Former President Mohamed Nasheed called on the government last night (June 22) to complete the stalled Thimarafushi airport project within the next month.
Speaking at a campaign rally on the island of Madifushi in Thaa atoll, Nasheed said he would welcome the “coup” government opening the regional airport and pledged the Maldivian Democratic Party’s (MDP’s) assistance to complete the stalled project.
Nasheed said that the airport was necessary to implement the MDP’s guest house or mid-market tourism policy, which targets 2,000 tourist beds in the southern atoll within the next two years.
In addition to the airport, he continued, a reliable nationwide transport network of ferries was essential for tourists to travel across the country and for local entrepreneurs to transport goods.
Former President Mohamed Nasheed has called for investigations by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) into government spending during his administration flagged by the Auditor General’s Office as ostensible violations of the Public Finance Act.
Speaking at a campaign rally in the Henveiru ward of Male’ on Wednesday night (June 19), Nasheed said he accepted the findings of audit reports concerning public finances during the three years of the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) government.
“We were the government that first started work with independent institutions in place. We were the government that had the good fortune of having been the target of audits by an independent Auditor General for the first time; and the government that had the opportunity to govern with the oversight of an independent Anti-Corruption Commission,” the MDP presidential candidate said.
“Our purpose, our wish, is for all government funds to be accounted for and for all expenditures to be transparent. I assure all citizens of the Maldives, I will not touch a single cent of your money,” he added.
Nasheed said he was pleased that of the MVR 31 billion (US$2 billion) spent by the MDP government from 2009 to 2011, the Auditor General’s Office only estimated that approximately six percent was “not spent in accordance with public finance regulations.”
“No one has said that [these expenses] involved corrupt dealings or facilitated corruption,” he stressed, calling for investigations by the ACC to determine whether corruption or misappropriation of funds had taken place.
Nasheed said he had studied all the audit reports of government ministries from 2009 to 2011 released by the Auditor General’s Office so far.
“What I want to note is that [expenditure] not being in line with public finance regulations does not mean corruption has taken place or that a criminal offence was committed,” he contended.
The Auditor General’s role was identifying expenditures made in breach of regulations, Nasheed explained, while the financial loss to the state as a result of the ostensibly illegal spending would be determined in light of investigations.
Taking examples of cases highlighted in audit reports, Nasheed referred to the purchase of five cars for government use flagged in the 2011 audit report of the finance ministry.
The audit report noted that a local company was contracted in December 2010 to buy five Nissan Sunny N16 Super Saloon cars for MVR 2.9 million (US$193,904).
However, the company delivered Nissan cars of the Ex Saloon model, the audit found.
“So what we have to find out is whether there was a difference in price between the two brands and which [brand] was cheaper,” Nasheed said.
The case reminded him of the Violet House group in Majeedhiyya School ordering a set of football boots when he was in school, Nasheed said.
“What they received was a set of key chain boots,” he said.
On the Auditor General discovering that the MDP government spent MVR 13.9 million (US$901,426) to train 259 participants of the ‘Hunaru’ skills programme, Nasheed said the programme was brought to a halt after the “coup d’etat” on February 7, 2012 and no further participants were trained despite being enrolled.
While the Auditor General’s Office calculated that MVR 50,000 (US$3,242) on average was spent to train a single participant, Nasheed contended that if the programme had concluded successfully, “we estimated at the time that the Hunaru programme could be conducted for about MVR 7,000 or MVR 8,000 per participant.”
On MVR 8.1 million (US$525,291) worth of unpaid bills in the aviation sector owed to the government, Nasheed called on the Auditor General’s Office to forward the case to the ACC for further investigation and to recover the outstanding payments.
“The national administration office of the North [Province] made illegal expenditures for travel [according to the audit report],” Nasheed continued “In this case, if these trips were made in violation of the regulations, we want it to be stopped and for those who do it – even if they were under our government – to receive the just punishment.”
Referring to the Auditor General alleging illegal expenditures for the November 2011 SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation) in Addu City, Nasheed said the party wished to determine the nature of the expenses in question.
