Tag: minivan

Housing Ministry received 5000 applications for housing loan scheme

Minister of Housing and Infrastructure Dr Mohamed Muizzu has told parliament on Tuesday that the ministry had received over 5000 applications for a home construction loan scheme titled “Islamic Facility”.

Islamic Facility is a scheme under which the ministry in alliance with the Housing Development Finance Corporation (HDFC) provides loans to home owners who are unable to construct housing on their land due to financial constraints.

Under the scheme, applicants will be given loans amounting from MVR 50,000 to MVR 4,000,000, to be paid back within a maximum period of 20 years. Thirty percent of all loans issued under the scheme will be given to persons who are between 18 and 34 years of age.

Muizzu revealed in parliament today that the ministry is currently undertaking the work of verifying the submitted application forms. He stated that they will begin issuing the loans in the next 45 days.

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Man fined for attempting assault on a police officer

Ahmed Farrah of Evening Rose in Maafannu Ward of capital Malé City has been fined an amount of MVR 3000 for attempting assault on a police officer.

The Criminal Court sentenced Farrah to pay the fine to the court within a period of 30 days.

Local media reports that he was prosecuted for attempting to assault a police officer who tried to stop him at a checkpoint in 2012.

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JP to sue three MPs for switching parties

The Jumhooree Party (JP) is to sue three parliamentarians who switched to the ruling Progressive Party of the Maldives.

The unanimous decision was announced at a party meeting on Saturday night, but the former ruling coalition partner is yet to decide on how to pursue the case.

JP council members said MPs had sworn in the name of Allah to refrain from crossing the floor and the switch had caused damage to the party. The PPM bribed MPs, JP alleged.

“The PPM’s actions in offering unattainably high incentives to parliamentarians of our party, and providing them with financial and material incentives so as to have them switch to their party, are against the vows they made to the public in their ascension to power,” a JP statement read.

The JP’s backing was crucial in PPM’s presidential win in November. The two parties decided to field joint candidates under separate party banners for the 85 member house in March. The PPM won 33 of the 50 seats it contested, while the JP won 15 of the 28 seats it contested. Coalition partner Maldives Development Alliance won five seats.

The PPM severed its coalition agreement with the JP in May after the coalition partner’s leader, Gasim Ibrahim, ran for the post of Majlis speaker despite the PPM fielding its senior MP Abdulla Maseeh Mohamed as the ruling coalition’s candidate.

JP currently has 12 MPs after Ihavandhoo MP Mohamed ‘Muhamma’ Abdulla, Milandhoo MP Hassan Mufeed Abdul Gadhir and Nolhivaram MP Hassan Areef’s signed to the PPM.

The MPs said they were urged by their constituents to join the ruling party to speed up development of their constituencies.

Following the loss of two JP MPs last month, Gasim claimed at a press conference that the MPs had told him that the government had threatened to cease development of islands in their constituencies. Gasim said he had heard that the pair were offered MVR10 million (US$648,508) each for the transfer.

The JP leader heavily criticised the pair for allegedly reneging on an agreement signed under oath “before God Almighty” to remain in the JP until the end of their five-year terms.

In response, the PPM has denied offering any incentives for crossing the floor.

“Today’s reality is that because PPM is in government, many members are taking their own intiative in joining our party. This is done with the intention of providing development to the constituencies they represent,” PPM Deputy Leader Abdul Raheem Abdulla told local media.

Meanwhile, MP Muhamma told Minivan News he does not believe the JP has the grounds to take him to court.

“I don’t believe the JP can go to court on this matter. I don’t believe that any agreement made against the constitution can be valid,” he said.

He further claimed that it is “far more logical” for the JP to take PPM to court for breaking up the coalition than to sue individual parliamentarians.

The PPM now has a 43 member majority. In addition to the three JP MPs, four out of five independent MPs, and three opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) MPs have switched to the ruling party.

Minivan News was unable to contact parliamentarians Hassan Mufeed Abdul Gadir and Hassan Areef for comments at the time of press.

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Row escalates over FIFA World Cup broadcasting rights

Cable TV service provider Medianet is suing the Maldives Broadcasting Commission (MBC) after the commission ordered the company to halt airing FIFA World Cup matches on any channels except state broadcaster Television Maldives and private broadcaster Villa TV (VTV).

Medianet has been airing matches on channels Sony Six, Sony Six HD and Sony Pix under rebroadcasting agreements. But the MBC said only TVM and VTV are authorized to broadcast World Cup matches.

In a letter to the MBC, Medianet’s legal representatives claimed the MBC’s order is unlawful and said a proper investigation must be conducted.

