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Authorities failed to address safety concerns before deadly crane accident, says Port Worker’s Union

Following the death of two port workers last night (April 7), the Maldives Ports Workers Union (MPWU) has said that staff had repeatedly complained that the boat and the crane involved were unsafe.

Port workers, including the winch men, had reportedly complained that the boat concerned was not safe and that the rollers (a part of the crane) had not been serviced.

Mohamed Nashid, 32, from Kudafary in Noonu atoll and Ibrahim Shareef, 36, from Malé were both killed when the crane’s wire snapped while loading a container onto the boat. The crane’s operator, Imran, fainted on seeing the incident and suffered minor injuries as a result.

Maldives Ports Limited (MPL) has said that all safety requirements had been met, and that the port adhered to international safety standards.

Head of the MPWU Ibrahim Khaleel has said, however, that “employees are in a state of fear.”

“MPL has failed to address any complaints, and furthermore blacklists any employees who complain claiming they are against the government and the management.”

“We have not yet been able to identify who should bear responsibility for the accident,” stated Khaleel, adding that the Transport Ministry must bear some responsibility as it has to do routine inspections on the vessels.

CEO of MPL Mahdi Imad said at a press conference today that all port staff are insured and trained under ILO’s port training. The ships and cranes are checked once a year, he noted, and when the containers were being unloaded all safety requirements were met.

Tragic accident

The ship, named the Morning Viship, had been travelling from Cochin, India, where it had reportedly been shored and renovated.

According to Khaleel, the container fell while a crane was loading it ontothe boat. Reports stated that a piece of the crane’s equipment cracked, causing a flying piece of metal to strike the two MPL staff below, one on the head and the other on his back.

Mohamed Nashid, father of two, was killed instantly from the impact, suffering massive head injuries. Meanwhile, Ibrahim Shareef – a father of three – died while being treated at IGMH for severe skull and back injuries.

The crane operator Imran, fainted upon seeing the accident, with authorities struggling to remove him from the controls as he remained unconscious for an hour after the incident. He suffered minor injuries, and was taken to the ADK hospital for treatment.

Additionally, MPL Cargo Department General Manager Mohamed Hashim contended that such accidents were rare at the Malé business port with just four in MPL’s history. Safety classes and training were conducted regularly for MPL staff, he added.

While Imad and Hashim insisted that safety measures were up to the International Labour Organisation (ILO) standards, newspaper Haveeru has reported an unnamed MPL staff as claiming that mandatory safety officers were not present last night when the incident occurred.

“Safety officers came to the scene of the incident after more than 30 minutes. And ILO standards state that everyone at the scene must be given counselling after such a serious incident. But nothing like that has been done either,” the anonymous employee was quoted as saying.

The MPWU also contended in a press release today that none of the previous incidents were adequately investigated and that no corrective measures were taken. The union called on authorities for full investigation and to provide compensation to victim’s families.

Hashim said the transport authority and the marine police have launched an investigation, and that MPL operations are suspended until tomorrow while Police have cordon off the business port compound for their investigation.

In an appeal to the public, the Police have appealed to people not to share the victims’ dead bodies on social media. “Such acts deepen the pain of the victim’s families and friends,” the police stated.

MPL’s Imad said that work had been suspended today for an investigation, and will restart at 7:30am tomorrow morning. He confirmed that the MPL will bear all the costs for the two men’s children until they are 18.

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Two men taken into police custody for possession of drugs and alcohol

Police have said today (April 8) that two individuals have been taken into custody for possession of what is suspected of being illicit narcotics, along with alcohol from M. Aathari.

The two locals arrested were a 27 year old and an 18 year old male.

The operation involved the raid of M. Aathari where 3 packets of suspicious substances were found, along with 7 bottles of alcohol, 16 empty bottles, a large amount of money and implements used to partake in illicit narcotics.

The Drug Enforcement Department is investigating the matter further, stated Police.

Yesterday, police revealed that a large cache of alcohol had been seized from a house in Malé the previous day.

A total of 115 bottles and 48 cans of liquor were seized in the raid.

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Police open detention facility in Fuvahmulah

Police Commissioner Hussain Waheed has opened a new detention centre in Fuvahmulah during a special ceremony held yesterday (April 6).

The facility – which is established within the premises of Fuvahmulah police station – can hold up to 20 detainees and consists of ten cells.

According to local media Sun Online,Commissioner Waheed said that while the police have the authority to detain persons suspected of crimes, he hoped that the facility would stay vacant most of the time.

He reportedly said that this can only be achieved if all groups work together to prevent crime in the atoll.

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Teachers across Maldives take part in ‘black protest’

Teachers across the Maldives have today (April 6) taken part in a ‘black protest’ – wearing black clothes to school – to raise awareness of pay discrepancies and what they see as the state’s failure to improve the education sector.

“This is the first step, we want to draw attention to these issues. For the sake of our students we will go to work until we exhaust all other ways,” said Teachers Association Maldives (TAM) president Athif Abdul Hakeem.

