Tag: minivan news

EC to seek AG advice on following Supreme Court guidelines

The Elections Commission (EC) has decided to seek advice from the Attorney General on whether the commission must follow the Supreme Court’s 16 point electoral guideline in the upcoming local council and parliamentary elections.

The Supreme Court had issued the guidelines in October in its verdict annulling the first round of presidential polls held on September 7. EC President Fuwad Thowfeek has previously slammed the guidelines as “restrictions”

EC member Ali Mohamed Manik told local media the commission is abiding by the Supreme Court’s guidelines in preparations for the upcoming elections. However, the EC may face the same challenges if the commission were to follow the Supreme Court’s requirements, Manik said.

The guidelines effectively give candidates veto power over polls as they state the EC must obtain the signature of all candidates on the voter registry and mandates the commission ensure that reports on the voting process are compiled in the presence of candidates’ representatives.

The EC has previously said obtaining the signatures of the 4000 candidates contesting local council elections will be “impossible.”

“While some of the points in the guideline state it applies to all elections, we can see that the complete guideline is actually intended for presidential elections when we look at it in its entirety. Most of what is in the full verdict is also about the presidential election. Furthermore, it will be very difficult to follow some of the points in it in other elections,” Manik said.

The Supreme Court’s requirements caused major delays in this year’s presidential elections with three contestants. The parliamentary election will have hundreds of contestants for the 85 constituencies, while the local council election will have over 4000 of contestants running for 1118 seats in island, atoll and city councils in 20 atolls.

LGA and MMA call to merge elections

The Local Government Authority (LGA) – chaired by Defence Minister Mohamed Nazim – has on Thursday announced it will work with the government to organize simultaneous polls for the local council and parliament.

LGA has also requested the government to include the proposal in the planned amendments to the Decentralisation Act.

“When all the elections are held together, it will decrease the economical cost caused by holding separate elections, while also lessening the tearing up of the national social fabric, which happens as a result of elections”, a statement from the LGA reads, as reported by local media Haveeru.

The statement further said that the funds spent on councils cannot be used productively unless the councils are developed and strengthened. The authority said the proposed amendments to the Decentralisation Act  will assist in cutting costs.

The Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA) has meanwhile recommended combining presidential, parliamentary and local council elections in order to reduce state expenditure and improve governance.

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President appoints new Financial Controller

President Abdulla Yameen has on Saturday appointed Khadheeja Hussain as the new Financial Controller.

The Financial Controller’s post is equivalent to that of a deputy minister. Khadheeja most recently held the position of Internal Auditor at the Parliament. Local media reports that she has years of experience in the financial sector.

Khadheeja was appointed to the post after the former Financial Controller Ahmed Mohamed – who has served in the post in the past three administrations under Presidents Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, Mohamed Nasheed and Mohamed Waheed Hassan – was removed from his post on November 19, two days after President Yameen was sworn in.

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Public Accounts Committee considers conducting “special audit” of state companies

Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee is to deliberate on conducting “special audits” of all state share-owned public companies. The committee has scheduled debates on the matter for Sunday.

According to the Committee’s Chair Abdulla Jabir, the objectives are to have all state companies operating under the same umbrella group and to find means of liquidating companies that fail to make profit.

“We proposed the audit to bring down costs and strengthen the management of public companies. Members of the committee believe that the audit should study company performances in the past five years,” Jabir is quoted as saying in local media.

“We will be looking into whether there is a feasible way of conducting a “special audit” of such companies. Today, state companies need to be restructured and rebranded. We want to liquidate all companies that do not make any profit, and to place all other companies under a holding company that will then be established,” he continued.

Public Accounts Committee has further decided to summon Auditor General Niyaz Ibrahim and Attorney General Mohamed Anil to Sunday’s meeting.

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Government continues plans for first 100 days

Twenty-six days into the administration of President Abdulla Yameen, state institutions have been unveiling plans to commence or to resume projects within a 100 day period of the government’s November 17 inauguration.

