Tag: parliament

Bill proposed to raise disability benefits to MVR5,000 a month

MP Ibrahim Muttalib has submitted an amendment to the Disabilities Act to raise the monthly allowance provided to persons with special needs from MVR2,000 (US$150) to MVR5,000 (US$324).

The MP for Fares-Maathoda – who failed to win re-election in last month’s polls – stated in the draft legislation (Dhivehi) that its purpose was to provide financial assistance to families with persons with special needs to seek medical treatment overseas.

While treatment for disabled persons was covered in the government’s ‘Aasandha’ health insurance scheme, Muttalib stated that securing Aasandha in hospitals abroad was difficult for families.

The first reading of the bill took place at today’s sitting of parliament, after which the amendments will be tabled for a preliminary debate.

The Disabilities Act (Dhivehi) was passed in July 2010 to provide financial assistance and protect the rights of persons with special needs whilst a national registry was compiled in 2011 with more than 4,000 active members.

Citing a 2010 report by the Human Rights Commission of Maldives and the UNDP, the US State Department’s 2013 Human Rights Report on the Maldives noted that “most schools accepted only children with very limited to moderate disabilities and not those with more serious disabilities.”

“Children with disabilities had virtually no access or transition to secondary-level education. Only three psychiatrists, two of them foreign, worked in the country, and they primarily worked on drug rehabilitation. No mental health care was available in Male. There also was a lack of quality residential care,” the report stated.

State benefits

Meanwhile, in March, the government raised the old age pensions from MVR2,300 to MVR5,000 a month to fulfil a campaign pledge by President Abdulla Yameen and the ruling Progressive Party of Maldives.

While the government insists that enough funds to provide the increased benefits could be generated by investing in pension funds and financial instruments, critics have argued that, with a MVR1.3 billion (US$84.3 million) deficit budget, the move will plunge the country further into debt.

“These are loans, and taking loans is acceptable to invest in to increasing productivity. But this is not such an investment, this is something the government is spending. Eventually people will have to bear the burden of this,” former Economic Development Minister Mahmud Razee told Minivan News last month.

A World Bank report at the end of 2013 urged the government to reduce spending in order reduce the “unsustainable” public debt which currently stands at 81 percent of GDP, and could rise to 96 percent by 2015.

“Maldives is spending beyond its means and financing the budget risks affecting the real economy,” the report said.

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Committee approves amendment for state to cover expenses of president’s and vice president’s private residences

A parliamentary committee has approved amendments proposed to the law governing remuneration and benefits for the president and vice president for the state to cover expenses of the pair’s private residences.

If the president and vice president choose not to live in the official residences, the amendments stipulate that the state should provide employees and cover other expenses out of the budget allocated for the official residence.

The amendments submitted by Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) MP Riyaz Rasheed were sent to a select committee for review following preliminary debate on March 31.

The bill was sent to committee with 29 votes in favour and 17 against with no abstentions. While pro-government MPs voted in favour, MPs of the opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) voted against the legislation.

After completing the review process in two meetings, the seven-member committee voted unanimously to send the bill (Dhivehi) without any changes to the People’s Majlis floor, where it will be put to a vote.

In addition to Riyaz Rasheed, the select committee comprised of government-aligned Jumhooree Party (JP) MPs Ilham Ahmed, Hussain Mohamed, and Ahmed Sameer along with PPM MP Moosa Zameer, Maldives Development Alliance MP Ahmed Amir, and Adhaalath Party MP Ibrahim Muttalib.

The opposition MDP was not represented in the committee.

Immediately after being sworn in on November 17, President Abdulla Yameen announced he and his vice president – Dr Mohamed Jameel Ahmed –  would be fulfilling a campaign pledge of only taking half of the MVR100,000 (US$6500) salary afforded to the head of state.

“The reason behind this is that Dr Jameel and I both live a simple life. No matter what has been said about us we are not wealthy. We want to be an example to others and lead by example,” Yameen said.