One teacher told Minivan News that the move has come after repeated attempts to work through official channels.

“The reason we are doing this to express our grievances. Our discontentment with salary and allowances, lack of resources and and other issues we face in teaching,” stated Mausoom Saleem of Thaajuddheen School, Malé.

Athif had previously explained to Minivan News that teachers were working overtime without being paid for it.

“Independent institutions haven’t noticed this. If they don’t do this work it could be reflected in their appraisal, and they even fear termination. So they work. But without getting paid for the work,” he said.

Teachers’ overtime allowances have been reduced to just five percent of the basic salary, which on average amounts to less than MVR300 per month. But teachers have complained that school will not run without teachers doing overtime work.

In a letter sent out to schools prior to the protest, the Ministry of Education had said that pamphlets distributed by the TAM consist of false allegations that might create conflict and unrest, it has been reported.

The ministry also stated that since school premises are “dignified”, teachers must not do anything that may have a negative effect on students, reported local media Haveeru.

“Therefore, no one must participate in an an activity encouraged in the documents distributed under the name of Teachers’ Association on April 6. Please inform the teachers working in your institutions accordingly,” the letter was said to have read.

One ministry official with whom Minivan News spoke today denied there was any protest happening, and was unwilling to provide further comment.

Show of solidarity

Saleem – who has worked as a teacher for 10 years, with 8 of those at Thaajuddheen – explained that an estimated 60% of the teachers were taking part in the black protest.

“I don’t think wearing a specific colour to school will have any impact on the students. I believe they will understand that we are doing this for them. This is not just about teachers, this is about the education system.”

Parents, too, he noted were taking part in the protest by dropping off the children today wearing black.

“I think this was a display of solidarity. We are also seeing a lot of pictures [of people wearing black] on social media, with supportive comments.”

Teachers from Thaajuddheen School take part in the 'Black Protest'

Another teacher taking part in the protest– who wishes to stay anonymous – spoke with Minivan News today. The source stated that as well as marking, there are other demanding after school and weekend functions that teachers are expected to work without getting any overtime pay.

“I have never been paid any overtime,” stated the source, who has taught in the Maldives for three and a half years. They gave the example of working the Founder’s Day celebration which took place across many schools and organisations- “we had to work the function and we didn’t have a choice. This was 8 hours work during the day on our day off, with no payment and no choice.”

“I personally don’t have adequate time to plan, I have too many lessons after they recently changed my timetable.” In a previous school, the source stated they had taught for 18 periods per week – that has recently gone up to 31.

Free periods are often time that teachers will use for planning, marking, ensuring children get to their next lessons safely, or after school activites.

“I have 11 free periods, but we also do after-school clubs, I run an extra support class where I teach children for an extra hour after the lesson.”

“I may not be teaching, but these things are not taken into consideration,” the source stated.

TAM President Athif said  in February of this year that meetings with the Education Ministry had resulted only in the promise of more meetings.

“So in late January (2014) we requested to arrange a meeting but there was no response. So sent another letter this month. now we are waiting to discuss our issues. our next step will depend on how that goes,” Athif said.

According to TAM the organisation has 1,500 permanent member and an estimated 4,000 Maldivian teachers across the country who will participate. Recent Civil Service Commission data shows there to be 5,676 teachers in the Maldives – 4,855 of them are locals.

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Alleged drug lord released from custody after police were late to court

A man has been released from police custody yesterday (April 2) after being taken to the Criminal Court seven minutes past his legally allowed period of detention.

Local media reported that the police had arrested the individual on a drug case, and that he was allegedly one of the drug barons arrested earlier this year.

When authorities realised his detention period had expired, the man was released by police without charge.

According to the constitution, any person detained must be presented before a judge within 24 hours.

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Thirty percent of cases rejected by Criminal Court in past three months

The Prosecutor General’s Office has revealed that the Criminal Court has rejected 120 out of 383 cases submitted over the past three months.

At a press conference held on today (April 3), Deputy Prosecutor General (PG) Hussain Shameem stated that the total number of cases rejected and returned by the Criminal Court had now reached 435.

The Criminal Court had previously refused to accept new cases from the PG’s office, citing the Majis’s failure to approve a new candidate within the constitutionally stated period after or Ahmed Muiz’s November 2013 resignation.

The backlog of cases pending at the PG’s Office reached 533 as a result of the Criminal Court’s stance, before the court resumed acceptance of cases after a Supreme Court intervention.

Shameem stated today that the Criminal Court has still returned 120 cases since that time.

After the Criminal Court introduced new regulations governing the procedures for submitting cases in February, it subsequently rejected 60 cases forwarded from the PG’s Office, prompting Shameem to accuse the court of usurping powers reserved by the Supreme Court.

Shameem today revealed that one of the justifications given by the court when returning cases is that the accused is not originally from the capital city Malé where the court is located, claiming that hence the jurisdiction therefore falls to the relevant island magistrate court.

Shameem claimed that the Criminal Court can indeed preside over these cases as the crimes were committed in Malé and also because referring the cases to island magistrate courts would five rise to further administrative complications.