“I can certainly see the convention center built there, the roads laid in Hithadhoo and the water and sewerage systems as well as the harbour there,” Nasheed said, contending that the costs would not exceed the “concrete work” that was done.
However, he added, if the Auditor General believes there were instances of illegal spending for the SAARC summit, the cases should be properly investigated.
On MVR 168.4 million (US$10.9 million) worth of unpaid expatriate work permit fees owed to the government, Nasheed said the oversight was “worrying” and called for the Prosecutor General’s Office (PGO) to file court cases to recover the outstanding payments.
Nasheed said he had rejected requests for meetings by the companies that had submitted proposals for the airport privatisation project as he believed such interaction ahead of the conclusion of the bidding process would not be appropriate.
The Anti Corruption Commission (ACC) has interviewed 100 members of President Mohamed Waheed’s Gaumee Ihthihaadh Party (GIP) and alleged 85 percent of those polled had no knowledge of ever joining the party.
According to a statement from the ACC, these interviewees said they had neither filled out nor signed any GIP membership forms. The ACC said the details of the interviewees had been shared with the Elections Commission (EC), and called on it to cease processing GIP’s membership forms until it had verified they were genuine.
Other issues in the submitted membership forms highlighted by the ACC included inconsistencies between entry dates and dates written on the forms, as well as the case of some applicants having died prior to signing their forms.
“Two of the forms submitted to the Elections Commission for registration as Gaumee Ihthihaadh Party members were signed by persons who had passed away prior to the forms being sent to the EC. One person who according to the form had signed up for the party on March 6, 2013 had in fact passed away on August 8, 2012. Another applicant said to have signed up on February 16, 2013, but passed away on January 16, 2011,” the ACC declared.
The ACC said the investigation followed a complaint received by the commission stating the GIP had fraudulently enrolled members in their party through the misuse of records and information of two state institutions.
GIP Spokesperson Abbas Adil Riza was not responding to calls at time of press.
Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) leader and running mate of Waheed for the September Presidential elections, Ahmed Thasmeen Ali, and DRP MP Dr Abdulla Mausoom, were also not responding to calls.
“You can falsify records of members, not their hearts” : Nasheed
“A robbery you commit will not push citizens into depression and hopelessness. The people remain firm,” former President and Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) Presidential Candidate Nasheed said in reference to the ACC statement on GIP’s alleged fraudulence.
Speaking at a party rally held Thursday night, Nasheed said that although a party can falsify people’s records and include them in a party register, they could not steal hearts and loyalty.
Observing that GIP, which performed poorly in past elections, had nonetheless somehow managed to raise its membership above the new 10,000 member minimum, Nasheed accused the party of trying to “steal our members” and called for investigation and criminal charges.
Nasheed declared that monitoring the political party registry was the responsibility of the Elections Commission, and said the Prosecutor General was required to take action over the ACC’s allegations.
“The political party registry is one of the key resources needed to build good governance for the people. This cannot be tampered with. By tampering with and falsifying this register, we are obstructing our roads to development,” he stated.
MDP also released a press statement condemning the fraud and “Waheed’s attempts to further undermine democracy, following his actions to topple a democratically elected government through a coup d’etat”.
“This party is deeply concerned that personal records of citizens held in state institutions with confidentiality are being misused to further the temporary political needs of a particular people, and that the whole democratic system is being undermined for these personal political aims,” the statement read.
The party called on the Prosecutor General to investigate and take legal action against the leader of the GIP, President Mohamed Waheed.
“If fraud is confirmed, membership will be made void”: EC
Elections Commission Vice President Ahmed Fayaz stated that the commission is currently reviewing the GIP membership forms, and verifying the findings of the ACC.
“We hope to have completed the verification process by next Monday. If we can confirm that there is indeed fraudulent membership applications, we will make them void. We will then notify the party and advise against repeating such acts,” Fayaz said.
“As the courts have not made a ruling on the Political Party Act, GIP will also remain a party for the time being even if this investigation leads to them having less than the required 10,000 members,” Fayaz said.
