Tag: maldives

Majlis session cancelled due to no work, EC nominees to be considered

Tomorrow’s sitting of the People’s Majlis has been cancelled as no tasks are currently pending for the full house.

Deputy Speaker ‘Reeko’ Moosa Manik is reported to have urged Majlis committees to expedite their work. Today’s sitting was just the second since MPs returned from recess at the start of the week.

During today’s session the names of two nominees to the vacant seats on the Elections Commission (EC) were sent to the independent institutions committee for consideration.

Asim Abdul Sattar and Aishath Hatheef have been nominated to the five member commission by President Abdulla Yameen.

The commission was reduced to 4 members after the resignation of Ibrahim ‘Ogaru’ Waheed on health grounds last year, before President Fuwad Thowfeek and Vice President Ahmed Fayaz were removed by the Supreme Court in March.

Ismail Habeeb Abdul Raheem was subsequently approved by the Majlis in order to fulfil the EC’s required quorum of three members.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

Democratic decline in the Maldives – will the world wake up?: Open Democracy

“The Maldives should be seen as a microcosm of many aspects of struggles taking place throughout the world: long-standing elites exert a retrograde influence on rights, democracy and social freedoms, and by doing so they help themselves to profit from corruption, cronyism, and the enervation or breakdown of democratic institutions,” writes Matt Mullberry for Open Democracy.

“Accordingly, civil resistance becomes the necessary mechanism for people to try to save democratic practices and individual rights.

This same dynamic played out in South Africa during the long struggle against apartheid, in the Philippines in the 1980s, and during the Arab Spring. Within all these struggles, the concern and action of other governments, especially those in the democratic world, had a serious impact.

Here the stakes are just as large, albeit in a remote island nation. The international community has the opportunity to defend a set of democratic ideals to which it has long paid lip service, at a very low cost, and by doing so affect the lives and fortunes of a nation’s people.

The question right now is simple:  Will international actors who believe in genuine democracy be consistent in defending it, regardless of the stakes and the context?”

Read more

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

Addu City guesthouse venture kicks off

Southern Addu City’s flagship guesthouse venture kicked off today with the council handing over 29 plots of land to an Indian company for the development of approximately 250 beds.

Speaking to Minivan News, Mayor Abdulla ‘Sobe’ Sodiq said SG18 Realty intends to develop between 10 and 15 room guesthouses on each plot of privately owned land.

Of the 29 plots, 17 are on the island of Hithadhoo, 10 in Maradhoo, and two in the Maradhoo-Feydhoo ward.

Landowners will receive land rent and ten percent of net profits from the guesthouses, Sobe said.

Guesthouse development on inhabited islands was a key election pledge of the opposition Maldivian Democratic Party, to which all members of the Addu City Council belong.

Opposition leader and former President Mohamed Nasheed was also present at today’s ceremony.

The US$20 million Addu City Guesthouse Venture aims to develop 2000 guesthouse beds, five diving centers, six water sports centers, six restaurants and a sailing club in the Maldives’ second most populous region.

In addition to SG18 Realty, a Danish and a Dubai company have also expressed interest in developing guesthouses in Addu City, Sodiq said. The council is now evaluating the two remaining proposals.

The foreign developers have also expressed interest in managing and operating guesthouses, which could lead to the transfer of tourism money abroad, Sodiq admitted.

But the mayor said guesthouse tourism would allow locals to establish tourism related businesses such as laundry services, food and beverage, and entertainment.

“This is a bed and breakfast model. Even if foreign companies manage and operate the guesthouses, there will be a multitude of local businesses, such as restaurants, laundry services, souvenir shops, water sports, and diving centers. These businesses will benefit community and put money in the pockets of locals,” he said.

Once the buildings are completed, landowners would also have the opportunity to manage and operate businesses if they pay back 20 or 30 percent of the property value, Sodiq said.

However, majority of landowners do not want to operate the businesses, he said.

Addu City Council also intends to create jobs through the venture and will conduct training programs to train tour guides, lifeguards, and staff to manage guesthouses, he added.

“This project will benefit everyone in Addu, not only particular people,” Sodiq said.