A number of ‘roadmaps’ have emerged in the transport, health, and immigration. Similar lists of projects have also been devised for customs, the police, and the military.

Transport and communication

On December 8, the Transport and Communication Ministry revealed that it would finish drafting plans and begin the groundwork within a 100 days to develop the Ibrahim Nasir International Airport (INIA) to be able to cater to 5 million passengers.

Plans were also made to introduce the nighttime landing of flights in Thimarafushi and Fuvahmulah airports within this period.

In the field of land transportation, the ministry pledged to improve local ports, connect islands via seaplane transport and to improve ferry services between atolls.

There are further plans to establish a broadband internet policy and to provide fast-speed internet to all inhabited islands. Besides this, the plan also includes the introducing number portability between the two telecom service providers currently available in the country.

Transport Minister Ameen Ibrahim said that the government’s object was to make the Maldives the most advanced among the SAARC countries in the field of communication.

The government has also announced its intention to build a bridge between Hulhule’ – the airport island- and capital Male’, and have requested proposals from interested companies.

Health

Just a week after the new administration was established, Vice President Dr Mohamed Jameel Ahmed announced that the government had begun to solve issues in providing health services to the people.

Visiting the sole state-owned hospital – IGMH – in capital city Malé on November 24, Jameel announced that the government would begin fulfilling its health policies “as soon as we get the budget for it”, adding that this would include revamping the Aasandha insurance scheme and training nurses and doctors.

Early in December, prior to the appointment of a health minister, President’s Office Minister Abdulla Ameen announced that chemotherapy treatment for cancer patients would be introduced within the first one hundred days.

Stating that the lack of the service forced many Maldivians to live abroad for medical purposes, Ameen said that the introduction of chemotherapy facilities in the country was crucial. He added that screening to diagnose cervical cancer would also be introduced -both under a government insurance scheme.

Echoing Ameen’s assurances of fast development to IGMH, Health Minister Mariyam Shakeela said at a press conference held today that the government was drafting a policy to “bring major development to IGMH in a very short period of time to an extent never before seen”.

She said that this included a complete renewal of the management figures at the hospital.

The minister further revealed that the government had decided to transfer specialist doctors to the atolls for a period of time which would be allocated by the ministry.

Shakeela stated that funds for development are included in the budget, and that the government is also seeking aid from international donors for some of the projects. She hoped that such developments would  lead to “decreasing the burden on Aasandha”.

Shakeela promised that the full 100 day programme would be revealed next week.

Immigration

Immigration Controller Hassan Ali announced on December 5 that the institution’s biggest focus in the first 100 days of Yameen’s government would be to control the issue of illegal immigrants.

The plan itself includes work to offer illegal immigrants a chance to change employees, and increasing the number of illegal immigrants who will be deported in 2014.

The immigration controller also revealed plans to establish an online system of obtaining work visas from Kulhudhuhfushi, establishing a single office to deal with all migrant related work, and a mechanism where e-passports can be issued from two areas of the country.

Customs, Police and Military

The Maldives Police Services has also created a roadmap of goals they will work to achieve in the first 100 days of the Yameen administration.

On December 9, police revealed that the foremost goal in this roadmap is to complete investigation of 80 per cent of ongoing cases – the total amount of which was not specified – and to forward them to the Prosecutor General’s office.

Other goals include completion of investigation into small and petty crimes within a 30 day period, pre-emptive identification and intervention in cases of intention to commit crimes, and the setting up of additional security cameras in Male’ and Addu City.

Police will also be working to eradicate sexual abuse of children, and to establish what they have termed ‘be ready camps’ to achieve this goal in two atolls.

Facilitating youth employment by helping to get sea vessel driving licences, increasing women’s employment in the policing field to 50 percent, and the establishment of a juvenile detention centre is also included among the listed aims.