The Supreme Court issued an injunction on March 14 which stands effective to date, ordering all authorities to not consider any political party as dissolved until the court rules on a case submitted by then Attorney General Azima Shakoor claiming that parts of the Political Party Act contravene the constitution.
As per the Act, a political party must have a minimum of 10,000 members to be included in the political party register.
The Political Party Act placed 11 parties at risk of dissolution. GIP and the Adhaalath Party have since submitted enough forms to the Elections Commission to reach the 10,000 member target.
On March 13, GIP Spokesperson Abbas Adil Riza claimed that “the Political Party Act was fabricated to destroy GIP”.
Riza also contended then that Maldives’ political party system was “significantly in need of smaller political parties” and that all major political parties had “betrayed the nation” because it had the support base needed to do so.
Prosecutor General Ahmed Muizz and Prosecutor General’s Office Media Official Hussain Nashid were not responding to calls at time of press.
Progressive Party of Maldives MP Ahmed Nihan was also not available for comments.
The Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) has threatened to leave the government coalition if Tourism Minister Ahmed Adheeb is sacked from the cabinet by President Dr Mohamed Waheed.
According to local media reports, PPM MP Abdul Raheem Abdulla alleged at a press conference today that the resignation of State Minister for Tourism Mariyam Mizna Shareef – daughter of Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) Spokesperson Ibrahim Shareef – was part of “a scheme” by the DRP and President Waheed to dismiss Adheeb.
Mizna resigned citing the “unacceptable” manner that the ministry was run by Adheeb, who was elected deputy leader of the PPM earlier this year.
MP Abdul Raheem Abdulla claimed that Mizna’s allegations would be used as a pretext to remove Adheeb.
“If Adheeb is dismissed, it is very likely that a proposal would be made to the PPM council to decide whether to remain in the government coalition,” he was quoted as saying in newspaper Haveeru.
The Maldives Broadcasting Corporation (MBC) has announced that a debate between rival presidential candidates will be broadcast via state media on September 1 this year.
MBC Managing Director Mohamed Shafeeq Mahmoud told local media that efforts were underway to secure the participation of the four key candidates presently expected to contest the presidential election, which has been scheduled for September 7.
These participants are expected to be President Dr Mohamed Waheed; Mohamed Nasheed of the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), MP Abdullah Yameen of the Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) and MP Gasim Ibrahim of the Jumhoree Party (JP).
Shafeeq told Sun Online that in the build up to the debate, state television and radio would provide airtime for candidates to broadcast information on their campaigns from July.
Television Maldives (TVM) is expected to broadcast four separate live programmes, each focused on a single candidate that will include the opportunity for the public to ask questions, he said.
Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) Deputy Parliament Group Leader MP Ali Waheed has called on the state to exhume the body of murdered scholar and Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) MP Dr Afrasheem Ali in order to conduct a post mortem.
Referring to the MP’s murder last year as the “most serious crime ever committed in the Maldives”, Waheed said that various allegations and rumours were being spread to create confusion and suspicion in society about the case.
He said that these allegations had prominently focused on the involvement of certain senior politicians in the crime, including the MDP’s own Chairperson MP ‘Reeko’ Moosa Manik and PPM presidential candidate, MP Abdullah Yameen.
Waheed stated that it was therefore of utmost importance to conduct a post mortem in order to bring an end to this speculation and allegations over the case, while ascertaining the facts around Dr Afrasheem’s murder.
Prior to Waheed’s comments, MDP Chairperson and MP ‘Reeko’ Moosa Manik also spoke of the importance of clarifying facts regarding Afrasheem’s murder.
Echoing comments previously raised by former President Mohamed Nasheed at a party rally, Moosa spoke of the need to verify if there was any truth in information that individuals suspected of involvement in the murder had fled the country on the day of the attack.
He further questioned why street surveillance cameras installed by the police had not been in operation on the night of the murder.
MDP MP Mohamed Riyaz also spoke of the allegations that Sudanese nationals may have had involvement in the crime, while stressing the importance of verifying the truth behind claims that Afrasheem had been summoned to the Ministry of Islamic Affairs shortly before his murder.
