Tag: President Mohamed Nasheed

Transparency asks authorities to investigate MPs for bribery over committee allowance justifications

Transparency Maldives has strongly condemned remarks by MPs justifying their newly inflated allowances by claiming that large portions of their salaries were spent on meeting demands from constituents.

MPs from both major parties have previously admitted that a large, usually undisclosed proportion of their salaries is spent on medical treatment, education and other requests from their electorate – a symptom of an enduring culture of patronage that persists in the Maldives – and confessed that ignoring these demands in such a culture of expectation is extremely difficult.

However, “Transparency Maldives believes such actions fall under article 3 of of the anti-corruption law and article 13 of the Anti-Corruption Commission Act regarding bribery,” Transparency said. “If such acts have taken place Transparency Maldives calls upon the relevant authorities to conduct investigations and take legal measures.”

The statement notes that 16 MPs have so far informed parliament’s secretary-general that they did not wish to take the Rf 20,000 (US$1300) allowance.

Today a group of citizens concerned about parliament’s committee allowances gathered in front of the Finance Ministry and presented a petition signed by more than 1000 people to the ministry, later intercepting President Nasheed as he left the Ministry.

The President spoke with the gathered activists and was requested to sign the petition himself, but asked why he should sign a petition that was to be presented to him anyway.

President Nasheed reportedly told the group that the government had no other choice but to issue the funds for the committee allowances as it had been already approved by parliament. The Rf20,000 allowance was initially approved on December 28, 2010 as part of a pay scale recommended by parliament’s Public Accounts Committee.

Nasheed explained that it was not a matter of whether he supported the allowance, but that “when parliament makes it legally binding the government does not have any discretion [to overrule the parliament’s decision].”

Project Cordinator of Transparency Maldives Aiman Rasheed told Minivan News that the campaign against the committee allowance will continue and there was hope for success.

”Today we presented the Finance Ministry 1365 letters signed by concerned citizens and eight cabinet members, plus high-profile people across the country,” he said.

”We have made plans to continue the letter campaign and to make the citizens aware of the impacts of this committee allowance.”

MP salaries have increased 18-fold since 2004, according to a graph released by the NGO.

The committee allowance was Rf18 million, Rasheed said. ”In comparison, the budget to combat drugs is Rf 14 million, the budget subsiding the fishing industry is Rf12 million, medical services Rf18 million and the budget for small and medium businesses is Rf16 million,” he said, adding that these areas would be impacted by the increased expenditure on MPs.

Opposition Dhivehi Rayithunge Party (DRP) MP Dr Abdulla Mausoom on his Facebook page said receiving the allowance made him feel like “Robin Hood”. Responding to criticism that such a justification would taint future elections by making them unfair for political challengers, he replied that “when the President appoints ‘directors’ for paper-companies and pays millions in public money to promote MDP…. that’s very unfair too. Why don’t we see any protest on that? This is my way of ‘protest’ for irresponsible ‘politically aligned’ spending of the government.”

The government has previously contested that expenditure on the 244 political appointees in the executive branch represented only two percent of the state’s wage bill, or Rf99 million (US$6.4 million) a year, a figure DR Mausoom has previously claimed represents “the tip of the iceberg”.

“The whole country was corporatised,” he explained. “There’s a roads corporation and all sorts of corporations. The people appointed to the boards of these corporations are all purely political appointees. They were appointed directly by the President to promote a political agenda.”

Dr Mausoom told Minivan News today that the moment he received the allowance he would start spending the same amount on his constituency for social projects.

“There is no benefit for the people in keeping the money in the government’s treasury because they will spend it all on political appointees,” he said.

“The real issue is that one institution has too much power. Parliament should not have the power to set their own salaries.”

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President signs GST bill into law

President Mohamed Nasheed has ratified the “Goods and Services Tax Bill” (GST), which was passed at Parliament’s 34th meeting of the term last Monday. The President signed the bill into law at a function on Fuvahmulah today.

The GST bill was published today in the government’s gazette.

The tax bill is divided by type of sale. Sales are defined as either tourism goods and services, or goods and services for sectors other than tourism.

The points addressed by the GST bill include collection, exemptions, duration of taxation, methods of calculation, and registration of taxable activities.

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Newly-decreed uninhabited islands to be resort, airport

The Bilhifeyshi area and Thoon’du area of Fuvahmulah have been officially recognised as uninhabited islands.

President Mohamed Nasheed signed decrees for both islands during a special meeting at Fuvahmulah, which addressed development projects for the upcoming South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC).

The President said the two islands will be used for tourism. Development on these islands will be overseen by Fuvahmulaku Development Corporation Limited, a government company that was also created today.