The roadmap also includes internal work like the establishment of a new system to address complaints against police officers, the creation of a police clinic for health support to officers and their families, and the compilation of a four-year strategic plan on professional development of the force.

Police, together with customs, have also initiated programs to tackle the illegal import and abuse of narcotics and serious and organised crimes.

Customs – which has also revealed a roadmap for the same period – have on December 12, expressed concern that budget limitations may prove to be an obstacle in the realisation of their goals.

Commissioner General of Customs Ahmed Mohamed stated that the budget cuts would affect the institution’s reaching of its objectives, including the provision of more convenient online services.

Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF)’s 100 day strategic plan includes the submission of various amendments to relevant laws – including the Armed Forces Act and Narional Security Act – to the parliament, and the establishment of a ‘justice system’ within the force.

The plan further consists of a variety of other projects, including the addition of a helicopter and landing crafts to its fleet, and the establishment of fire stations in the islands of Kahdhoo and Naifaru.

The military intend to lay the foundation for a new eight story building where the current Coast Guard offices are, to conduct additional international training for officers – especially with the Indian Army, to provide medical care at low fees for general citizens at the Senahiya military hospital, and the establishment of a day care centre for the use of officers and families.

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Government and civil society highlight work needed to safeguard human rights

State institutions have both celebrated the current progress in the protection of human rights in the Maldives, as well as expressing concern about certain violations and restrictions in the field.

A series have statements accompanied the 63rd International Human Rights Day – December 10.

With this year’s Human Rights Day aligning with the Human Rights Commission of the Maldives (HRCM)’s 10th Anniversary, the independent commission held an event on Tuesday night, attended by several cabinet ministers, alongside political and civil society actors.

“It is crucial to overcome obstacles in the protection of rights guaranteed to Maldivians through the constitution and the international treaties, and for all institutions to work justly and equitably to reach this goal,” said HRCM President Mariyam Azra at the event.

Furthermore, in a statement released on Tuesday, the HRCM president stated that while the commission is pleased that human rights has become a topic openly and often discussed over the past decade, there still remains much work that needs to be done in the country to adequately protect human rights.

“What leads to the violation of rights is the lack of respect for rights. The abuse of rights committed by those in high positions oftentimes as a show of power most often affects the most vulnerable persons who are already in need of special protection. That is to say, people who are sidelined by society itself,” the statement read.

While there are state institutions mandated to protect citizens from harm and to bring perpetrators to justice, Azra commented, “as it is humans working in these institutions, a culture of treating others in a manner you would wish yourselves to be treated needs to be better established”.

She also noted that, when intervening in the case of a 15 year old rape victim being charged with fornication and sentenced to 100 lashes by flogging, the commission realised the importance of interventions even at the court proceedings stage.

“When after we intervened, the High Court overruled the Juvenile Court’s sentence on the child, we realised the importance of intervention even at the stages of court hearings. Therefore, we have now planned to conduct further work in the field after seeking cooperation from the judiciary,” she revealed.

“President Yameen has an unwavering commitment to establish a consolidated democracy”

Meanwhile, Minister of Foreign Affairs Dunya Maumoon stated that the Maldives has given “greater impetus and focus to strengthening our systems and institutions to better safeguard human rights and fundamental liberties” since former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom began the introduction of democratic governance in the country in 2004.

While acknowledging that much work needs to be done to safeguard human rights in the country, Dunya stated, “I am pleased to reiterate the unwavering commitment of His Excellency President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom to continue the country’s journey, with greater vigour and determination, to its destination of a consolidated democracy.

She asserted that the government will focus on completing its human rights treaty reporting obligations and reducing the gaps that exist within the framework, among other related work.

She further spoke on the Maldives’ role in the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC), emphasising among other points that the country had “always pledged to defend the Constitution, to strengthen our judiciary and independent institutions and to uphold the rule of law”.

