Tag: maldives

MAPS promotes itself to a college and commences academic year

The Modern Academy for Professional Studies (MAPS) institute has promoted itself to college status this week and commenced the academic year.

The college has introduced new courses in the field of accounting and said it was scheduled to introduce further areas of study later this year.

MAPS college claimed that it was looking forward to introducing degree-level courses in the future and added that it was currently seeking for affiliates from the UK and Australia in order to achieve its goal to teach such programmes.

The college currently offers management courses in Travel and Tourism, Human Resources, Business and IT to the level of Diploma and Advance Diploma.

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Supreme Court to look in to High Court judges case

The Supreme Court of the Maldives has today announced that it will conduct a trial on the issue of appointing High Court judges that had originally been scheduled for the country’s Civil Court, amidst ongoing debate over the institution’s right to influence the workings of a higher authority.

The case was first filed in Civil Court last week by Criminal Court Judge Abdul Baary over concerns that there were policy and legal issues related to the Judicial Service Commission’s (JSC) appointment procedures, such as giving higher priority to appointees on the basis of gender.

Judge Baary claimed in Haveeru at the time that the JSC policy stated that if a female and a male scored even marks, higher priority should be given to the female when appointing judges for the High Court bench. This, he said, was against the Constitution and the Labour Act.

A Writ of Prohibition was issued by the Supreme Court last week in an unprecedented step against the Civil Court designed to order the institution to hand over the case to determine whether it had the authority to deal with the functions of a higher court.

The Supreme Court has today ruled that the issue was a constitutional matter and that the Civil Court did not have the authority to decide on constitutional matters such as the legality of appointing members to the High Court bench.

”If the matter was conducted in the lower court, the case would get appealed and would cause a delay in the appointment of High Court judges which will lead to a loss of basic rights for the administration of justice,” said the Supreme Court in a statement posted on their website.

High Court judges appointed by the JSC last week included Juvenile Court Chief Judge Shuaib Hussein Zakariya, former Law Commission member Dr Azmiralda Zahir, Civil Court registrar Abdu Rauf Ibrahim, lawyer of former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, Abbas Shareef and Civil Court Chief Judge Ali Sameer.

A JSC spokesperson was unavailable to comment on the issue at the time of going to press, though told Minivan News that the commission had not had any communication with the Supreme Court over today’s decision.

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UK medical experts to help manage IGMH

The Malé Health Services Corporation (MHSC) is expanding its senior management team with three health professionals from the UK, who have been recruited to support the health transformation agenda of the MHSC, accelerate quality improvements, and rigorously hone cost efficiency.

The volunteers were recruited with the assistance of UK-based NGO Friends of Maldives and the Maldivian High Commission in London who together,have selectively been placing health volunteers around the Maldives through the International Volunteer Programme (IVP).

The three volunteers will initially come for one year, extendable to two years, and say they hope to leave a lasting, positive legacy within the MHSC, by developing local leaders in the medical sector.

Cathy Waters will start as the new General Manager of IGMH at the beginning of February 2011. Waters has 17 years of senior health management experience, including eight years as a Chief Executive in the UK’s National Health Service (NHS), where she demonstrated exemplary management of staff, personnel issues and substantial budgets in the face of major financial challenges.

Waters has also worked effectively as a senior management consultant, achieving organisational change and strategic development targets. Amongst her many qualifications, she has two Masters Degrees (one in Business Administration), an Advanced Diploma in Coaching, a teaching certificate in further education and is a qualified nurse, midwife and health visitor.

Waters says she believes wholeheartedly in involving the public and service users in providing better health care, and in coaching and developing individual health professionals into new and sustainable roles.

Liz Ambler will begin in the role of Nursing Director for MHSC in mid-March. She currently works for the UK’s Department of Health, whilst her specialist clinical background is in blood disorders and cancer care. With significant senior management experience in UK, the Middle East and Africa, she has a proven track record of improving health care quality whilst reducing expenditure.

Ambler has a Nursing Degree, a Masters in Public Health and a postgraduate certificate in Global Development Management, and says she “can’t wait to get stuck in” training, auditing, and developing clinical guidelines with MHSC’s nurses.

