Tag: media

Maldives falls 40,000 short of million tourist target for 2012

The Maldivian government has narrowly failed to reach its target of one million tourist arrivals for 2012, according to figures released by Ministry of Tourism, after a year of political turmoil and an economic slump in key markets.

Despite arrivals falling short by roughly 42,000 tourists, figures released by the ministry have shown that overall arrivals rose 2.9 percent from 931,333 in 2011 to 958,027 in 2012.

Prior to the release of the figures, Tourism Minister Ahmed Adheeb predicted that while there may be a shortfall of roughly 20,000 in 2012, he was confident the ministry could achieve the one million mark in 2013.

“There were a lot of hiccups last year with the political turmoil that the country experienced. It is important that we do not compare ourselves to other destinations like Sri Lanka or Seychelles, as our tourism market is very different. We have a high-value tourism market.

“We will formulate a strategy to go forward this year and later this month [January] we are going to finalise the fourth master plan of tourism. I am sure we will get one million tourists in 2013. I can assure you of it,” Adheeb told Minivan News earlier this month.

Figures released by the  tourism ministry show that Europe, which accounted for 54 percent of all tourist arrivals in 2012, fell by 3.7 percent from 537,757 in 2011 to 517,809 in 2012. Arrivals from the United Kingdom – the second highest share of European arrivals to the Maldives this year – continued to fall from 104,508 in 2011 to 91,776 in 2012 – a 12.2 percent  drop.

Germany took over the UK in 2012 as having the largest share of European arrivals to the Maldives, growing by an extra 7,834 arrivals from 90,517 in 2011. The 8.7 percent increase in arrival numbers, meant that Germany was accountable for 10.3 percent of all tourist arrivals in 2012.

Italy, which had the second highest arrival share of European tourists in 2010, fell drastically in 2012 by 24.4 percent from 83,088 arrivals to 62,782.

Meanwhile, tourist arrivals from ‘Asia and Pacific’ regions continued year-on-year growth from 2010, increasing by 10.2 percent from 2011 and accounting for a 40.1 percent share in the overall market at 384,506 arrivals in 2012.

Shift to ‘low yield’ Chinese tourists

Chinese arrivals continued to grow in 2012, with a 15.6 percent increase from 198,655 in 2011 to 229,551 in 2012.

Chinese tourists now account for the largest share of arrivals from any nation in 2012 standing at 24 percent, a massive increase from Chinese arrival figures in 2009 which stood at 60,666.

Despite the high number of Chinese tourists, tourism experts stated back in 2010 that Chinese guests were relatively ‘low yield’ despite their high numbers.

Speaking to Minivan News in 2010, the now former Secretary General Maldives Association of Tourism Industry (MATI), Sim Mohamed Ibrahim, said Chinese tourists tended to spend less than their European counterparts.

“The Chinese who come do not come for the sun and the beach – they come because the Maldives is a novelty, a safe destination, and because of their new-found freedom to travel. Resorts are saying there are not many repeat visitors from China,” he said at at he time.

Tourism growth slowed to less than one percent in 2012

Tourism growth meanwhile slowed to less than one percent in 2012. While the tourism industry grew by 15.8 percent in 2010 and 9.1 percent in 2011, the industry’s growth in 2012 was expected to be 0.7 percent.

The two main reasons cited by the Finance Ministry for the anaemic growth were “the political turmoil the country faced in February” and a decline in the average number of nights tourists spend in the country “as a result of a decline in the average number of days a tourist spent in the Maldives.”

On average, tourism accounted for 28 percent of GDP during the past 10 years.

Despite the widely reported Ibrahim Nasir International Airport (INIA) dispute between the Indian infrastructure giant GMR and the Maldivian Government in December last year – as well as claims of anti-India sentiment within the country – arrivals from India  increased by 34 percent in December compared to the same month in 2011.

The largest increase in tourist arrivals compared to 2011 was from the Middle East, which saw close to a 50 percent rise in arrivals for 2012 at 21,843 from 14,570 in 2011.

Arrivals from United Arab Emirates grew the highest in percentage from 2011 by 76.6 percent. Despite the high percentage growth however, the number of tourists was comparatively low to other countries standing at 4,047 in 2012.

MVR 70 million tourism marketing budget in 2012

The Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation (MMPRC) was allocated a budget of MVR 70 million (US$4.5 million) in 2012 to conduct marketing activities for the year, almost double the 2011 budget of US$2.3 million, which saw the country receive 900,000 tourist arrivals.