“We have not minced our words in our calls to protect the rights of all Muslims around the world. We have stood up against Islamaphobia and risen to build the fallen bridges of tolerance and respect,” the statement read.

The minister pledged to continue the work through the country’s membership in the UNHRC and at the local level.

State must take initiative to provide justice to those who suffered HR violations: MDN

Local Human Rights NGO Maldivian Democracy Network (MDN) commended the current stability in the country, maintaining that it is the result of having an elected government in place after a politically turbulent period.

Thanking the Elections Commission for its work to defend the right to vote and the losing candidate Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP)’s Mohamed Nasheed and his supporters for their ready acceptance of electoral defeat, the NGO called on security forces and the general public to ensure that the stability in the country is maintained as a peaceful one by refraining from committing acts of violence or injustice against any persons.

“This organisation believes that it is a responsibility of the government to take the initiative to ensure justice for all those who have suffered different manners of abuse and HR violations in these past days,” the statement read.

“It is crucial that state institutions act in accordance with the recommendations put forth by the Commission of National Inquiry,the HRCM and the Police Integrity Commission after concluding investigations into the events of February 7 and 8, 2012. This will be the most important and initial step towards establishing justice,” it continued.

“It is also important to learn of the injustices against separate persons being committed by the judicial, political and social sectors currently, and to ascertain that they proceed in a just manner. We call on the government and concerned state authorities to ensure this.”

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JSC’s transfer of superior court judges termed “unlawful” by Chief Justice

Chief Justice Ahmed Faiz Hussain has stated the Judicial Service Commission (JSC)’s transfer of superior court judges to other courts is unlawful.

Following the JSC’s decision to transfer Judge Abdulla Mohamed from his post as Criminal Court Chief Judge to the same position in the Drug Court on Monday, Faiz sent a letter to the president of the judicial watchdog Adam Mohamed on Tuesday stating that the commission did not have the legal authority to carry out such transfers.

Faiz subsequently deemed such decisions made by JSC to be “unlawful”.

The letter states that although Article 159(a) gives the JSC the authority to appoint, promote or transfer judges other than those from the Supreme Court, it “must not be interpreted as an absolute right”.

He then stated that the Judges’ Act mandates any transfer of a judge from his appointed court can only be carried out following deliberation with the Judicial Council.

The Judicial Council, meanwhile, is compiled of the seven judges sitting on the Supreme Court bench. Faiz stated in his letter that no judge should be transferred without consulting the Supreme Court first.

The Senior Legal and Complaints Officer Hassan Faheem Ibrahim – acting head at the JSC – confirmed to Minivan News that the commission had received the letter today.

“Since it is the Chief Justice who has sent this letter, we will not have any views on it or comments to make about it. It is the commission who will decide after they have deliberated on the matter. No meetings for the matter have been scheduled yet,” Faheem said.

Article 159(a) of the Maldives Constitution states that “The Judicial Services Commission is entrusted with the responsibility and power to appoint, promote and transfer Judges other the Chief Justice and Judges of the Supreme Court, and to make recommendations to the President on the appointment of the Chief Justice and Judges of the Supreme Court.

Article 49 of the Judges’ Act refers to temporary transfer of judges from one court to another and states “Temporary appointment of a Judge to preside over cases in a court will be decided upon by the Judicial Services Commission under the advice of the Judicial Council”.

Speaking to Minivan News on Monday, appointee from the Parliament to the JSC, Maldivian Democratic Party MP Ahmed Hamza said that about eight judges have so far been transferred from the courts they previously presided over. He added that the decision to transfer Judge Abdulla Mohamed was made to strengthen the courts by transferring experienced judges to different courts so as to spread knowledge and expertise.

Judge Abdulla Mohamed has previously been under investigation from the JSC, for allegations of ethical misconduct and obstruction of corruption investigations among others.

The decision of President Mohamed Nasheed to detain Mohamed in January 2012 fuelled a series of protests by then-opposition political parties, eventually leading to a police and military mutiny and Nasheed’s resignation.

