

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CSC Chair Fahmy will not resign from post “out of fear”

Civil Service Commission (CSC) Chair Mohamed Fahmy Hassan has said he will only resign from his post when the time is right and not as a result of intimidation or fear, dismissing a parliamentary no-confidence vote passed against him last year.

Speaking in local media this week, the CSC chair contended that he remained in his post legally with the backing of President Dr Mohamed Waheed.

Parliament voted to dismiss Fahmy from his CSC post in November 2012 in a no-confidence vote following an inquiry by the Independent Institutions Committee into allegations he sexually harassed a CSC employee.

Both Fahmy and the alleged victim were summoned to the committee after the complaint was lodged in the first week of June.

Fahmy was alleged to have called the female staff member over to him, before asking her to take his hand and stand in front of him so that others in the office could not see, and caressed her stomach. He was than accused of saying, “It won’t do for a beautiful single woman like you to get fat.”

MPs voted 38-32 to approve the committee’s recommendation to remove Fahmy from the post.

However, in March this year, the Supreme Court ruled that parliament’s decision to remove him from the CSC was unconstitutional.

The Supreme Court declared by a 6-1 majority that Fahmy would receive two punishments for the same crime if he was convicted in court following his dismissal by parliament (double jeopardy).

The apex court contended that the Independent Institutions Committee violated due process and principles of criminal justice procedure in dealing with the accused.

In an interview to local media outlet Channel News Maldives (CNM) today, Fahmy referred to the Supreme Court decision that overruled his parliamentary impeachment, saying it was everyone’s responsibility to uphold Court rulings.

“Everyone will have to uphold the rule of law and the decisions made by the courts of law. Whether it is the president or me or anybody, it has to be that way,” he was quoted as saying.

Fahmy also said that President Dr Mohamed Waheed Hassan himself has shown his support for him remaining as the CSC Chair by asking him to make a decision on his own capacity.

Fahmy had previously stated that he would only make a decision on whether to continue being part of CSC after President Waheed made a decision on the issue, noting that it was the president who had given him the letter of appointment.

President Waheed speaking on the issue to local media previously said it was “very complicated” for him to make a decision about Fahmy and suggested that it “would be best” for Fahmy to decide on his own.

Waheed said that two state powers, the legislature and the judiciary were in dispute over the matter and at such a complicated time, “Even individuals must help in resolving conflicts peacefully”.

“Always doing something that puts the President or the government in a trap is not a very good thing. I think the best thing to do at this time is let Fahmy take the initiative and decide on the matter. That is my position,” he said.

However, both former Attorney General Azima Shukoor and her successor Aishath Bisham have told media that President Waheed was advised against reinstating Fahmy in the post.

Both attorneys general argued that despite the Supreme Court ruling that Fahmy’s removal by parliament was unconstitutional, the apex court had not ordered his reinstatement.

Speaker’s warnings

Meanwhile, Speaker of Parliament Abdulla Shahid sent out a strong warning to Chair of Judicial Service Commission (JSC) Adam Mohamed informing the Supreme Court Justice that he would boycott the commission’s meetings should Fahmy continue to attend meetings of the judicial oversight commission.

Shahid’s warning came shortly after Attorney General Aishath Bisham conceded during a meeting with Parliament’s Executive Oversight Committee (EOC) that any JSC meetings with Fahmy present would not be legally valid.

In response to a question by the committee chair, opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) MP Ali Waheed, Bisham insisted that Mohamed Fahmy Hassan would not have to be reinstated.

In a letter sent at the time, Speaker of Parliament Shahid – who is an ex-officio member of JSC – stressed that even though the chair of CSC is also by virtue of his position a member of JSC, Fahmy cannot sit on commission because he had been dismissed from his position by parliament.

He added the parliament had informed President Waheed about its decision.