Liz is passionate about nursing, improving patient safety and motivating others to achieve good governance.

Rob Primhak has been appointed as Medical Director of MHSC and will make an initial visit mid-February 2011, before starting in earnest in July when he retires early from his Consultant Paediatrician post to take up this new and challenging role.

Primhak has 35 years of clinical and research expertise, primarily in the fields of respiratory medicine and treatment of children and newborn babies, both in UK and Papua New Guinea. He has successfully introduced innovative services and demonstrated a life-long commitment to the education and training of doctors, through the establishment of new curricula and training programmes. He aspires to leave a lasting impression on clinical governance at MHSC through development of health professionals and clinical quality standards.

“We look forward to working with the UK experts in revamping health care quality at MHSC, and are very optimistic about their successful team efforts in turning around IGMH”, said Mr Zubair Muhammad, Managing Director of MHSC.

Lucy Johnson is the Health Lead for UK-based NGO, Friends of Maldives.

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British High Commission raises concerns over “UK” lottery and job scams

The British High Commission (BHC) in Colombo is warning Maldivian and Sri Lankan nationals to protect themselves against scam e-mails that claim to offer UK-based lottery jackpots and job positions, which it has said have already stung a large number of people from around the region.

Citing an anecdotal increase in the number of scam e-mails worldwide, the BHC has said that it “regularly” receives enquiries from Maldivians and Sri Lankans concerning unsolicited lottery winnings and job offers promising “good” things for recipients that respond.

“The sad truth is that many people are being cheated with job offers and lotteries that do not exist,” the commission stated. “Statistics show almost three million people fall victim to scams annually, losing an average of £850 (Rf17,000) each and sometimes a great deal more.”

According to the commission, genuine UK lotteries are not allowed to be entered by individuals living outside of the country, either by expatriates or foreign nationals.

The release added that legitimate competitions do not inform people via e-mail that they have successfully won jackpots and that all such competitions are required to be registered in the UK as well as having their own websites.

In terms of job offers, the commission stressed that similar precautions should be taken in regards to e-mails offering work in the UK, where companies normally require a recruitment procedure including a face-to-face interview with successful applicants before appointing a position.

The BHC claimed that the UK government, including its trade and investment divisions, do not send out unsolicited e-mails with job offers directly or through employment agencies. Genuine job positions within the government are offered on official websites.

However, any individual with doubts concerning the authenticity of e-mail offers can look up genuine UK companies that are required to be registered at www.companieshouse.gov.uk, while the addresses of businesses operating in the country can be checked at www.upmystreet.com.uk, the commission said.

“If you have been cheated because of a job or lottery scam, we advise you to report it to the Sri Lankan police authorities,” the BHC stated. “The UK government has no jurisdiction to investigate or take out criminal prosecutions in Sri Lanka. Moreover, the BHC cannot speak on behalf of any company or individual sending e-mails, be they spam or otherwise, unless it concerns [the commission] directly.”

Further information on detecting possible scam correspondence can be found here.

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In the black: customs documents expose Maldives’ chronic oil addiction

The 15 percent increase in oil prices over the past five months has led to the Maldives spending almost US$100,000 more on fossil fuels, per day.

Customs figures obtained by Minivan News reveal the true extent of the country’s chronic addiction to fossil fuels, and extraordinary vulnerability to even minor price rises.

In 2010, the Maldives spent over US$245 million on fuel (including marine diesel, aviation gas, propane and petrol) – disturbingly, almost a quarter of the country’s US$1 billion GDP.

The vast proportion (US$200 million) of the country’s fuel spend was on marine diesel. Petrol accounted for US$24 million, liquefied propane US$10 million, and aviation fuel US$12 million.

This represents a daily expenditure of US$670,000 to meet the country’s fuel needs, approximately US$800 per person per year in a country where the average annual income is under US$5000.

Oil is currently US$86 a barrel after trending a 15 percent increase over the past five months, which shows no sign of slowing. The International Monetary Fund (IMF), together with other analysts, have confidently tipped that oil will reach an average $90 a barrel in 2011, and potentially top US$100.

