Tag: maldives

30% Cut to Import Duties at Southern and Northern ports in Maldives

Import duties levied at the Northern and Southern Regional Ports of the Maldives are to be cut by 30% from 1 July 2010.

President Nasheed approved the 30% cut after recommendations by the Cabinet.

Cabinet made the recommendations mainly to lessen pressure on the Malé commercial port and to increase economic activity at regional ports.

The Cabinet also declared Kalhaidhoo island, Haddhunmathi (Laamu) atoll as an uninhabited island. Kalhaidhoo was judged unsafe, following the Indian Ocean tsunami in 2004. Most Kalhaidhoo people have been relocated to Gan on the same atoll, and currently only 27 people remain in Kalhaidhoo. The French Red Cross has provided housing for Kalhaidhoo people at Gan.

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Amendment to Decentralisation Act allowing joint development projects among atolls defeated in Majlis vote

An amendment to the Decentralisation Act was rejected by a 5 vote majority in the yesterday’s sitting of the Majlis – 37 MPs against, 32 MPs in favor.

The current Decentralisation Act states that only the Majlis can authorise inter-atoll projects or combine two or more administrative units (an atoll or part of an atoll designated as an administrative unit) for economic, social or administrative purposes.

The amendment aimed to provide more leverage to the administration to implement joint economic and social projects between two or more atolls, or administratively divided parts of an atoll, reported Miadhu Daily.

DRP MPs spoke strongly against the amendment, and criticised the current administration.

President Nasheed (a member of the MDP) signed the Decentralisation Act into law on 17 May 2010.

MDP MPs criticised the DRP and other opposition parties for voting against government proposals which would benefit the Maldivian people, reported Miadhu Daily. MDP MPs said that the DRP’s words do not match their actions which they described as a sign of an irresponsible opposition, and MDP MPs said that DRP’s main strategy at the moment was gaining support through creating fear against the MDP administration and destroying the trust between the administration and the people, reported Miadhu Daily.

MDP MPs also said the opposition parties were conducting a major smear campaign in its efforts to oust the executive government before the end of its 5 year term, reported Miadhu Daily, and MDP MPs also cited examples from EU and ASEAN showing that joining two or more administrative units for economic purposes would bear fruit because unity is the key to development.

The amendment had been presented to the Majlis by the MP for Henveiru-South, Hamid Abdul Ghafoor.

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DRP proposes amendments to Religious Unity Act

Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) MP Dr Afrasheem Ali has proposed amendments to the religious unity act.

Presenting the bill, Dr Afrasheem said that social unity among Maldivians was weaker than it had been in the past.

”One reason for this [disruption] is issues of  religion, particularly disputes over worship and (scholars) criticising each other,” Dr Afrasheem.

He proposed that the Shafi sect be enshrined as the basis of Islam in the Maldives.

”I selected the Shafi sect because it is the sect most friendly, most accepted and most widely followed sect in Islam,” he said.

People’s Alliance (PA) Party MP Abdul Azeez Jamal Abubakuru said that the bill was necessary for the country.

”The Maldives used to be a country which was an example of social unity, but now we see cracks in that fort,” said Jamal.

Independent MP Ibrahim Muthalib also supported the bill.

”This is a very important bill,” said Muthalib, recommending several amendments to article 2(d) and article 2(e), after observing that the bill could potentially narrow the opportunity for foreign scholars to preach in the Maldives.

DRP MP Ahmed Mahloof also supported the bill.

”I recall during the last presidential elections, the Adhaalath party – which claimed to be promoting and protecting religion – tried to make (people believe) that former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom was a Christian,” said Mahloof. ”This is the situation of our country today.”

He said that it was very important to resolve disputes among people.

Chairperson of the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) and MP Mariya Didi thanked Dr Afrasheem for presenting the bill to amend the Religious Unity Act, observing that “our forefathers have protected the religion for 800 years.”

In May the Islamic Ministry announced that it had completed the new religious unity act, and has sent it to the government’s gazette for publication.

However when the new regulations were completed many organisations expressed concern over the regulations and it was held by the president’s office for amendments.

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Island Aviation Services Rf100 million shortfall to be covered by government

The government will cover the Rf100 million annual shortfall projected for Island Aviation Services (IAS) from the privatisation of Male International Airport, according to company managing Director Ibrahim ‘Bandu’ Saleem. “We are a government company controlled by government policies.”