PPM MP Ahmed Nihan was not responding to calls today from Minivan News today. Meanwhile, Dr Abdulla Mausoom, Parliamentary Group Leader of the government-aligned Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP), said he was unavailable for comment at time of press.
Background
Maldives Police Services announced in October 2012 that the FBI were extending assistance in the investigation of the MPs murder.
Commissioner of Police Abdulla Riyaz later stated in a press conference held in December 2012 that the murder of Afrasheem had been carried out with a political motive, and that the culprits were to be paid MVR 4 million (US$ 260,000).
Riyaz had at the time dismissed claims that the murder was linked to religious fundamentalists, stating “no evidence has been gathered which suggests this murder had a religious motive.”
The main murder suspect identified by the police investigation into the attack, Hussain Humam, initially denied charges. He later confessed to the crime at a hearing held in May.
At the hearing, state prosecutors read out a statement which was said to have been given by Humam at one of the initial hearings. The statement claimed that son-in-law of ‘Reeko’ Moosa Manik, Abdulla ‘Jaa’ Javid, had offered to pay him MVR 4 million for the murder of MP Afrasheem.
In the last hearing held in early June, Humam once again retracted his confession, claiming that he had been coerced into confession by police.
Humam’s father has also written to the Criminal Court and the Human Rights Commission of the Maldives alleging police of conducting psychological abuse against the suspect and exerting coercion to confess to a crime he did not commit.
Religious scholar and MP Dr. Afrasheem Ali was found brutally murdered in the early hours of October 2, 2012 and was buried at a state funeral after Asr prayers on the same day.
The disciplinary board of the Maldives Police Service (MPS) has decided not to take any administrative action against five officers facing criminal prosecution over police brutality in February 2012, Assistant Commissioner of Police Ali Rasheed revealed at a press briefing yesterday (June 18).
The PIC also made a recommendation to the home ministry to take administrative action against the six police officers accused of brutality.
The Home Ministry forwarded the cases to the police disciplinary board, Assistant Commissioner Rasheed explained at yesterday’s press briefing.
“The disciplinary board has reviewed the cases and made decisions concerning the six police officers involved in these cases,” he said. “[The disciplinary board] has decided to dismiss one of those officers. On the remaining five cases, as the cases are currently at the court stage, the disciplinary board has decided not to take any administrative action against them until the court cases reach a definitive conclusion.”
A media official at the Prosecutor General’s Office (PGO) confirmed to Minivan News today that trials have begun on some cases of police brutality on February 8, while state prosecutors were in the process of interviewing witnesses in the other cases.
Following an investigation into the violence on February 8, the Human Rights Commission of Maldives (HRCM) concluded that the heavy-handed police crackdown on the MDP walk across Male’ was “brutal” and “without warning.”
The HRCM recommended investigations by the PIC into the “disproportionate” use of force that left dozens of demonstrators injured and hospitalised.
Moreover, the Commonwealth-backed Commission of National Inquiry (CoNI) – which controversially concluded that the transfer of presidential power on February 7 was constitutional – also recommended prompt investigations of police brutality.
“There were acts of police brutality on 6, 7 and 8 February 2012 that must be investigated and pursued further by the relevant authorities,” the report stated.
In May 2013 – one year and four months after the incidents – the PGO pressed charges against two police officers accused of assaulting MDP MPs ‘Reeko’ Moosa Manik and Mariya Ahmed Didi during the violent crackdown on February 8.
MDP Chairperson ‘Reeko’ Moosa was flown overseas for treatment of severe injuries sustained during the assault. The two MPs were dragged out by SO officers while they were hiding in a shop with former President Nasheed.
Videos also emerged on social media appearing to show SO officers brutally beating MDP MP Ibrahim Rasheed ‘Bonda.’
Impunity
According to a status update by the PIC on June 6, the commission investigated 29 cases of police brutality before forwarding six cases for prosecution.
PIC Vice Chair Haala Hameed told parliament’s Government Oversight Committee on June 4 that the commission had urged then-Home Minister Mohamed Jameel to suspend the accused officers immediately.
However, Hameed said that the request was not adhered to and at least one of the accused officers was promoted.