“The objective of the law is also to provide services conveniently. This is why the law is in such a way that allows superior courts to preside over all types of cases,” said Shameem.

“However, things are currently not proceeding in a way that fulfills the objective of this law,” Shameem claimed.

He further added that the PG’s Office has again appealed to the Supreme Court to assist in finding a solution to the matter.

According to Shameem, another reason the courts have used in returning cases is the state’s failure to appoint interpreters in cases where there are foreign witnesses.

Shameem explained today that the law states the provision of interpreters to fall under the mandate of the court presiding over the particular case in question.

After disputes with court staff over unpaid overtime, local media reported the court had been forced to curtail working hours due to budgetary restraints.

The deputy PG stated that police had sent 829 cases in the past three months to his office after completion of investigation.

He further revealed that the office had sent 932 cases to various courts in the past three months, adding that 356 other cases were currently prepared to be forwarded to a court after the prosecution’s work has been completed.

According to Shameem, the cases recently submitted include 383 cases forwarded to the Criminal Court, 210 cases submitted to the Drug Court, 22 cases submitted to the Juvenile Court, and 317 cases submitted to various magistrate courts around the country.

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MDP accuses government-aligned parties of corruption and bribery in Majlis election

The opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) has condemned alleged attempts by government-aligned parties to influence voting in the recently held parliamentary elections through coercion and threats.

“The MDP expresses concern and strongly condemns the actions of government-aligned political persons to buy votes, threaten people with losing their jobs, and instruct some voters to make a special marking on ballot papers – thereby compromising the confidentiality of votes cast,” a party statement read.

The party’s allegations are said to be based on what it calls “valid complaints” it has been receiving – actions it beleives constitutes corruption and bribery.

“Furthermore, it is also a breach of law to coerce the revealing of confidential votes, and to act upon such coercion,” the statement continued.

The MDP accused the ruling parties of threatening that individuals would lose their jobs, and requiring these people to specially mark their ballot paper in order for observers and party representatives to see how the vote was cast.

“The recently completed parliamentary elections is one which many citizens claim – and has been proven – to have been tainted by corruption, threats against job security, compromising of the Elections Commissions independence and legal mandate, large amounts of dirty money being used as bribery, and vast cases of vote buying.

The MDP will therefore further investigate these claims and take possible action against them. We further call on the Elections Commission and and other relevant state authorities to look into the matter,” the statement concluded.

The parliamentary elections held on March 22nd were observed by local NGO Transparency Maldives, as well as delegations from the European Union and the Commonwealth.

Following the conclusion of the election, Transparency Maldives stated that while it was well-administered and transparent, “wider issues of money politics threatens to hijack the democratic process”.

As well as previous suggestions of undue influence from the MDP, the Adhaalath Party has also blamed its poor showing on bribery and coercion – accusing both sides of such practices.

“We saw it both from the ruling party and opposition Maldivian Democratic Party but we really did not want to buy votes –  instead we tried to change the way people think,’’ party Spokesperson Ali Zahir told Minivan News last week.

Ruling Progressive Party of Maldives MP Ahmed Nihan and President’s Office Spokersperson Ibrahim Muaz Ali were not responding to calls at the time of press.

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Progressive Coalition to hold public feast to celebrate election results

The Progressive Coalition is to host a feast for the public to mark the Majlis elections success, according to local media outlet Vnews.

Speaking in a press conference held in Progressive Party of Maldives offices in Janavaree magu, President’s Office Spokesperson Ibrahim Muaz Ali stated that the feast, titled ‘Shukuriyyaa Gaumu’ or ‘Thank you, Nation’, was part of the festivities to mark their success in the parliamentary elections.

Muaz added that senior officials of the Coalition partners will participate in the feast. He also said that the Coalition had invited members of opposition Maldivian Democratic Party.

The Progressive Coalition won a total of 53 of the 85 Majlis seats being contested on March 22, with the subsequent addition of 4 more MPs-elect swelling the number to 57.

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Ministry of Environment holds panel discussion to reflect on World Water Day 2014

The Ministry of Environment and Energy yesterday (April 1) held a panel discussion as well as a question and answer session to mark the occasion of the World Water Day 2013, which fell on March 22.

According to the press statement, the presentations covered a range of topics from water and energy, the history of water and sewerage systems in Maldives, the current plans and policies of the government including summary information on projects, meteorological aspects related to water security, water as a human right, issues related to water quality, and how water is related to climate change.

The event was held mainly for the students studying environmental management, journalism, and teaching at the Maldives National University (MNU). Their participation was intended to enrich their knowledge and to orient them towards environmental issues in Maldives, the ministry’s press release stated.

The event was held in association with the Faculty of Science at MNU, with a welcome address given by the Deputy Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs Dr Ali Shareef, followed by the speech by the State Minister for Environment and Energy Hasan Shah.

Minister of State for Environment and Energy Abdul Matheen Mohamed has previously told Minivan News that the government is emphasising integrated systems in order to make the best use of the water resources currently available in the country.

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