After assuming office, President Yameen announced that he would continue to live in his private residence while Dr Jameel moved into the official vice presidential residence, Hilaaleege.

However, despite Yameen’s decision, the budget allocated for the official residence was increased by MVR2 million (US$130,208) in the state budget for 2014 – rising to MVR19.1 million (US$1.2 million).

In December last year, Parliament’s Budget Review Committee Chair Gasim Ibrahim – leader of the JP – said the increased budget was necessary in case the president decides to move to Muleeage.

Highlighting the increased budget for Muleeage at the time, MDP Spokesperson Hamid Abdul Ghafoor described Yameen’s decision to live in his personal house as a “symbolic act.”

“Unlike in the past, even media points out inconsistencies in what leaders say and what reality presents these days. I do not believe the public will be deluded about any of this,” Hamid said.

“While Yameen might have thought his decision will get people thinking that he is a humble man, reality is that ultimately, the state is having to spend much more of its funds to maintain this decision of his. People are much more aware now than in previous PPM times. People can see he’s just trying to score political points.”

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Former chief of defence forces nominated for ambassador to Pakistan

Former Chief of Defence Forces Major General (Retired) Moosa Ali Jaleel has been nominated by President Abdulla Yameen as the next High Commissioner of Maldives to Pakistan.

Jaleel’s name was sent to parliament today, which approves presidential appointees to diplomatic posts following a vetting process.

Jaleel had signed for the ruling Progressive Party of Maldives in January.

After 32 years of service, the chief of defence forces under former President Mohamed Nasheed retired from the military in the wake of the controversial transfer of presidential power in February 2012.

In January 2013, Jaleel told parliament’s Government Oversight Committee that he believed former President Nasheed had “resigned under duress.”

Jaleel was among senior officers of the military facing charges over the controversial detention of Criminal Court Chief Judge Abdulla Mohamed in January 2012.

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Anti-money laundering and combating financing of terrorism bill passed

Parliament yesterday passed legislation on anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) following review by the national security committee.

All 53 MPs in attendance at yesterday’s sitting voted in favour of passing the bill.

Presenting the committee report (Dhivehi) to the Majlis floor, MP ‘Reeko’ Moosa Manik, chair of the national security committee, explained that the legislation introduces rules governing financial transactions and the inflow and outflow of money from the Maldives.

The bill will also address the persisting dollar shortage, the foreign currency black market, and counterfeiting of dollars, Moosa added.

Moreover, a limit would be placed on the amount of cash that can be taken out of the country, which has to be declared to customs, the opposition Maldivian Democratic Party MP said.

The new law would also benefit investors as it would inspire confidence in the legal system and offer security to foreign investments, Moosa said.

In the ensuing debate, Jumhooree Party Leader Gasim Ibrahim contended that the parallel market for dollars sprang up as a result of the Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA) not allowing the price of dollars to fluctuate.

Gasim suggested that the economy suffered adverse effects due to discrepancies between monetary and fiscal policy.

“Negative consequences”

Moosa noted that noted that a high-level delegation from the Asia/Pacific Group on Money Laundering (APG) had urged MPs to expedite the passage of the legislation.

MPs were warned of “negative consequences” such as restrictions in conducting international financial transactions and credit card transactions as well as transferring money to overseas bank accounts should the bill not be passed before June.

In a meeting with committee members in February, APG Co-chair Andrew Colvin warned that the organisation along with the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) “would be left with little option but to take certain measures that would be negative for the Maldives” should the legislation not be passed.

APG Executive Secretary Dr Gordon Hook noted that implementing AML/CFT laws was “an obligation that the Maldives undertook voluntarily when you joined the APG in 2008″ as a condition of membership.

“There are 41 countries in the APG. They include every country in the Asia/Pacific region with the exception of North Korea and three tiny Pacific states. Among those 41 countries of which Maldives is a member, you are the only country without a comprehensive AML/CFT framework,” he observed.

The anti-money laundering bill was submitted to parliament in late 2013 and sent to the national security committee for further review.

The absence of legislation “makes Maldives very vulnerable to money laundering and terrorist financing,” Dr Hook said.