The figures also reveal that the Maldives is highly dependent on several countries for most of its fuel – Singapore (for aviation fuel), the UAE (petrol) and the Bahamas (marine diesel).

The revelation of the extent of marine fuel consumed in the country – over 2 million barrels annually – is one that President Nasheed’s Energy Advisor Mike Mason suggests is a strong argument for a return to sailing.

“I think there is a huge opportunity to take a knowledge of sail, wind and current – the thinking that has served the Maldives well for 2000 years – and apply modern technology such as solar to create a new transport paradigm. A sailing vessel with a modern hull, utilising modern technology can reach 30-40 knots, and would greatly reduce the reliance on diesel.”

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Tunisian revolution ripples throughout Middle East

President Mohamed Nasheed has spoken to the leader of the Tunisian opposition as ripples from the fall of its deposed President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali spread throughout the Arab world.

Speaking to Moncef Marzouki over the phone, Nasheed expressed the hope that democracy, human rights and the rule of law would prevail.

He also condemned the use of violence against civilians during the protests, and the human rights abuses that were occurring in the country.

The government in Tunisia, previously regarded as one of the Middle East’s most stable democracies and a popular tourist destination, was overthrown after widespread protests and growing street violence eventually forced Ben Ali to flee the country on January 14 after 23 years in power.

In a surreal side note, Ben Ali’s wife reportedly retrieved US$60 million worth of gold in person from the country’s central bank before fleeing to the airport with her husband. The bank has denied the reports, leaked by French security officials.

The protests were sparked after Mohamed Bouazizi, a local fruitseller, set himself on fire when police confiscated his cart. That incident sparked a national uprising that led to almost 100 deaths in clashes with security forces, and the hasty departure of the President. The government has since issued an arrest warrant for Ben Ali in absentia.

The violence triggered a wave of regional instability, particularly in Egypt, where tens of thousands of protesters took to the streets on Tuesday in opposition to 29 years of strict rule by President Hosni Mubarak.

Three people were reported killed, including a policeman, while three more self-immolated in imitation of Bouazizi. Protests also erupted in Yemen, Jordan and Algeria.

Regional analysts such as Robert Fisk have observed that Tunsia was widely feted by the West for the stability of its autocracy: “If it can happen in the holiday destination Tunisia, it can happen anywhere, can’t it? The French and the Germans and the Brits, dare we mention this, always praised the dictator for being a ‘friend’ of civilised Europe, keeping a firm hand on all those Islamists,” Fisk wrote in UK newspaper The Independent.

Meanwhile, further revelations from al-Jazeera’s publication of controversial documents detailing 10 years of the Israeli-Palestinian peace process include details of a secret crackdown on Hamas, orchestrated by British Intelligence and executed by the Palestinian Authority (PA).

The 2004 plans also reveal a high degree of security cooperation between Israel and Palestinian security forces, further heightening public anger in Palestine against the PA.

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President upholds ACC’s postponement of border control shakeup

President Mohamed Nasheed has upheld the decision to postpone the roll-out of a new electronic border control system for the Maldives in accordance with concerns by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) over the project’s selection process.

The President’s Office confirmed to Minivan News that Nasheed has requested that the Department of Immigration and Emigration adhere to the ACC’s guidance until it rules over the next step for the project, with no appeal expected to be heard on the current decision.

Work on the project was suspended soon after being agreed last October, when the ACC raised concerns over allegations of corruption in the decision making process.

The ongoing criticism by the ACC of the Nexbis border control agreement has itself come under fire amidst accusations that it represents a politically-motivated attack on wider government reforms, according to a source within the immigration department.

A spokesperson for the ACC was not available for comment at the time of going to press.

However, the ACC this week sent a confidential letter to Immigration Controller Ilyas Hussain Ibrahim calling for approval from the Maldives Cabinet or National Planning Council (NPC) over concerns regarding corruption within the decision making process for the deal. The letter was also leaked to the press.

Prior to the President’s decision to hold the project, a source within the immigration department told Minivan News that it had remained confident that the project, signed with Malaysia-based Nexbis in October as part of attempts to prevent abuse of the working visa system, would be “greenlit” by either the cabinet or the NPC.