Hameed said the commission had failed to identify the police officers in five of the remaining cases while 11 other cases lacked supporting evidence.
“These are not disciplinary issues, but crimes. Aside from sending cases to the Prosecutor General, we also recommended the Home Minister suspend these officers, because of the delays in prosecution. We believe these officers should not be serving in the police,” Hameed said.
Former PIC Chair Shahinda Ismail – who resigned citing failure to hold police accountable for human rights violations – explained to Minivan News in September 2012 that article 44 of the Police Act allows the home minister to ignore PIC recommendations if the commission is informed in writing.
Shahinda referred to a case involving Staff Sergeant Ali Ahmed, who was caught on tape kicking a demonstrator while he was on the ground.
The case was sent for prosecution while the PIC recommended administrative action against the staff sergeant to the Home Minister.
“I know for a fact he is still a policeman and was promoted after this incident,” Shahinda said at the time.
“It is really upsetting – a huge concern – for me that the police leadership is showing a trend where unlawful officers are acting with impunity. This can only lead to further violence,” she added.
Meanwhile, in May this year, the MDP accused the government of fast-tracking 117 “politically-motivated” cases involving its supporters charged with terrorism and obstruction of police duty.
“Why doesn’t the government take action against those police officers when there is clear evidence of police brutality? None of the police officers have been investigated or prosecuted in line with the CoNI,” said MDP MP Imthiyaz Fahmy, who was himself arrested on February 8.
February 8 crackdown
While riot police and soldiers baton-charged the front line of protestors on February 8, Minivan News observed SO officers charging the crowd from a narrow alley leading to the Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA) area.
The SO police officers used obscene language, pointed to and chased after individual MDP activists and severely beat unarmed civilians.
Al Jazeera news filmed parts of the attack from the rear and reported that on February 8 “police and military charged, beating demonstrators as they ran – women, the elderly, [with] dozens left nursing their wounds.”
According to the HRCM report, 32 people filed complaints with the commission concerning varying degrees of injuries sustained in the crackdown, while 20 people submitted medical documents of their treatment of injuries.
Among the injuries caused by the police baton charge, the HRCM report noted that several people were bruised and battered, one person fractured a bone in his leg, one person was left with a broken arm and six people sustained head wounds.
Moreover, the HRCM report into the events of February 6 and 7 revealed that 43 people were treated for injuries at the Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital (IGMH), while 28 people were treated at the ADK private hospital.
On February 8, Minivan News also observed several youth with head injuries queuing up for x-rays in the waiting area outside the reception area of IGMH.
One young woman who went to IGMH with her sister was being treated for a head wound. The gauze wrapped around her head was spotted with blood, and she claimed the wound was still bleeding as she went in for an X-ray.
“The police were just standing there and suddenly we were being beaten with batons and pepper spray was thrown in our face. They threw us to the ground and kept beating us,” she said.
The BBC meanwhile reported “a baton charge by police on crowds gathered outside one of the main hospitals.”
“People scattered as officers sprinted towards them silhouetted against the lights of passing traffic,” the BBC’s Andrew North reported from Male’.
“Inside the hospital, dozens of Mr Nasheed’s supporters are still being treated for injuries, following earlier scuffles in the main square. Among them is Reeko Moosa Maniku, chairman of Mr Nasheed’s Maldives Democratic Party – who was with the former president when the clashes broke out. With a large head bandage and his shirt bloodied, he regained consciousness as we arrived. The police said they would kill me, he told us, as they beat me. Another MP was still unconscious in another ward.”
The opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) boycotted a meeting arranged by the Maldives Police Service (MPS) yesterday (June 17) with political parties to discuss security issues for the upcoming presidential election.
According to police, representatives from President Dr Mohamed Waheed’s Gaumee Ihthihaad Party (GIP), the Jumhooree Party (JP) and the Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) attended the meeting.
Police provided information regarding security arrangements for the election at the meeting that took place at the police Iskandharu Koshi compound.
The MDP has expressed concern with preparations by police for the presidential election. The party maintains that its presidential candidate Mohamed Nasheed resigned on February 7, 2012 in a coup d’etat instigated by mutinying police officers of the Special Operations (SO) command.