He added that the vulnerabilities were identified by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in a report prepared in 2011.

MMA Assistant Governor Neeza Imad meanwhile told MPs that the Maldives received a very low rating in an assessment by the APG in 2011, after which the central bank began drafting legislation on AML/CFT.

Technical assistance was provided by the APG and the IMF, she noted.

Countries that are listed by the APG for non-compliance with its standards on AML/CFT face “hindrances” in securing foreign direct investment, opening accounts overseas, and conducting international financial transactions, Neeza said.

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Parliament passes revised penal code

Parliament passed the revised penal code today more than four years after it was resubmitted to the 17th People’s Majlis.

If ratified by the president, the new penal code will replace the existing law that was drafted and enacted in the 1960s.

The new law will come into force one year after ratification and publication in the government gazette.

The revised penal code (Dhivehi) was passed with 48 votes in favour, one against and three abstentions.

The penal code was first put to a vote in December, 2013, after review by a select committee. It was rejected 36-34 with one abstention and returned to the committee.

Parties in the ruling coalition issued a three-line whip to defeat the bill on the grounds that principles of Islamic Shariah law were not adequately reflected in the final draft.

The bill passed today was however the same draft voted on in December with three amendment submitted by an MP. MPs had been required to submit amendments before January 20.

The first draft of the penal code was prepared in 2006 at the request of then-Attorney General Hassan Saeed by Professor Paul Robinson, a legal expert from the University of Pennsylvania.

Following its initial submission to the 16th People’s Majlis in 2006, the draft legislation was resubmitted in late 2009 after the election of the 17th Majlis, where it remained in committee stage until December last year.

Opposition Maldivian Democratic Party MP Ahmed Hamza – chair of the select committee that reviewed the draft legislation – told Minivan News in December that delays in completing the review process was due to the long periods required for seeking commentary and consultation from state institutions such as the Attorney General’s Office and the Islamic Ministry.

During the parliamentary debate in December, MP Ibrahim Muttalib insisted that “no human being has the right to rephrase divine laws in Islamic Sharia into separate articles in a law.”

Progressive Coalition MPs contended that some penalties in the final draft were in conflict with provisions of Shariah law.

Religious conservative Adhaalath Party Sheikh Ilyas Hussain had also previously criticised the bill, claiming that it would “destroy Islam”. Ilyas’ remarks subsequently prompted a parliamentary inquiry.

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Parliament extends Generals Regulations Act

Parliament has approved an extension to the General Regulations Act for a further one-year period.

The General Regulations Act was passed in late 2008 as a parent legislation for over 80 regulations without a statutory basis when the new constitution was adopted.

Article 271 of the constitution states, “Regulations derive their authority from laws passed by the People’s Majlis pursuant to which they are enacted and are enforceable pursuant to such lawful authority.”

The parent act prolonged the lifespan of the regulations – which did not derive authority from an act of parliament – until new legislation such as a Criminal Procedures Act and Evidence Act could be passed.

Parliament has since been periodically extending the General Regulations Act with a further extension of one year approved today with unanimous consent.

The 42 regulations (Dhivehi) in the law includes rules governing trial procedures, criminal and civil justice procedures, defamation cases, the insurance industry, finance leasing transactions, ports, telecommunications, business registration, operation of clinics, issuance of national identity cards, medicine, importation of animals and birds, and desalination.

Regulations governing the parole programme as well as prisons were omitted from the law following the enactment of the Jails and Parole Act this year.

A bill on the legal profession is meanwhile in the government’s legislative agenda (Dhivehi), to be submitted during the second session of the People’s Majlis for 2014.

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Government proposes abolishing Women’s Development Committees

The government’s proposal for amendments to the Decentralisation Act include abolishing Women’s Development Committees in the islands.

The amendment requires the councils to abolish the committees and to form four new advisory committees – a Women’s Development Advisory Committee, an Economic Committee, a Development Advisory Committee, and an Environment Protection Advisory Committee – that would advise island councils.