Following February’s controversial transfer of power, the incoming government of President Dr Mohamed Waheed Hassan sought to utilise public relations groups and advertising to try and offset the impact of negative news headlines resulting from the controversial nature of the change in government.

That focus included a US$250,000 (MVR3.8million) advertising deal to promote the country’s tourism industry on the BBC through sponsorship of its weather services, as well as signing a £93,000 per month (US$150,000) contract with public relations group Ruder Finn to try and improve the country’s image internationally.

Maldives tourism authorities said back in October that they were confident the country would meet its one million visitor target, despite ongoing “political turmoil”.

Registered beds up, occupancy rates down

According to the 2012 statistics released by the Tourism Ministry, the average number of registered beds between resorts, hotels, guest houses and safari vessels stood at 27,702 in 2012 – an increase of 1,346 from 2011.

Despite the increases in tourism arrivals, bed nights fell from 6,529,200 in 2011 to 6,450,794 – a total drop of 1.2 percent – and the average days spent in the Maldives by tourists fell from 7.0 days in 2011 to 6.7 days in 2012.

Occupany rates also fell across all types of accommodation aside from a 1.9 percent increase on safari vessels. Altogether the occupancy rates fell from 73.1 in 2011 to 70.6 in 2012.

Maldives top five markets by visitor numbers (2012)

China: 229,551

Germany: 98,351

United Kingdom: 91,776

Russia: 66,378

Italy: 62,782

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Maldives Inland Revenue Authority conducts training program on financial crimes

Maldives Inland Revenue Authority (MIRA) has conducted a training program to increase staff awareness of financial crimes.

A MIRA official told local media that the ‘Investigation Schools Development Program’ was conducted from January 6 to January 10 in cooperation with the police.

“The training program informed MIRA staff on how to act when they encounter cases of tax evasion during auditing or investigations”, the MIRA official was quoted in Sun Online.

Maldives Police Service provided instructors for the program.

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President should have ratified political parties, privileges bills: DRP MP Mausoom

Government-aligned Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) Deputy Leader Dr Abdulla Mausoom has expressed disappointment at President Dr Mohamed Waheed Hassan Manik’s failure to ratify two controversial bills outlining parliamentary and political party regulations.

Dr Mausoom today told Minivan News that he believed the president should have ratified both bills before then seeking to make changes to specific clauses once they had been passed into law.

He claimed such an act would have allowed President Waheed to remove potential doubts that he may be acting to protect his own political interests by not approving the bills.

The President’s Office confirmed Thursday (January 10) that the People’s Majlis privileges and powers bill and the political party bill had been returned to parliament for reconsideration Thursday (January 10) after originally being passed late last year.

Among the key features outlined in the two bills were potential punishments for anyone attempting to stymie or disrespect the Majlis and its work, as well as a requirement for all political parties to have 10,000 registered members or face being dissolved by the country’s Elections Commission (EC).

Both bills have been criticised in part by NGOs and smaller political parties in the country over fears about the perceived impacts they may have on the democratic development of the Maldives.

However, speaking to Minivan News today, DRP Deputy Leader Mausoom said that he believed the president should have opted to ratify the bill, which he contended has certain regulations and requirements that had long been overdue in the Majlis, before then attempting to enact amendments at a later date.

Dr Mausoom claimed that with Dr Waheed’s own Gaumee Ithihaad Party (GIP) facing being dissolved as a result of being short of the 10,000 registered members required by the political parties bill, his failure to ratify it could lead to doubts over the partiality of the president’s decision.

“Maybe they are concerned they would not be able to get sufficient member numbers if it is passed,” he suggested.

As of January 13, 2013, Ethe lection’s Commission figures indicate that GIP has 3,218 registered members. Ratification of the political parties bill would have given President Waheed’s party three months to have obtained 10,000 members or face being dissolved by the EC.

Listening to minorities

Despite the comments, Dr Mausoom said the DRP was undecided on how to proceed over whether to seek a compromise in amending the two bills,  or support the existing provisions.

“The bill defining privileges for the Majlis is long overdue. While there may be some room for fine tuning, the bill itself is a must,” the DRP Deputy Leader added.

Dr Mausoom said that with the political parties bill, he understood that major concerns existed regarding the requirements for 10,000 registered members.  He claimed the DRP would take into account the views of minority parties in the Maldives before making any decision on the matter.

“There is thought that any political party should be able to obtain 10,000 members if it is to represent the views of the people, but there is also an argument to leave regulations as is it,” Dr Mausoom said.

“It is best to decide after listening to minority parties on the issue. We have always advocated as a party to listen to minorities whoever they are.”