“In that letter, when the parliament came to the decision [to remove Fahmy], then-Attorney General Aishath Azima Shukoor and current Attorney General Aishath Bisham stated that Mohamed Fahmy Hassan could not sit in JSC as the President of CSC as that position had become vacant with the parliament’s decision.”

“The Attorney General Aishath Bisham had also said that JSC meetings attended by Fahmy cannot be deemed legal, during the 46th committee meeting of parliament’s executive oversight committee on June 4, 2013,” Shahid wrote.

Therefore, Shahid said he would not take part in any meetings attended by Fahmy.

The parliament has meanwhile invited interested candidates to apply for the “vacant” position of CSC President.

President Waheed however maintained that, prior to any appointments to the commission, the parliament should discuss the matter with the Supreme Court to avoid any further conflict.

Fahmy was not responding to calls from Minivan News at time of press.

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President Waheed removes ‘Reynis’ Saleem from JSC

The government has today dismissed Mohamed ‘Reynis’ Saleem from his role as the president’s member to the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) over allegations he commissioned gangs to retrieve money owed to him.

An official from JSC –  the judicial watchdog institution – confirmed receiving a letter from President’s Office informing the commission of Saleem’s removal from the oversight body.

In May, Saleem was summoned to the police for questioning over allegations he had used gangs. Police have now concluded the investigation and sent Saleem’s case to the Prosecutor General’s Office for prosecution.

Newspaper Haveeru reported last week that attempts made by police to arrest Saleem stalled after the Criminal Court refused to grant an arrest warrant.

An appeal by the police following the denial also failed after the High Court backed the Criminal Court’s decision to deny the arrest warrant.

Saleem has meanwhile denied allegations of wrongdoing, claiming in local media that he had not resorted to illegal means in retrieving money owed to him.

A police media official told Minivan News that no further details could be provided on the case at present as investigations were ongoing.

According to local media, the President’s Office stated that the decision to remove Saleem from the JSC had been prompted by the potential criminal prosecution expected to follow as a result of the police investigation.

Saleem was appointed to the JSC after President Mohamed Waheed took office in February 2012 following former President Mohamed Nasheed’s controversial resignation amidst a violent mutiny by elements of the police and military.

Apart from the President’s appointee to the JSC, the commission is comprised of the Attorney General, the Speaker of Parliament, a representative from the Parliament, a representative from the High Court, a representative from the Supreme Court, a representative from the lower courts, Chair of Civil Service Commission, a representative from the public appointed by parliament and a representative from registered lawyers in the country.

Saleem has also been accused of having close ties with aides of former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom and his family.

Saleem was also the defence counsel of Deputy Speaker of Parliament Ahmed Nazim – a member of Gayoom’s Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) – in criminal cases concerning an alleged scam to defraud the now-defunct Ministry of Atolls Development.

Earlier this week, the High Court concluded hearing witness statements in the state’s appeal of a Criminal Court decision to acquit Nazim on charges of corruption.

Nazim stands accused of receiving more than US$400,000 through fraudulent transactions made by a company he was found to own.

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Health Protection Agency warns of viral fever in Male’

In light of what it claims is a rapid spread of viral fever in Male’, the Maldives Health Protection Agency (HPA) issued a warning Sunday (June 16) urging the public to take precautionary measures.

Local media quoted HPA Epidemiologist Dr Aishath Aroona as saying that those who contract fever were advised to avoid crowded places, cover their mouth when coughing or sneezing, and consult a doctor if the fever persists for more than three days.

“Increasing viral fever is a sign of spread of dengue. Hence the best way to counteract dengue is to guard against breeding grounds for mosquitoes,” Aroona told Haveeru.

Amidst concerns about recent growth in the number of cases of viral fever and increase in patients at both ADK and Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital (IGMH), the HPA has refused to label the current situation as an epidemic, according to local media.

“Such spread of fever is always common in June and July. Now only we’re starting to see it. So everyone must take precautionary measures,” said Aroona.