According to the amendment, the funds and assets of the existing Women’s Development Committees will be transferred to the council, and will only be permitted for use after consulting with the Women’s Development Advisory Committee.

Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) parliamentary group leader and MP ‘Reeko’ Moosa Manik said that the parliamentary group had not yet reviewed the amendments.

Introduced by former President Nasheed in 2010, the Decentralisation Act created Women’s Development Committees for the purpose of generating income for the development of local women, working to increase religious awareness, and to improve the health, education, and political participation of women.

Following its observation of this month’s Majlis elections, the EU Election Observation Mission noted an “extremely low numbers of female candidates,” with a total of 23 women standing – just 5 of whom were elected.

The report noted that this, along with the low voter turn out for women, was in part down to “prevailing and increasing social and cultural norms which disempower women, confining them to the domestic sphere.”

Similarly, the World Economic Forum’s 2013 gender gap index noted that the Maldives had fallen behind in both economic and political gender equality – ranking 97 out of 136 countries ranked.

In the same amendment bill – given its first reading last week – MP Abdul Azeez Jamal Abubakur, who submitted the bill on behalf of the government in December also proposed cutting the monthly salaries for all council members except for the president vice president of the council in the islands – instead, paying an allowance for each meeting attended.

The current act ensures that five council members must be elected for every island with less than 3000 people, while islands with more than 3000 people are entitled to seven councillors.

The presidents of island councils currently receive a monthly salary and allowance of MVR15,000 (US$973) while council members receive MVR11,000 (US$713). The mayor of Malé is paid MVR45,000 (US$2,918) a month.

Under article 25 of the Decentralisation Act, a five-member council is elected in islands with a population of less than 3,000, a seven-member council for islands with a population between 3,000 and 10,000, and a nine-member council for islands with a population of more than 10,000.

Since assuming power last November, President Abdulla Yameen’s government has made clear its intention to reduce the size of local government in order to reduce the state’s recurrent expenditure – which accounts for over 70 percent of the budget.

In December, the World Bank warned in a report that the Maldivian economy was at risk due to excessive government spending.

The current model of more than 1,000 elected councillors approved in 2010 by the then-opposition majority parliament was branded “economic sabotage” by the MDP government, which had proposed limiting the number of councillors to “no more than 220.”

The new layer of government introduced with the first local council elections in February 2011 cost the state US$12 million a year with a wage bill of US$220,000 a month.

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High Court upholds lower court’s ruling to jail MP Jabir

The High Court has today ruled that the Criminal Court’s verdict to sentence Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) MP Abdulla Jabir was lawful.

During today’s hearing, the court told Jabir that the it could not agree with claims that the Criminal Court had not given enough opportunity for Jabir to defend himself.

The court responded to Jabir’s allegations that among the three police officers summoned to the court as witnesses against Jabir, one officer had tortured the defendant. The court noted that Jabir was not able to clarify to the court who among the three had tortured him.

The High Court ruled that, though there may be one officer among the three that had tortured Jabir, the statements of the other two officers will still be valid, which was enough to rule that Jabir was guilty.

Additionally, the High Court responded to Jabir’s claims that the Criminal Court’s verdict did not have the signature of the presiding judge, noted that although the verdict did not have presiding judge’s signature, the case report did.

On February 20, 2014, the Criminal Court sentenced Jabir to one year after finding him guilty of refusing to provide his urine sample to the police to run a drug test, and sentenced him to twelve months under the Drug Act 17/2011 article 123(a)(b).

The Criminal Court ruling stated that on November 16, 2012, Jabir was arrested as a suspect in a drug related case and that police asked him to produce his urine sample to which he clearly refused according to the witnesses produced by the Prosecutor General’s Office.

The verdict stated that, although Jabir had claimed that he was tortured by the witnesses produced by the state and that the police did not follow the correct procedure when asking for a urine sample, Jabir was not able to prove these accusations to the court.

Jabir was taken into police custody on November 16, 2012 along with senior MDP members while they were on Hondaidhoo Island, Haa Dhaalu Atoll – an uninhabited island owned by Jabir.