Having already been approved by two independent audits, the source claimed that President Nasheed had also indicated to local media this week that he saw no reason to oppose the existing agreement for the new border control system.

However, the immigration department said that it will comply with the President’s orders and wait for any further decisions by the ACC relating to border control.

Alongside refuting any suggestions that corruption had played a role within the decision to choose Nexbis, the Immigration Department insider claimed that technical criticisms of the system were part of wider political moves to try and disrupt the government’s reform of the border control system.

However, the anti-corruption body is said to have highlighted a number of issues concerning the different models used to identify travel documents such as passports under the visa scheme.

“The ACC does not have the technical background to be able to criticise and understand the [border control] system,” said the immigration department source. “More education is needed [within the commission].”

The Nexbis border control project had aimed to make use of fingerprint and facial recognition devices that according the Department of Immigration could be set up within four to six months as part of the first phase of the project focusing on working visas – essentially matching individuals to records without the requirement for paper documents.

However, the President’s decision means that the work will continue to remain on hold since the signing in October.

“On the very day we signed the contract, barely hours, maybe minutes later, the ACC had drafted a letter saying there was suspicions of corruption involved with the decision,” said the immigration department source, who asked not to be identified. “From that moment, we have stopped work on the system as requested by the ACC.”

When news of the disruption broke in November, shares in Nexbis immediately dropped 6.3 percent. Minivan News has since spoken to other foreign investors in the Maldives who have expressed concern that their share prices were at risk of becoming collateral in local politics.

The injunction issued by the ACC effectively places an indefinite delay on the project. The commission has not finalised an investigation since 2008.

Trafficking concerns

Immigration reforms, of which the Nexbis project was part, were intended in part to address the government’s serious concerns over labour trafficking.

Last year, the Maldives was placed on the US State Department watch list for human trafficking, a crime which may actually narrowly eclipse the fishing industry as the second-largest contributor to the Maldivian economy after tourism, US$43.8 million on paper but potentially reaching up to US$200 million.

The Nexbis system was said to allow the immigration department to store and retrieve the biometric data of expatriates working in the country, effectively circumventing the abuse of paper documentation and curbing the ability of workers – and traffickers – to operate in the country.

“We currently have a large number of illegal expatriates running around the country,” another source at the immigration department told Minivan News back in 2010. “Right now estimate that there are 100,000 foreign workers in the country, but there are no official figures on how many may be illegal.”

Workers were arriving in the country legally “but once in the country they discard the documents and flee to islands, and seek better payment.”

Many companies in the Maldives were benefiting “and facilitating” the problem, the source said, which was impacting those companies “who do operate legally and pay visa fees to the government.”

Ensuring that workers could be accurately identified, even without documentation, was the key benefit of the new system, the source explained.

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Backup generators fail at IGMH during power outage

Backup generators at Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital (IGMH) failed early on Tuesday morning, after a power outage in Male’ left the hospital without electricity.

A person who was at he hospital at the time told Haveeru that IGMH was in pitch darkness when the blackout occurred at 1:30am, with even staff in the intensive care unit forced to use torches.

“They did not turn on the backup system after the power outage. The whole ICU was full. People were very upset,” the witness told the paper.

Male Health Services Corporation (MHSC) Media Coordinator Zeenath Ali told Haveeru that the power was restored after 15 minutes and that no patients had been hurt.

A STELCO engineer said the power outage was due to an overheating generator.

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Five percent voter turnout expected in Colombo for upcoming elections

Only 400 of the 8000 Maldivians living in Sri Lanka – five percent – have registered to vote in the local council elections, reports Haveeru, citing sources from the Maldives High Commission in Colombo.

Haveeru quoted a Maldivian businessman living in Sri Lanka as saying that despite email campaigns circulated by the parties to try and breach the apathy, “the main reason for Maldivians in Sri Lanka not being interested in registering themselves to vote is mainly due to lack of awareness or enthusiasm.”

Maldivians based in Sri Lanka were required to register to vote before January 5, a month ahead of the election which will see 2830 candidates competing for 1091 council seats.

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