“It is not a loss, actually. It is a shortfall of Rf100 million annually. That means we are making profits. We are paying dividends to the Finance Ministry. But we are short of cash for our operations.” The government will provide a monthly instalment of around Rf8 million.

Saleem added that “the turbulence” was caused by delays in opening new resorts set for 2008-2010. “The resorts did not open when we brought aircraft after making contracts based on that. So we are short of cash because we have to settle the aircraft loan. That is not something we can do alone. Our operations will improve when the resorts open,” he said. Projected revenues “vanished in a puff of smoke” when Seenu (Addu) atoll Herathera resort stopped operations in mid 2009. “That shortfall is plugged by other operations.”

“We are increasing fares by Rf50 every six months,” said Saleem. “That is not a secret… but when we consider the reality, Island Aviation is the cheapest on per kilometre basis.”

Fares must increase because the prices of engine spare parts increase by 10 percent annually, and also due to inflation, Saleem explained.

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US$150,000 allocated by UNDP for community based projects in 2010

US$150,000 has been allocated by the UNDP for community based projects in 2010 delivering biodiversity conservation, climate change mitigation, protection of international waters, prevention of land degradation and elimination of persistent organic pollutants. The amount will increase to US$200,000 in 2011.

The programme will help more vulnerable areas and communities to overcome local environmental problems, says UNDP Resident Representative Andrew Cox.

Community based organisations, NGOs, small businesses, youth groups and academic and scientific groups are invited to make proposals, which must be in line with the Country Programme Strategy developed for Maldives.

Despite a maximum of US$50,000 being allocated for projects for up to 24 months, most applications are expected to be for lower amounts. Planning grants of up to US$2,000 may be issued to enable people and groups to develop proposals that serve as precursors for full scale projects.

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Sheikh Nasrulla signs with MDP

The Secretary General of the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) Ahmed Shah has confirmed that Sheikh Nasrulla Mustafa has signed to join the party.

Shah said Sheikh Nasrulla was “a well educated and very capable person”, and that his decision to sign with MDP was a major progression for the party.

”He signed the application form last week and it has now been sent to Elections Commission (EC) for approval,” Shah said. ”Then he will officially be a member of MDP.”

Sheikh Nasrulla declined to comment on this story, instead recommending that Minivan News clarify his application with the EC.

”If I applied and if the EC approved [my application] then I will be a member of MDP,” said Sheikh Nasrulla, when asked to confirm his application.

Religious website Raajjeislam reported that Sheikh Nasrulla had recently declared that the purpose of forming political parties and NGOs was to create splits in a society, and these institutions were therefore against the principles of the as-salaf as-saliheen (the earliest converts to Islam).

The website also said that Sheikh Nasrulla has in his sermons claimed that voting was not allowed in Islam, and that it was an ‘enmity’.

Raajjeislam’s report claimed that the government was attempting to trying to displace the Islamic Minister Dr Abdul Majeed Abdul Bari  and State Islamic Minister Sheikh Mohamed Shaheem Ali Saeed from their posts.

According to daily newspaper Haveeru, the Islamic Ministry has recently restricted Sheikh Nasrulla from using microphones inside mosques to deliver sermons, which Sheikh Nasrulla claimed was preventing him from preaching.

Haveeru reported that the restriction was put in place by the Islamic Ministry because of “numerous complaints” the Ministry had received.

Sheikh Nasrulla  has reportedly disputed the lectures of other prominent Islamic scholars during his sermons, including Dr Zakir Naik, who recently visited the Maldives.

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The Police are the law enforcement agency, not Islamic Ministry and Fiqh Academy: Islamic Minister Baari

The Islamic Ministry and the Fiqh Academy are not law enforcement or investigative agencies, but serve as advisory bodies to relevant government offices, said the Minister of Islamic Affairs Dr. Abdul Majeed Abdul Baari while answering questions from MPs in the Majlis yesterday.

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Demands for exclusive licence delay establishment of Islamic bank in the Maldives

The Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA) has confirmed that two banks have applied for the licence to establish an Islamic bank in the Maldives.

The first proposal is a public private partnership (PPP) between a multinational company and the Maldives government, and the second is for a PPP between a UAE company and the Maldives government.

The Finance ministry says that the new bank will focus on issuing loans to businesses, and the government is hoping that services will be extended to the atolls as well.

Both the government and the licence seekers are responsible for the delay in establishing an Islamic bank, according to Finance minister Ali Hashim. “Each party wishes to get an exclusive license but the government cannot give an exclusive license to any party. So the negotiations have dragged on and this has delayed the process,” the minister explained.

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