Political parties were first authorised in the Maldives in May 2005 following an executive decree by then-President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom. Political parties have remained governed by a regulation requiring 3,000 members for registration.

This regulation did not stipulate that parties whose membership falls below the figure would be dissolved.

In March last year, EC Chair Fuad Thaufeeq told Minivan News that these regulations were “vague” as parties were not required to maintain 3,000 members once formed.

Despite a failure to ratify the two bills, Dr Mausoom rejected the notion that a divide had been formed between the president and the country’s legislature, adding that there were always likely to be differences of opinion within the present coalition government after it came to power in February 2012 under disputed circumstances.

“There is no friction between parties and the president. When we came to power, we had no unified policy, however any issues with have with the president we will raise with him,” he said.

Bill criticisms

The proposed amendments to regulations on political parties and parliamentary privileges were among a number of bills recently passed within the People’s Majlis that were attacked by local NGOs Transparency Maldives (TM) and Maldivian Democracy Network (MDN) earlier this month.

In a joint statement, the NGOs expressed concerns that clauses within the bills threatened to “weaken the democratic, good governance system” and “restrict some fundamental rights,” in the Maldives.

The political parties bill in particular has come under fierce criticism from smaller political parties in the country. Earlier this year, Special Advisor to President Waheed and Leader of government-aligned Dhivehi Qaumee Party (DQP) Dr Hassan Saeed warned he would seek to invalidate the bill should it be ratified by the president.

He told local media at the time that the bill infringed rights enshrined in the constitution and that he would file a case at the Supreme Court requesting the law be struck down.

Dr Saeed was not responding to calls from Minivan News at time of press.

Late last year, the religious conservative Adhaalath Party accused the Majlis of directly attempting to “eradicate” Islamic ideology from Maldivian politics and limit its efforts against what it alleged were attempts to secularise the country.

Adhaalath Party Leader Sheikh Imran Abdulla said he suspected that “black money” from Indian infrastructure company GMR was behind the decision to insert the clause requiring 10,000 members. The government late last year voided a sovereign agreement with GMR to develop Ibrahim Nasir International Airport (INIA) – a decision strongly backed by the Adhaalath Party as part of a self-claimed “national movement”.

Imran claimed at the time that “a person with a brain would not deny” that the decision by parliament’s Independent Institutions Committee to raise the prerequisite to 10,000 members from 5,000 at a late stage was made “because the Adhaalath Party would be disqualified at that number.”

Parliamentary Speaker Adbulla Shahid, Deputy Speaker Ahmed Nazim and the Majlis’ Minority Leader Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) MP Abdulla Yameen were not responding to calls from Minivan News at the time of press.

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Ratification of limits on freedom of assembly won’t affect ‘revolution’: MDP

The ratification of the Freedom of Peaceful Assembly Bill is a “direct response” to the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP)’s proposed revolution, the party’s Spokesperson Hamed Abdul Ghafoor has alleged.

Yesterday (January 11) the President’s Office website announced that President Mohamed Waheed Hassan Manik had approved the controversial bill, which enforces limits for protests in the Maldives.

Parliament passed the bill on December 25, 2012 with 44 votes in favour and 30 against – a decision which attracted criticism from NGOs within the country who warned the bill could “restrict some fundamental rights”.

Ghafoor told Minivan News that the MDP stood against the principles of the Freedom of Assembly Bill, alleging its ratification is a response to the ‘Ingilaab’ proposed by former President Mohamed Nasheed last month.

“We are not happy with this bill, and on principle alone we are against it. The current government feels the need to restrict freedom of expression and unwind the democratic gains of this country,” he alleged.

“The whole intention of this bill was to respond to our popular uprising. But when the time comes [for the revolution] the bill won’t matter. We will still go out onto the streets,” Ghafoor claimed.

Among the key features of the Freedom of Assembly bill is the outlawing of demonstrations outside private residences and government buildings, limitations on media covering protests not accredited with the state and defining “gatherings” as a group of more than a single person.

One of the main stated objectives of the legislation is to try and minimise restrictions on peaceful gatherings, which it claims remain a fundamental right.

Under the legislation, demonstrations will be outlawed within a certain distance of the residences of the president and vice president, tourist resorts, harbours utilized for economic purposes, airports, the President’s Office, the courts of law, the Parliament, mosques, schools, hospitals and buildings housing diplomatic missions.

NGO concerns

In a joint statement from local NGOs Transparency Maldives (TM) and Maldivian Democracy Network (MDN) this month (January 2), it warned that the bill posed “serious challenges to the whole democratic system”.