Police offices raided Hondaidhoo, where they found large amounts of suspected drugs and alcohol upon searching the island.

The prosecutor general pressed three charges against Jabir for refusing to provide a urine sample to run a drug test, possession of cannabis and possession of alcohol.

The Criminal Court on February 27, 2014, ruled that Jabir was not guilty of possessing cannabis and concluded the case, However, the third trial is still going on in the court where the court is to decide if he is guilty for possession of alcohol.

Article 73(c)(2) of the constitution states that a person shall be disqualified from election as a member of the People’s Majlis – or a member of the People’s Majlis immediately becomes disqualified – if he has been convicted of a criminal offence and is serving a sentence of more than twelve months.

Article 73(c)(3) states that if a person has been convicted of a criminal offence and sentenced to a term of more than twelve months, unless a period of three years has elapsed since his release, or he has been pardoned for the offence for which he was sentenced, he will also be disqualified.

Jabir was set to re-contest his Kaashidhoo seat next month after an internal MDP decision to discipline the MP for repeatedly breaking three-line whips was overturned on appeal.

According to the Drug Act, Sections 123(a), 161(a) and 161(b), any person arrested on suspicion of having abused alcohol or narcotics has an obligation to comply with police requests for routine urine examination by promptly providing urine samples, and failure to comply is a criminal offence punishable with a one-year jail sentence.

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High Court supports lower court decision to continue Alhan’s lawsuit against MDP

The High Court has today ruled that the Civil Court does have the jurisdiction to preside over a lawsuit filed by Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) MP Alhan Fahmy against his party.

Feydhoo MP Alhan is seeking the annulment of the opposition party’s primary for the Feydhoo constituency in Addu City.

Speaking to Minivan News today, Alhan said there were two cases related to the lawsuit filed at the Civil Court being reviewed in the High Court, and that the court had today concluded one case while he had withdrawn the other.

The case concluded today was the appeal by the MDP claiming that the Civil Court could not proceed because Alhan had not completed all the internal party procedures, such as appealing at the party’s appeal committee.

”During the hearings held in the Civil Court, I requested the court to issue a warrant to temporarily invalidate the candidacy of the person who won the MDP primary and the court said that it did not have the jurisdiction to do so and that the High Court will have the jurisdiction to issue such an injunction,’’ Alhan said.

“So I filed a case with the High Court on March 6 and 11 days later the court held a hearing and I told the court that now it was too late to issue the injunction and that I wished to withdraw the case.’’

Alhan said that the case going on in the Civil Court has almost reached an end and that during the next hearing the court would deliver a verdict.

Shortly after announcing his decision to contest the primary result, Alhan was stabbed in Malé while at the Breakwater cafe in the artificial beach area. During the attack, Alhan received stab wounds to the back and was quickly flown to Sri Lanka for spinal surgery.

When Minivan News inquired about his condition he said that his left leg was still paralysed and that he now has to use a walking stick.

“Doctors say it will take six or seven months to recover, I have been doing physiotherapy,’’ he said.

Alhan has had a chequered recent past with the MDP, rejoining the party in June last year after an apparently acrimonious departure in April of the previous year.

Then party vice president, Alhan was ejected – alongside then party President Dr Ibrahim Didi – after the pair publicly questioned the party’s official interpretation of the February 7 ousting of President Mohamed Nasheed.

The Feydhoo MP subsequently organised a rally – sparsely attended – calling for the freeing of the MDP from its talismanic leader Nasheed. Alhan’s soon joined the government-aligned Jumhooree Party,

Alhan was initially elected to parliament on a Dhivehi Rayithunge Party (DRP) ticket, making him one of the few MPs to have been a member of almost every major political party represented in parliament, barring the DRP’s splinter party, the Progressive Party of the Maldives (PPM).

He was dismissed from the DRP in 2010 for breaking the party’s whip line in a no-confidence vote against then Foreign Minister, Dr Ahmed Shaheed

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