The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has ruled out corruption in the awarding of a concession agreement in June 2010 to a consortium of Indian infrastructure giant GMR and Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhard (MAHB) to develop and manage the Ibrahim Nasir International Airport (INIA).
In a 61-page investigative report (Dhivehi) made public yesterday (June 17), the ACC concluded that the bidding process was conducted fairly by the World Bank’s International Finance Corporation (IFC) and that the GMR-MAHB consortium won the contract by proposing the highest net present value of the concession fee.
The ACC further concluded that the awarding of the contract did not contravene amendments brought to the Public Finance Act requiring parliamentary approval for such agreements.
The amendments were published in the government gazette after the concession agreement was signed, the ACC noted.
The concession agreement was signed on June 28, 2010, while the amendments were gazetted on December 13, 2010, following a Supreme Court ruling. The amendments were voted through for a second time in August 2010 following a presidential veto.
On the previous administration’s decision to replace the board of directors at the 100 percent government-owned Maldives Airports Company Ltd (MACL) – after they refused to sign the concession agreement claiming insufficient information – the ACC observed that there was “no legal obstacle” for the move.
The ACC report also concluded that the government would benefit more from privatising the airport.
“Considering the situation (2008, 2009 and 2010) when the decision was made to privatise the Male’ International Airport,” the ACC’s calculations showed that MACL would make a profit of about US$254 million in 25 years if the airport was operated by the government-owned company.
Conversely, the government would receive about US$534 million in the same period from the GMR consortium if the airport was privatised, the ACC found.
The privatisation of the airport by the ousted Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) government in June 2010 was strongly condemned by opposition parties on nationalistic grounds.
The Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP), Peoples Alliance (PA), Dhivehi Qaumee Party (DQP) and Jumhooree Party (JP) signed an agreement to work against the privatisation process and launched a media offensive alleging “massive corruption” in the awarding of the contract.
The AG’s report stated that evidence to back allegations of “improper interference” during the technical bidding process “is not conclusive on this point” and deferred the matter to the ACC.
The AG’s report also noted that the IFC’s terms of reference involved “securing the best deal for the government in terms of the concession fee paid to the government and MACL, and did not consider impacts on the Maldivian economy.”
Government stance
In November 2012, the current government – made up of a coalition of parties opposed to the MDP government’s privatisation policy – declared the concession agreement with the GMR-led consortium “void ab initio” (invalid from the outset) and abruptly terminated the contract.
In April this year, the Attorney General’s Office confirmed that arbitration proceedings resulting from the contract cancellation would begin by mid-2014.
Responding to the ACC’s findings yesterday, the government insisted that the report would have no impact on its legal position to declare the GMR concession agreement void, contending that President Dr Mohamed Waheed’s decision had nothing to do with corruption allegations levelled by “some people”.
President’s Office Media Secretary Masood Imad told Minivan News that the contract was declared void from the beginning due to the negative impact on state finances in 2012.
“Back before the government took back control of the airport from GMR, the reason we gave was that the deal was bleeding the country’s economy. We were paying GMR to keep them here,” he explained.
Masood said that despite “speculation from some people” concerning corruption by the former administration in signing the deal, the present government was not responsible for filing a case with the ACC.
He added that the government’s concerns over the deal had been in relation to the imposition of a US$25 Airport Development Charge (ADC) by GMR that was blocked by the Civil Court in 2011 after the then-opposition DQP filed a case on the matter.
The DQP, now part of President Waheed’s coalition government, attempted to block payment of the charge on the grounds that it was effectively a tax not approved by parliament.
However, former President Mohamed Nasheed resigned under controversial circumstances on February 7, 2012 amidst a violent mutiny by elements of the police and military before the Civil Court verdict was appealed at the High Court.
Consequently, in the first quarter of 2012, Dr Waheed’s government received US$525,355 of an expected US$8.7 million, after the deduction of the ADC. That was followed by a US$1.5 million bill for the second quarter, after the ADC payable eclipsed the revenue due the government.
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