The statement claimed that the bill could restrict the constitutional right to freedom of assembly (article 32), freedom of expression (article 27) and press freedom (article 28).

As article four of the constitution states that “all the powers of the state of the Maldives are derived from, and remains with, the citizens,” both NGOs warned that narrowing the fundamental rights guaranteed by the second chapter of the constitution would “facilitate taking away from the public the powers that remain with them.”

Media “accreditation” on protest coverage

Last month, the Maldives Journalists’ Association (MJA) expressed concern over certain clauses in the ratified Freedom of Peaceful Assembly Bill, claiming that it will directly impact reporting by local and international media organisations.

In regard to the media’s right to cover demonstrations, the bill states that the Maldives Broadcasting Commission (MBC) must draft a regulation on accrediting journalists within three months of the ratification of the bill.

Only those journalists who are accredited by the MBC will be granted access to cover and report on gatherings and police activities in the vicinity.

MJA President and board member of the Maldives Media Council (MMC) ‘Hiriga’ Ahmed Zahir claimed last month (December 29) that the MBC – appointed by parliament – would not be able to accredit media persons in an independent manner free from any influence.

“We are seeing the MBC failing to address many existing issues even now, so we cannot support handing over additional responsibilities like this to such a body,” he added.

Zahir also raised concerns that foreign journalists coming to the Maldives would also be required to obtain additional accreditation. He said that international media was already faced with having to meet specific visa requirements and obtaining state approval.

“For example, [international reporters] cannot really cover events if they are just here on a tourist visa, that won’t be allowed anywhere in the world,” he said.

Speaking on the matter of media accreditation, MDP Spokesman Ghafoor alleged to Minivan News today that it was the current governments “intention” to control the media coverage of protests.

“When the incumbent government took over office, they took over the state media too. We have noticed this trend continuing today,” he claimed.

President’s Office Spokesman Masood Imad was not responding to calls at time of press today.

However back in November last year, Imad previously defended a case submitted to Supreme Court by the Attorney General that claimed causing a public disturbance in the name of political protest is against the constitution.

The case, submitted in September, requests the Supreme Court to rule that such protests are against some articles of the constitution. This includes disturbing the public, using foul language and “protesting in a manner that instills fear into the hearts of children and the elderly”.

Speaking back in November regarding the case, Imad said: “A protest should be about changing something. A protest conducted in residential areas has nothing to do with parliament. Public protest and public nuisance are two very different things.”

The President’s Office Spokesman further stated that the government “fully” supports the right to protest, but added that it should not be conducted in a way that negatively affects the lives of others.

Minivan News attempted to contact MPs and spokespersons from Progressive Party of Maldives, Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party, Dhivehi Qaumee Party, Jumhoree Party, People’s Alliance and Maldivian Development Alliance to speak on the matter, however none were responding to calls at time of press.

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Fines to be issued for people catching migratory birds: EPA

Maldives Environment Protection Agency (EPA) has warned that people catching migratory birds will face fines of MVR 30,000 (US$1,941) and a further MVR 25,000 (US$1,618) for every additional bird.

Local media reported that migratory birds are protected under international and Maldivian law and that many different species of bird migrate to the country at this time of year.

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Establishments using unauthorised smoking permit signs: CCHDC

Establishments have been putting up unauthorised smoking permit signs in order to allow customers to smoke, local media has reported.

Under a new ‘no smoking’ regulation that came into effect on January 1, food and beverage establishments  obtain a special permit from the Ministry of Health in order to designate smoking areas.

Centre for Community Health and Disease Control (CCHDC) Deputy Director Hassan Mohamed told the Sun Online news service that the centre had been receiving complaints regarding non-permitted establishments designating smoking areas for its customers.

“Some of the parties that have not obtained the proper permit have started to designate their own smoking and no smoking areas for the customers,” he was reported as saying.

“We are taking action regarding this. We are receiving a lot of complaints regarding this too.”

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Government seeking $150 million loan for Male’ – Hulhule’ bridge

Finance Minister Abdulla Jihad has said the government is seeking a $150 million loan for the construction of a bridge between the islands of Male’ and Hulhule’, local media has reported.

Jihad was reported as saying that he will be travelling to Turkey, along with Housing Minister Dr Ahmed Muizzu and senior Finance Ministry officials to continue discussions with Turkey’s Exim bank to obtain the loan.

“We are presently in discussion with Turkey’s Exim bank to obtain a $150 million loan for this project. The decision has been made to travel to Turkey for this purpose, but the loan is not yet confirmed,” Jihad was quoted as saying in Sun Online.

