A man has been sentenced to one year in prison for carrying a knife on the street, reports local media.
Fahud Moahmed was found guilty of “carrying a sharp object in a public place without valid reason”, following witness testimony that he was seen with the knife on a thoroughfare in Male’.
Moahmed could not provide the court with a reason why he was carrying the knife.
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(0)The Maldives Bar Association is being established to build legal capacity, lobby, and address problems faced by lawyers in the judiciary, reports local media.
The association will also aim to improve the educational standard of lawyers as well as hold problem solving discussions.
The association was founded by Attorney General Husnu Al Suood, Lawyer Ismail Wisham, Company Registrar of Economic Ministry Ali Shujau, Fayaz Ismail and Aishath Sheeza, according to local media.
It was registered with the Ministry of Home affairs April 11.
(1)Dislikes(0)Shidatha Shareef has been appointed Deputy Minister of Gender, Family and Human Rights, the President’s Office has today announced.
Shareef’s appointment comes the same month that former Attorney General (AG) Azima Shukoor was made Gender Minister as part of a cabinet reshuffle.
According to the government, the reshuffle was made to support proposed legal reforms concerning the treatment of victims of sexual abuse following the recent high-profile case of a 15 year-old girl charged with fornication.
(0)Dislikes(0)The Maldives Transport and Contracting Company (MTCC) is in talks with the government to finalise an agreement to construct 22 harbours under a so-called contractor finance policy.
MTCC CEO Dr Ahmed Adham has told local media that the government has agreed to guarantee a loan of US$30 million required for undertaking the project, with the state then having a five year grace period to pay for the construction under the proposed policy.
“Despite the government guarantee, we will be repaying the loan. In addition we are currently engaged in discussions with our equipment partners to come to an agreement,” Adham was quoted as saying by newspaper Haveeru.
Reports over the new agreement come days after the government announced it would be delaying implementation of any new development projects financed out of the state budget due to shortfalls in its revenue.
The decision to suspend new projects was revealed earlier this week by Housing Minister Dr Mohamed Muiz during the signing of contracts to build harbours in four islands.
Muiz said at the time that he was instructed by the finance ministry not to commence any further infrastructure projects included in the 2013 budget, such as harbour construction or land reclamation.
Speaking to Minivan News today, Finance Minister Abdulla Jihad said the reported agreement set to be signed between the government and MTCC was not related to the decision to delay starting any further development projects.
Jihad added that the harbour developments currently under discussion as part of the contractor finance policy had already been included within the state budget.
“It is just the mode of financing that is different,” he said today.
According to local media, the MTCC plans to sign the new harbour agreement with the government next week.
There have been “constraints” to obtain funds for projects already awarded by the government, however Adham Haveeru he was “confident the government will hold up its end in the new contracts and make the progressive payments.”
“We are presently carrying out projects under progressive payment policy. Government has assured us that it would make the payments without interruption.”
Currently the MTCC is conducting work on harbor projects for 17 government-assigned islands.
(0)Dislikes(0)The Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) said today it would not rule out forming a coalition with President Dr Mohamed Waheed or any other fellow government-aligned parties ahead of elections scheduled for September.
PPM MP Ahmed Nihan told Minivan News the party was already engaged in talks over the possibility of forming a power sharing agreement with other parties in the government of President Waheed.
Nihan said that after thousands of people attended a gathering held by the opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) last Friday (April 19) to announce the signing of Parliamentary Speaker Abdulla Shahid, all political parties needed to reassess their views on power sharing.
“Risky business”
Nihan’s comments were echoed this week by Home Minister Dr Mohamed Jameel Ahmed, who claimed that a changed political landscape since the country’s first multi-party elections in 2008, necessitated a willingness to share power more than ever.
“We have to recognise that the PPM and the MDP are the two major political forces in the country capable of winning elections. Hence, if the governing coalition desires to forge an alliance, it cannot realistically exclude the PPM from any such move. Whether a coalition, inclusive of the PPM can be realised prior to the elections is possible or not, we cannot alienate major political parties in an election,” he told Minivan News this week.