“Most Addu City men spend their working lives outside their home island in resorts around the country. They only come home once or twice a year, for their children’s birthdays. They miss their children’s first steps, first day at school and sometimes do not even make it home for the birth of their children.”

“People are desperate. This venture is an opportunity for Addu resort workers to return home, work in their home islands, own or operate their own businesses.”

The guesthouse venture will also make Addu City’s Gan International Airport viable, Sodiq said.

At present there is only one guesthouse with eight beds registered in Addu City.

The Maldives’ tourism industry with over 100 resorts and nearly one million visitors per year brings in approximately US$2 billion annually.

Likes(2)Dislikes(0)

Government bars arrivals from countries worst affected by Ebola

The Government of Maldives will no longer issue on-arrival visas to travellers arriving from countries heavily affected by the Ebola outbreak.

Arrivals from Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Guinea will not be issued visas, third country nationals who have visited these countries will not be granted entry until 21 days have elapsed.

“The Government of Maldives has taken these decisions based on the need to protect the Maldives from the disease, and to assure both nationals and tourists of the seriousness with which the matter is being taken by the authorities,” explained the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The current outbreak of the virus was first reported in March this year and has gone on to kill more than 4000 people in West Africa, making it more deadly than all previous ebola epidemics combined.

Minister of Defence and acting health minister Mohamed Nazim last night announced the measures during a ceremony at the health ministry, expressing his hope that the disease not spread to a country as vulnerable as the Maldives.

Thirty day visas are currently provided on arrival to over one million tourists visiting the Maldives each year. The generous visa rules have also made the country a popular transit point for refugees.

A man from Nigeria was place in quarantine in Hulhumalé late last month after appearing to be unwell, though he was later found to have no symptoms of the virus.

During a health ministry press conference held following this incident, officials explained that all arrivals from the affected region were being screened at immigration and monitored upon their release.

HPA Epidemiologist Dr Aishath Aroona Abdulla noted at the time that 109 individuals from the affected areas had visited the Maldives since screening began, but that none had come from the three worst affected countries.

A press release from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday reiterated the “quite insignificant” levels of travel between the countries in question and the luxury tourist destination.

Visitors from Africa made up just 0.7 percent of all tourist arrivals to the Maldives in 2013, with 0.4 percent of these coming from South Africa.

In late August the government advised Maldivian nationals against travel to Liberia, Sierra Leone, Guinea, Nigeria, and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

It was announced yesterday that any Maldivians returning from the three heavily affected countries will now be isolated for the duration of the 21 day incubation period.

The first symptoms of the disease – currently known to be transmitted only through direct contact and bodily fluids – include fever, intense weakness, muscle pain, headache, and a sore throat. This is followed by diarrhoea and vomitting.

The disease can impair the functioning of organs such as the kidneys and liver and can result in internal and external bleeding. There is currently no vaccine or cure for Ebola and past outbreaks have had fatality rates of up to 90 percent.

Likes(1)Dislikes(0)

Nasheed’s residence in Addu attacked during early hours

The home in which former President Mohamed Nasheed is staying during his trip to Addu was last night pelted with stones, the party has claimed.

Nasheed’s residence was attacked at around 1am on Monday morning, with the party telling local media that the incident has been reported to police.

With the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) president visiting the southern atolls on party business, a rally held in Feydhoo on Friday was attacked by youths wielding wooden planks and rocks before the party’s local headquarters were torched.

All seven suspects arrested in connection with the attack in Feydhoo have since been released, prompting condemnation from the MDP. Nasheed himself has today expressed thanks to the local police, noting the difficult circumstances in which they are working.

Nasheed – recently elected as MDP party president – lodged a complaint with Metropolitan Police Service in the United Kingdom earlier this month following a death threat sent to his phone while attending the Conservative Party conference.

The MDP’s offices in Malé were also attacked on three successive nights last month, with a number of attacks on the homes of its MPs accompanied by continued SMS threats.

Speaking in Fuvahmulah during the trip to the southern atolls, Nasheed suggested that senior politicians were behind the attacks and that the government was failing to deal with escalating gang violence.