“This is a very important project. We have detailed plans, which we will present to them.”

According to local media, the decision to build the bridge was made in December 2011 in order to find a solution to the problem of congestion in Male’.

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IGMH operations “back to normal” amidst overcapacity fears

Overcapacity fears at Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital (IGMH) in Male’ have been temporarily resolved today despite ongoing concerns about its ability to cope with the demand for medical care in the capital, a hospital official has said.

Local media reported yesterday that IGMH staff were trying “desperately” to accommodate patients after every bed within the hospital become occupied after a surge in demand for care.

An IGMH official told Minivan News today that while overcapacity fears had been temporarily resolved – with operations at the hospital having returned to normal – uncertainty remains over whether the same problems could again occur tonight.

The official alleged that the “source” of the overcrowding problem was due to a lack of proper medical services provided on the islands surrounding Male’, which had resulted in more patients coming to the capitol for surgery.

“While it is usually busier during the holiday period, the real problem is that the quality of hospitals and other medical services on these islands is not up to standard. Therefore islanders have no choice but to come to Male’ for treatment,” the source claimed.

“As transportation links between islands and Male’ have increased in recent years, it now means that more people can get here.”

According to the IGMH official, the hospital presently has a maximum capacity of 280 to 300 patients, while its catchment area has a population of 125,000 people.

In order to cope with the recent influx of patients this week, the hospital official claimed that the site had temporarily ceased operating on electives [non-urgent medical cases] in order to focus on those coming in needing urgent surgery.

“Normally we have around five patients waiting for admission in ER, however last night we had 18. We have tried to streamline the whole process by putting non-urgent surgery on wait so we could directly focus on urgent medical conditions,” the source said.

To future alleviate the number of patients coming into IGMH, the hospital source said today that an 11-floor building was to be constructed focussing on “mother and baby” related medical issues.

“About one third of our patients, on most occasions, are to do with paediatrics and gynaecology, so this new building will give us a lot more relief at IGMH,” the spokesperson said.

“The Finance Ministry, President’s Office and the Health Ministry are trying to get the loan [for the construction of the building], and when that comes through it is expected that the construction will take around five months,” the hospital official said.

Minister of Health Dr Ahmed Jamsheed Mohamed was not responding to calls from Minivan News at time of press.

IGMH concerns

Earlier this month concerns were raised about treatment received at IGMH by relatives of a mother who had given birth to a five-month-old foetus that was alleged to have been incorrectly diagnosed as deceased by hospital staff.

While the hospital maintained it had correctly pronounced the foetus as deceased before sending it to a cemetery in Male’ for burial, relatives expressed concerns about how the hospital had dealt with the matter.

The Ministry of Health told Minivan News at the time that a review would be undertaken of policies at state-run hospitals in the Maldives and their handling of such situations.

This week IGMH was required to commence a separate investigation into the case of a woman who had her uterus removed due to damage caused during the delivery of her baby, local media reported.  The child had been stillborn, according to reports.

A family member told Sun Online that the 24 year-old woman was admitted to IGMH last Friday where, despite advice from specialists at another institution who advised for a caesarean, she was asked to wait to see if she gave birth naturally – despite the umbilical cord being wrapped around the baby’s neck.

Twelve hours later, the family were told the baby had died in the womb.

COO of IGMH Dr Ismail Shafeeu told Sun Online at the time that a case related to a woman whose baby died during delivery was currently under investigation.

“Something like that has happened, we are looking into it. There are plenty of problems related to IGMH, some of which involve negligence by the staff. They’re all under investigation,” he said.

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Maldives cleric’s murder raises fears of growing religious extremism: The Guardian

“The killers worked quickly. Their victim did not even have time to reach his own front door, only a few yards away. Stabbed repeatedly in the head and back, Afrasheem Ali, member of parliament and a cleric, bled to death in minutes,” writes Jason Burke for The Guardian newspaper.

“The murder in Malé, the capital of the Maldives, in October shocked many. Claim and counterclaim quickly circulated. The police hinted the killers of the cleric, from a party loyal to the former autocratic ruler of the island nation, had political links to the opposition. But according to Ibrahim, a gang leader in Malé, the murderers were from a gang of extremist Muslims angered by Ali’s moderate views. The cleric was slain immediately after a live television show in which he discussed his faith.

“I met the men who attacked him in prison. They are kind of fanatics. They are different to other gangs because they are religiously minded and think anyone who doesn’t think like them is not a true Muslim and can be killed,” Ibrahim said.

To read more click here.

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