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UNFPA calls for review of judicial practices surrounding sexual behaviour in the Maldives

The UNFPA has this week released the State of the World Population Report, along with a report focusing on the local context, titled “Reproductive Health Knowledge and Behaviour of Young Unmarried Women in the Maldives”.

The report includes recommendations calling on the state to review existing practices related to the matter within the judicial process, law enforcement, education and health sectors.

Minister of Education Aishath Shiham inaugurated the event, highlighting the state’s plans to resume awareness programs for adolescents in schools in 2014.

“The UNFPA’s Life Skills Package is the program that was most systematically and effectively run in Maldivian schools to tackle the issue of adolescent pregnancies. Over a 1000 people have been trained to be able to conduct this program. I am announcing here today that with the start of the new administrative year in 2014, the UNFPA Life Skill Package will be reintroduced,” she stated.

The minister further noted the importance of including similar concepts in teacher training courses.

Youth sexual behaviour outside marriage

The report states that while the age of marriage has been increased to 18 in the year 2000 – following which the average age of first marriage has risen to 19 in recent years – sexual and reproductive health services and commodity supplies remain available solely to married couples.

It states that while the “underlying assumption is that sexual intimacy does not or should not occur before marriage”, and while this is in accordance with societal and religious views, there is “ample evidence that this is inconsistent with the social realities of youth sexual behaviour”.

The report provides a number of studies supporting their findings, including a youth perception study conducted, in which 90 percent agreed that it is more common for “couples to initiate sexual intercourse before marriage”.

It further notes the existence of young female sex workers, citing the Biological and Behavioural Survey of 2008 which noted a prevalence of “unprotected sex with multiple partners” within the 15 – 17 age group and above.

Another cited study indicated that unsafe practices of abortion are more common among unmarried youth than their married counterparts.

“Pregnancy outside marriage is in fact, a criminal offence…Nevertheless, it has to be acknowledged that sexual activity is a consistent social reality…” the report stated, before pointing out that the issue contributes to the “public health burden of the country”, and that it stems from “a complex mix of health, social and legal consequences, primarily connected to the occurrence of pregnancy outside marriage”.

As the clearest evidence of extra-marital pregnancies, the report cites IGMH’s Family Protection Unit’s data, showing the occurrence of such pregnancies to be the third most common issue among patients it has attended to since it opened in 2006. It states that out of 41 cases recorded in an year, some have resulted from rape and sexual abuse.

“The social and legal implications connected to out of wedlock pregnancy creates an intricate link between pregnancy outside marriage and abortion. Consequently, unsafe abortion is a key issue among young Maldivian women,” it said.

Sexual and reproductive health knowledge

The report highlights that due to societal and religious taboos, sexual and reproductive health (SRH) knowledge among youth – especially unmarried youth – is alarmingly low.

The report states that information related to SRH is taught in schools within the Biology and Islam syllabuses, though not at a meaningful or significant level.

Highlighting the disparity between the number of men and women prosecuted for fornication under Sharia law, the report stated that “paternity testing is not used as admissible evidence in court and the opportunity for men to deny guilt makes male accountability something of a farce”.

The report concluded with a variety of recommendations to the health, education, judicial sectors, as well as media outlets.

In addition to encouraging various forms of awareness raising, the UNFPA called on the law enforcement sector to revise sentencing practices in which gender discrimination occurs, to review the current punitive practice of dissolving marriages if a child is born within a gestation timeframe inconsistent with the duration of marriage, and to review the non-acceptance of paternity testing in cases of extra-marital pregnancies.

Read the full report here (english).

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HRCM launches investigation into allegations of police brutality against minors

The Human Rights Commission of the Maldives (HRCM) has begun investigating a case of alleged brutality and torture by police during the arrest of two minors.