Likes(1)Dislikes(0)

MMPRC to further boost Chinese visitors with tourism roadshow

The Maldives Marketing and PR Corporation (MMPRC) has today launched a three-city tour of China in an effort to further boost the number of Chinese tourists.

Taking in Chongqing, Chengdu, and Guangzhou over the next five days, twelve industry groups will also take part in the roadshow

“This road show is the perfect platform to establish a more extensive contact with the China travel trade,” read an MMPRC press release today.

“It is also an opportunity for the Chinese market to be educated on Maldives, its serene beauty and the delicate surroundings.”

After becoming the market leader in terms of visitors to the Maldives in 2011, Chinese visitors now represent nearly one third of all arrivals, totalling 331,000 in 2013.

“Maldives is now positioned to seize the market opportunity created by China’s increasing demand for luxury outbound travel. Hence, this is a great opportunity to promote the destination and to continue to strengthen the image of Maldives in the Chinese Market,” said the MMPRC.

The rapid growth in tourist arrivals has preceded a strengthening of diplomatic relations, with Xi Jinpeng becoming the first Chinese head of state to visit the Maldives last month.

Among a number of MoUs signed during the visit was an agreement to introduce mechanisms to deal with the issue of safety and security of Chinese tourists in the Maldives.

While a Chinese national died last month following a motorcycle accident in the capital Malé, the most common cause of injuries and fatalities among Chinese visitors are related to water sports.

Responding to anecdotal reports of Chinese visitors’ eating habits while visiting the Maldives, Jinpeng was said to have called upon his countrymen to “eat less instant noodles and more local seafood”.

The Maldives’ President Abdulla Yameen expressed his hope that Chinese arrivals would increase three-fold over the next four years.

“Hosting this road show will result in continuous boost in arrivals from China in the years to come,” said the MMPRC today.

The MMPRC conducted a similar event in China in 2012, while a similar event was carried out by the MMPRC in Australia last May in an attempt to break
into the relatively untouched Australian market.

Likes(1)Dislikes(1)

16-year-old girl now missing for 49 days

Police have yet to reveal any information on the missing 16-year-old girl, Fathimath Malha, who was reported missing on August 25.

Local media has reported the case as being a ‘runaway’, though police media have declined from explaining on what basis the case is being investigated.

“I can only confirm that the matter is being presently investigated. We will not be revealing any further details to media,” an official told Minivan News.

A description of the missing girl on the police website states that she is dark eyed, curly haired, slim, and tall.

Police have sought public assistance on the case, appealing to citizens to contact them on 3322111 or their Family and Child Protection Department on 9790163 if anyone possesses any information regarding the case.

Likes(1)Dislikes(0)

Addu Council to prioritise dealing with waste management issue in 2015

Addu City Council has announced that they will be prioritising a waste management programme when drafting the budget for 2015.

The council stated that there is an even higher need for this at present due to the development of guest house tourism in the city.

Addu City Mayor Abdulla Sodiq also reflected on the importance of increasing public awareness on waste management, local media reports.

The council stated that the waste management system they intend to introduce will facilitate the conversion of recycling and the production of fertilisers through the burning of waste.

The council had previously discussed conducting a waste management program in Addu with the assistance of the Ministry of Environment.

Likes(3)Dislikes(0)

Civil Court orders DRP to pay over MVR1.1 million to MTCC

The Civil Court has on Sunday ordered the Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) to pay MVR1,111,438.96 (USD72,406.45) to Maldives Transport and Contract Company Plc (MTCC).

The party was taken to court by the MTCC after its failure to pay this amount for services rendered to the party during the 2008 presidential elections, in which the party’s then-leader Maumoon Abdul Gayoom lost to the Maldivian Democratic Party’s Mohamed Nasheed.

The Civil Court verdict in the case orders the party to split the payment and complete payments within a period of six months.

Earlier in April, the Civil Court ordered the party to pay back a debt of over MVR700,000 (USD45,602.61) to HUB Company. The DRP was later fined by the court for ts  failure to complete payment as per court orders.

Island Aviation Services are also currently suing the party seeking repayment of debts. After backing unsuccessful candidates during the 2013 presidential election, the DRP failed to win any seats in the 2014 Majlis elections.

Likes(1)Dislikes(0)