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Maldives achieves 5 of 8 Millennium Development Goals

The Maldives has achieved all but three of the eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), local media has reported.

However, the country must do more to promote gender equality and empowering women, ensuring environmental sustainability, and creating global partnerships for development, according to Haveeru.

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) made the announcement Monday (June 18), adding that the Maldives’ country report on the MDGs will be released this year.

The last report on the Maldives’ progress in trying to achieve the eight MDGs was published in 2010.

Thus far, the Maldives has achieved the MDGs of universal primary education, reducing child mortality rates, improving maternal health, as well as combating HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases.

However, the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) recently announced that the Maldives has also met part of the goal to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger by halving the percentage of hungry people in the country.

The MDGs are a blueprint agreed upon by all the world’s countries and leading development institutions to galvanize efforts to meet needs of the world’s poorest, with the achievement target date of 2015.

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Male’ City Council, MDP deny receiving notice to clear Usfasgandu site by June 27

Male’ City Council (MCC) has denied receiving any notice from the Housing Ministry requesting it hand over the Usfasgandu grounds, which it continues to lease to the opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) for campaign activities and rallies.

Male’ Mayor Ali Manik said this evening that despite hearing rumours Housing Minister Dr Mohamed Muiz had given the council ten days from tomorrow (June 18) to clear and hand over the plot of land, he had not received any information on the matter from the government.

“I can’t say anything about something that I haven’t even received.” he told Minivan News. “The only things I have heard on the issue have been from the lips of other people.”

Housing Minister Dr Mohamed Muiz however told Sun Online today that a notice had been sent to the MCC today for them to clear and vacate the area by June 27 – or else police would be requested to assist in clearing the area.

The housing minister was quoted as saying that the state would not be taking responsibility for any damage caused to items of equipment left on the site after the requested handover date.

Dr Mohamed Muiz also told local media today that the MCC had previously been sent a notice on February 25 requesting it hand over Usfasgandu to his ministry within seven days, a request that was not made following a court ruling.

The ministry sent the notice in February just a day after the High Court overturned a Civil Court ruling backing the government’s order that the land be handed over to state authorities.

The High Court claimed at the time that the lower court had not followed legal procedures in the case.

Usfasgandu was handed back to the MDP by the MCC in March of this year. The council claimed at the time that no other party had requested use of the land at the time.

Muiz was not responding to calls from Minivan News at time of press.

MDP claims intimidation

MDP MP and Spokesperson Hamid Abdul Ghafoor said today that the party had not received any official notice from the housing ministry regarding calls to clear the site within ten days.

He alleged that the reports of the Housing Ministry seeking to reclaim Usfasgandu reflected an attempt by the state to intimidate political rivals such as the MDP and its supporters ahead of an election in an attempt to destabilise the country ahead of September’s presidential election.

Ghafoor refused to speculate at present on whether the MDP would hand back the land should an official request be received.

He responded that authorities had previously sought to take Usfasgandu back from the MDP in the past, but had been unsuccessful due to what he claimed was “public pressure”.

“Our thinking is this is not a valid government, it therefore has no authority and this is why we are advocating in parliament for a transitional government ahead of the election,” he said. “Otherwise, how can we go through an election like this.”

A media official for the Maldives Police Service (MPS) told Minivan News that it had received no request or notice from the Housing Ministry for assistance in clearing the site.

Male’ City Council leased the Usfasgandu area to the ousted ruling party in March 2012, prompting repeated attempts by the government to reclaim the area on the grounds it was being used for criminal activity, including the practice of black magic.

The MDP had moved to the area after a previous protest camp at the tsunami monument was dismantled and completely repainted by police and military on March 19, 2012.

On May 29,2012, police raided the Usfasgandu site after obtaining a search warrant from the Criminal Court, ordering the MDP to vacate the area. The Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) then began dismantling the protest camp.

The Housing Ministry filed a case with the Civil Court after the MCC refused to hand the land plot to the ministry.

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