“While I can confirm that such an investigation has been launched, we cannot reveal much details yet as the investigation is just in its beginning stages,” HRCM Member Jeehan Mahmoodh told Minivan News today.

Police have responded by saying that they are not aware of the case to which the HRCM is referring.

Jeehan stated that the commission had received the related complaint in the early hours of Thursday, December 5. According to her, the commission has sent an investigation team to meet with the victims within 24 hours of their arrest.

“We have observed that there are violations of some extent and are conducting investigations to identify the exact nature and level of the violations. Both the minors are male, and are of 15 and 16 years of age,” she said.

Jeehan further confirmed that both minors remain in custody, following an extension of their sentences.

“No idea who the HRCM is referring to”: Police

Police Media Official responded that they do not know which case or which detainees the HRCM is referring to, stating that they had not received any inquiries about the matter from the commission to date.

“I have no idea who the HRCM is referring to in these allegations, or which case they are speaking of. We have not received any complaints of ill-treatment or torture from any detained persons. Hearing about this issue, I have called up a number of authorities last night, and yet no one has been able to confirm which case is being referred to here,” the official stated.

“While the HRCM says they have attended the case within 24 hours of the arrest being made, this is still not enough information for us to identify the case in question. Within those 24 hours, we have brought multiple minors under arrest, some of these are even from distant atolls,” the media official explained.

“The HRCM is permitted to visit any detainees at any time, and I suppose that is what they are doing, and it is they who will probably release reports on the matter. So far, the commission has neither contacted us about the issue, asked for clarifications, nor made any inquiries,” he said.

Police Integrity Commission’s Secretary General Fathimath Sareera was not responding to calls at the time of press.

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Submission of revised budget delayed for fourth time

Amendments to the 2014 state budget could not be submitted as scheduled today, Finance Minister Abdulla Jihad has stated, delaying the submission process for the fourth time.

The budget – submitted by the outgoing administration of President Dr Mohamed Waheed – has been undergoing amendments in accordance with the aims of the new government of President Abdulla Yameen.

Jihad – finance minister under both presidents – told local media today that although the final draft cannot be submitted to parliament today, the majority of the work had been completed.

He stated that the main reason for the delay was that the government had so far not provided enough details about some projects they wished to include in the budget.

Jihad asserted that a final draft of the budget with all the required amendments will be ready for submission by Sunday, December 8.

The Finance Ministry has stated that issues such as decreasing overtime allowances and non-profit allowances, and revising conditions for the provision of subsidies will be reviewed when submitting the newly amended budget.

President Yameen has expressed concern over the economic vulnerability of the Maldives and pledged to reduce state expenditure by MVR1 billion (US$64.9million).

“State debt is sky high. The state budget’s expenses are extremely high. Hence, we have to prioritise reducing state expenditure. I will start work very soon to reduce budget expenses,” Yameen said during his inauguration speech.

The Maldives Monetary Authorities’ (MMA) most recent quarterly review noted that Government finances had “further deteriorated in the first six months of 2013” due to a sizeable shortfall in expected revenue coupled with a marked increase in recurrent expenditure.

While the delay has brought the work of Parliament’s budget committee to a temporary halt, Speaker of Parliament Abdulla Shahid has instructed the committee to submit its final review report on the budget to the Parliament floor by December 15.

Elsewhere, the Public Accounts Committee has today passed a proposal for the government to obtain a US$29million loan from the Bank of Ceylon as annual budget support and submitted it to the parliament.

The loan request was submitted by the Waheed administration in September.

The Public Accounts Committee report outlines that the loan is to be paid back by the government in a period of six years. The loan has a grace period of one year, after which a monthly payment of US$490,000 has to be paid to the Bank of Ceylon.

The committee has passed the proposal for the loan despite it having an 8% interest rate – the parliament had previously decided that any loans taken by the government must have an interest rate of no higher than 7%.

Earlier this week Indian media reported that the country would soon be releasing a further installment of the US$100million standby credit facility.

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