“Therefore, the role of smaller parties attempting to win an election of this scale without the inclusion of major political parties is in my opinion, a risky business,” Dr Jameel added.
While declining to give exact details on the nature of power sharing discussions currently held by the PPM, MP Nihan claimed the party’s supporters were divided on the need to form a coalition after considering the size of the crowd that attended Speaker Shahid’s inaugural address as an MDP member last week.
“We are not in a position to give the media more details on coalition talks as of today. However, the PPM has engaged in talks with various parties,” he claimed.
“Many of our supporters are divided over whether we need a coalition with the Jumhoree Party (JP) and other government parties. After the MDP rally [on Friday] there has been lots of speculation [about coalition forming]. Let’s not rule anything out.”
Nihan stressed that the PPM’s preferred option would be to stand individually in the first round of elections to try and secure an outright elections victory.
However, he claimed that the PPM’s founder, former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, had already explained within local media that the party remained open to the idea of forming coalitions with any party except the MDP.
DRP approached
Addressing speculation over the formation of a “broad coalition”, the government-aligned Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) today said it had also been approached by representatives from President Waheed’s party over potentially standing in the election through a pwoer sharing agreement.
DRP Deputy Leader Mohamed Shareef said he did not wish to provide further details on discussions at present or confirm if any decision had been taken on entering a power sharing agreement.
However, discussing the DRP’s experiences as being part of the unity government of President Waheed, Shareef added that power sharing in the country was not without challenges.
“There are some who believe that the elections will be easier in a coalition. While they may be right, there have always been lots of differences of opinion in the current unity government,” he said.
Shareef added that in forming the current government – sworn in after former President Mohamed Nasheed resigned from office following a mutiny by sections of the police and military – there had not been any “formal discussions” on individual roles that would be taken by coalition members.
Shareef claimed that securing any future agreement between different political parties and their respective presidential candidates on who should lead any coalition would prove more difficult.
Shareef therefore said he believed that the PPM was one party that would only be interested in a coalition that stood behind its own presidential candidate, MP Abdulla Yameen.
“The PPM will not be interested unless people would back their candidate. They are presently the largest party [in the current government] and will believe everyone must follow them,” he said. “However, in a coalition everyone must be equal.”
Shareef claimed that a failure to listen to the opinions of coalition partners had led to the previous government, formed behind Mohamed Nasheed’s MDP, eventually alienating all other parties, before the administration was toppled last February.
Just last month, the DRP said it would reject any possibility of forming a coalition with the PPM beyond the present government, calling any discussion on the matter a “waste of time” considering previous disagreements between the two parties.
The PPM was formed by DRP founder, former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom in 2011 following an acrimonious war of words with the party’s current leader, Ahmed Thasmeen Ali. Thasmeen was directly appointed by Gayoom to be his successor as head of the DRP.
However, Shareef today refused to comment on speculation over any possible coalition agreement with the party.
Agreed coalition
At present, President Waheed’s GIP has formally agreed to stand in a coalition during the elections with the Dhivehi Qaumee Party (DQP).
Both parties, which have no elected representatives in parliament , currently face potential dissolution for lacking the minimum requirement of 10,000 members as stipulated in the recently passed Political Parties Act.
The religious conservative Adhaalath Party has also publicly pledged its support to President Waheed, last month announcing plans to form a coalition with the GIP.
Meanwhile, after the JP rejected speculation it would form a coalition with President Waheed last week, Party Leader and presidential candidate MP Gasim Ibrahim was later quoted in local media on Thursday (April 18) as saying he would consider power sharing. However, Gasim stated at the time that that he would not stand as a running mate in such a coalition.
“Bitter lessons”
Senior figures of the opposition MDP including former President Mohamed Nasheed claimed earlier this month that sharing cabinet positions among different political parties would not result in an efficient government in the Maldives.