MBC had said Medianet’s agreement with Sony MSM had not been made in accordance with the Maldives rebroadcasting regulations.

MBC also stated that Medianet had charged an extra fee from customers in early June for viewing the matches on channels 100 and 100 plus against the rebroadcasting regulations.

Medianet has accused MBC of prejudice against the company and said it will sue the company and every individual member for damages caused by the commission’s order.

The company filed a case at the Civil Court on Wednesday seeking annulment of the Medianet’s order. According to local media, the judge presiding over the case estimated hearings will be completed by Sunday.

Medianet further stated that the MBC order released wrongful allegations to the public and said the commission’s sudden order issued to halt broadcasting of matches on channels other than TVM and VTV could be interpreted as an attempt to benefit certain parties.

MBC has also responded to the letter sent by Medianet’s legal representative, dismissing the claims that their orders are unlawful. They, in turn, have ordered Medianet to follow their orders without setting further conditions

MBC also stated that Medianet had charged an extra fee from customers for viewing the matches on channels 100 and 100 plus against the rebroadcasting regulations.

It also stated that the commission has received complaints that Medianet had refused to cooperate with repeated requests from TVM and VTV to broadcast their matches in high definition. It advised the company to provide such services to all channels without discrimination.

MBC has further announced on Wednesday that it is opening an opportunity for other interested parties to apply for cable TV provision licenses. Currently the only company providing the service is Medianet.

The commission claimed that it is taking this step to increase competition in the field, which will in turn lead to the provision of better services at more competitive prices to the public.

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Islamic Ministry to provide financial aid to private Quran classes

The Ministry of Islamic Affairs has announced that it will be accepting applications for financial aid from privately run Quran classes from next Monday.

Deputy Minister of Islamic Affairs Ali Waheed told local media that only three classes had applied for the when the program was previously announced.

The ministry has decided to provide financial assistance to 25 Quran classes this year from the Zakath fund.

They will be providing a monthly allowance of MVR 2000 (US$ 130) for each business that qualifies for the program.

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MNCCI issues laptops on installment to Iskandhar School teachers

The Maldives National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MNCCI) has issued ten laptops to Iskandhar School teachers on installment basis.

Teachers are expected to pay for the laptops under a scheme where they pay an amount of MVR 100 (US$ 6.48) per month. No interest will be added to the price of the laptops, the MNCCI said.

At an event held to hand over the laptops on Thursday, MNCCI Vice President Ismail Asif said program is being conducted under the chamber’s corporate social responsibility program.

“We are looking into ways in which we can help various field. We are focusing on two fields this year. That is the health and education sectors,” Asif told local media.

In addition to issuing laptops, MNCCI has also supplied the school with equipment needed for their science laboratory.

The MNCCI said they will run similar programs for other schools in the future as much as their budget allowed.

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Government declares an extra day as a public holiday on the occasion of Fitr Eid

President Abdulla Yameen has declared an extra day as a public holiday in relation to the occasion of Fitr Eid at the end of the month of Ramadan.

The President’s Office announced that if the Ministry of Islamic Affairs announces July 28 to be Fitr Eid, then July 31 will also be a holiday. If the Ministry instead announces July 29 to be Fitr Eid, then July 28 will be a holiday.

Government bodies will reopen on August 3 after Fitr Eid holidays.

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Public finance committee to summon STELCO

Parliament’s public finance committee has on Thursday decided to summon State Electric Company Limited (STELCO) for questioning regarding its operations.

MPs decided to extend the duration of overdraft facility provided to STELCO by the Bank of Maldives in relation to a MVR 50 million loan and voiced concerns over the management of STELCO.

Maradhoo constituency MP Ibrahim Shareef said electricity is a basic necessity and expressed concern about how the company is run. Mandhoo constituency MP Ahmed ‘ADK’ Nashid alleged that STELCO is not run in a cost effective manner.

Eydhafushi Constituency MP Ahmed ‘Redwave’ Saleem echoed Shareef’s concern and suggested that STELCO be summoned for questioning.

Eight of the members in attendance voted in favour of summoning STELCO for questioning.

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Government opens applications for National Awards

The President’s Office on Wednesday has opened applications and nominations for the annual National Awards.

Applications will be accepted until the end of August and forms are available on the President’s Office website.

The National Awards aim to recognize service in a variety of fields.

At a press conference held today, President of the National Awards Committee Abdul Rasheed Hussain stated that the categories in which awards will be given will be published in today’s edition of the government gazette.

He revealed that awards will be categorized into two Awards of Honour and Awards of Encouragement.

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