Former President Nasheed stated at the time that leaders of different political parties had learned “bitter lessons” surrounding their inability to run a government by sharing cabinet positions among different political parties over the last four years.
“A cabinet in which one minister belongs to this party and another belongs to that party, cannot run a government,” he said.
Aerial view of an MDP rally held on Friday April 20 to welcome the signing of Speaker Abdulla Shahid:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=lu1rLkgH9IA
(0)Dislikes(0)A man in Vilimale’ was arrested for allegedly producing alcohol, reports local media.
The police services have told local media they found 17 barrels contain a substance substance suspected to be alcohol, six empty 5-litre bottles of alcohol, and equipment that could be used to produce alcohol.
Police arrested the 29-year-old Bangladeshi following a special operation and the case is now under investigation.
(0)Dislikes(0)The opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) has pledged to develop a mariculture industry in the country should former President Mohamed Nasheed be reelected in September 2013.
Mariculture is a specialised form of aquaculture which involves the cultivation of marine products such as pearls, oysters, fish and sea cucumbers in the open sea, or in nets or ponds exposed to the sea.
During a function launching the party’s policy on Kendhikulhudhoo island in Noonu Atoll on Saturday, the former president suggested that such an industry could generate US$1.05 billion (MVR 16.19 billion) within five years, should the government be able to successfully run at least 60 mariculture projects throughout the country.
“If we can successfully run 60 projects within five years, we will create 1800 new jobs and the country will receive MVR 16 billion in export revenue,” Nasheed said.
Nasheed claimed the party would establish a soft loan scheme worth MVR 200 million to support the people who wished to become involved in the new industry. He said the MDP hoped to establish mariculture as one of the country’s key industries, alongside fishing and tourism.
The Marine Research Center (MRC) established in the Maldives in the 1980’s has extensively researched the country’s reefs and lagoons and identified several ways in which mariculture activities could be carried out, Nasheed noted.
“What we have learned from this research is that mariculture is a very viable industry that could reap a lot of benefit to the country,” he said.
According to the MRC’s website, current aquaculture products farmed in the Maldives include grouper, sea-cucumber and pearls.
The MRC noted that the first pearl culture activity occurred with financial assistance from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in 1996. When the five year project ended, MRC and the UNDP carried out a follow-up five year project from 2003 to 2008.
During a function to launch a sea cucumber development project on the same island in 2011, Nasheed – then President – elaborated that aquaculture and mariculture projects in the Maldives would ensure “the economic growth and economic viability of the society”.
Nasheed, who partook in a sea cucumber hunt during the event, also claimed at the time that it was beneficial for the country utilise the commercial benefits of marine resources in order to “achieve means of income other than revenues gained from the tourism industry”.
Speaking during Saturday’s function, Nasheed highlighted that while successful mariculture projects had been carried out during the three years of his government, a lack of technical expertise in the field was a key challenge for the expansion of such an industry.
A future government led by the MDP would open higher education opportunities in the country in collaboration with the Maldives National University (MNU), he said.
Eco-education
In 2011 during Nasheed’s presidency the MNU began offering courses in environment management – the first higher education program focused on environmental consolidation in the country – with levels varying from bachelors degree, advanced diploma, diploma and degree foundations.
In a bid to encourage people to take up the program, then Ministry of Environment and Energy also opened full scholarship opportunities to those who wished to take up the course.
Nasheed, speaking of the challenges involved in establishing a mariculture industry, said the lack of a hatchery to produce fish-feed was a key challenge.
Others included difficulties with transportation and logistics, which he said could be resolved by enhancing the transportation system established during the last three years of his presidency, would resolve the issue.
“Attention must be given to the environment surrounding us when we carry out any type of business and we should not obstruct the natural life surrounding us while carrying out any business,” he said
Nasheed also promised to establish both quarantine facilities and research facilities that will monitor and evaluate the businesses and would utilise the existing Maldives Food and Drug Authority (MFDA) to ensure the products produced by the industry met the necessary standards.
“Everything we do should be carried out in a sustainable way. MDP will seek to maintain the mariculture industry in a sustainable manner and that businesses involving mariculture will be properly monitored and evaluated,” he said.
Large-scale mariculture not viable; “Fish feed doesn’t grow on trees,” says DRP
Deputy Leader of the government-aligned DRP, Ahmed ‘Mavota’ Shareef, questioned the viability of introducing large-scale mariculture to the Maldives, and slammed the MDP’s economic predictions as inaccurate and an election ploy.
Shareef told Minivan News that when considering the huge investment costs required for mari-culture, funding would be better spent on providing technologies and know how into expanding industrial fishing in the Maldives.
“As opposed to mariculture, which needs large amounts of capital investment, it is much easier to go out and catch fish,” he claimed. “Tuna here is easy and cheap to catch, all people need is a boat. With freshly-caught fish you will get a much higher price than for mariculture.”
As a comparison, Shareef argued that massive amounts of bait and feed would be required to support the MDP’s predictions of a mariculture industry that would generate just over a billion US dollars in revenue over a five year period.
“The availability of fish feed will be a major issue. It does not just grow on trees,” he added.
Shareef also claimed that the mariculture sector was presently dominated by India, China and the US, mainly based around shellfish. However, he argued that mariculture represented just a small proportion of total global fisheries industry.
Shareeef said the DRP would instead favour boosting resources available to the country’s fishermen through supplying bait, satellite communications equipment, longer lines and focusing on forming cooperative fishing companies to boost catches and help establish large-scale industrial fishing.
Responding to Shareef’s remarks, former Press Secretary during Nasheed’s presidency Mohamed Zuhair dismissed claims that the MDP’s predictions were an election ploy, insisting the party had extensively studied the subject.
“The DRP is entitled to their own views. But I don’t believe they have studied the matter that is being discussed. Our predictions are based on extensive research study. The Maldives has previously tested and tried mariculture and the results are promising,” he said.
Zuhair also claimed the MRC had promoted many opportunities in the field of mariculture during former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom’s government, but these had not progressed because of a lack of incentives from the central government.
“Each of our islands has direct access to the sea and can easily engage with mariculture. This is not something new to the Maldives; it is tried and tested,” Zuhair said.
(0)Dislikes(0)Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital (IGMH) may reduce the number of workers employed at the site following a health institution structural review, local media has reported.
During former President Mohamed Nasheed’s administration, IGMH employees were transferred under the Health Corporation.
However, under the current administration of President Dr Mohamed Waheed, Health Minister Dr Ahmed Jamsheed then transferred all Health Corporation employees to government civil service November 1, 2012.
An IGMH official told local media that the hospital is “largely under the civil service structure” and the regular payment of salaries and allowances has been changed “according to service regulations,” however further changes are still needed.
“The change in structure was brought about after a delay of more than six months,” the official said.
Changes in the hospital’s structure and a “shuffle” of management are expected following the review, since civil service posts have duplicated some Health Corporation positions and so far the review shows the number of employees is “a little bit high”.
(0)Dislikes(0)President Dr Mohamed Waheed has been invited to attend the 4th International Islamic Conference of Bait Al Maqdis in Palestine as guest of honour, the President’s Office has confirmed.
President Waheed has been invited to the conference, which is scheduled to take place in early June, by his Palestinian counterpart Mahmoud Abbas on the back of ongoing efforts to expand bilateral relations with the Maldives.
The President’s Office said that Dr Waheed’s invitation was personally delivered yesterday (April 21) by the Ambassador of Palestine accredited to the Maldives, Dr Anwar Al-Agha.
After handing over the invitation, the ambassador also praised president Waheed’s work to uphold Islamic culture in the Maldives, while also commending his efforts to strengthen bonds with Arab countries.
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