Resort construction will begin at what was formerly Thoon’du area next week. Plans to build an airport at Bilhifeyshi area island are underway.

Development of these islands will be in accordance with the government’s social and economic development policies. The plan is said to provide more opportunities for local business investment and job growth.

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Local artist creates first Maldivian jazz album, presents to President

The Maldives’ first contemporary jazz album has been presented to President Mohamed Nasheed by Maldivian artist Shameem Mohamed (Shambe).

The album, Feshun, is an arrangement of guitar, saxophone, drums and bass. It also features Maldivian vocalist Mariyam Rifga Rasheed. The group of six musicians, who studied at the International College of Music, in Malaysia, worked on the music collaboratively, said Shambe.

“I created the main idea, but kept the freedom for each and every person to add their own ideas to the composition.”

Shambe, who majored in composition and contemporary jazz at the college, told Minivan News that after graduating from university he wanted to do something new for the Maldivian music industry. “I looked around and realised that the kind of music I was learning and composing wasn’t available in the Maldives. So I decided to put my mother tongue [Dhivehi] over a jazz fusion and call it Maldivian Jazz.”

Shambe said he had originally wanted to do the album with Maldivian musicians, but limited resources forced him to record in Malaysia.”There are some very good musicians in the Maldives,” he said, “but the recording studios here are not advanced enough to match the work being done by other groups today.”

The group began production for the album last October in Malaysia. They played a live concert on Malé in July, and have lately been on break for Ramadan. Shambe reports a good response from his home audience.

Shambe cited  the group Cosmo Squad as an inspiration, and said the album pulls from funk, latino, bossanova, samba and swing styles. He noted that because Dhivehi words are generally short, the group stretched them to create “a more laid back feel.”

“It may sound like it’s not clear, but that’s how it should be in order to feel like jazz. I think the effect will help make the music more accessible to audiences across the world,” said Shambe.

The group’s agent, Mohamed Bassm Adam, told Minivan News that Feshun is targeted for the tourism industry. He thinks the album could encourage other local artists who are interested in Western music styles.

The album has also drawn local attention. Shambe said he was surprised to see a good turnout at the presentation ceremony last night. “I was actually a bit nervous,” he said. The President’s Office reported that the album would refresh the Maldivian music market.

“The President is an admirer of all music genres, especially  jazz and the blues,” said President Mohamed Nasheed’s Press Secretary, Mohamed Zuhair.

Shambe said the group will be returning to Malaysia at the end of August to perform and promote the album. He said he would like to market it globally. “It will take some time to promote it, and I will need guidance and advice, but I hope that with time it will work out.”

Feshun is a product of the Maldives, and copyrighted under Universal Publishing Sdn Bhd (Malaysia). Artist Shameem Mohamed is signed under StarMount Records (Malaysia).

The album is available in music shops and online for rf200, and will soon be available in resorts priced from US$20.’

To listen to sample tracks, visit Feshun’s Facebook page

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President sends letter to Libyan rebels, calling for modern Muslim democracy

President Mohamed Nasheed has pledged the Maldives’ support to the Libyan National Transitional Council (NTC) in a letter yesterday, recognising the rebel group as the “sole legitimate representative of the Libyan people.”

The letter, which was sent to NTC chief Mustafa Abdul Jalil, expressed the President’s hope that Libya would “emerge as a free and democratic country, in which fundamental human rights can be enjoyed by all.”

In recent days, Libya’s six-month long revolution against dictator Muammar Gaddafi came to a close when NTC rebels seized Tripoli. Currently, Qaddafi’s whereabouts are unknown and over thirty foreign powers have recognised the NTC as Libya’s legitimate representative group.

President Nasheed noted in his letter to NTC chief Jalil that the Maldives was among the first three countries to recognize the NTC. Iraq, Morocco, the US and European Union member countries have also recognised the group, while Russia and China do not recognise the NTC as Libya’s only legitimate representative but are still engaging in talks with NTC leaders.

Ethiopia and Nigeria have called on African Union member states to recognise the NTC, and Hamas had declared its support of the rebel group.

The President’s Press Secretary, Mohamed Zuhair, said today that “The Maldives is in favor of democracy, and feels any government should recognise the voices of its people. We are continuing our support of the Libyan rebels, and asking other countries to do the same.”

Zuhair said the Maldives was one of the first Islamic countries to experience a democratic revolution. In 2005, the Maldivian people began the uprising that ousted former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom in 2008.

“The same thing that is happening all over the Arab world has already happened here,” Zuhair said. “We are ahead of them, and we can share our experience.”

The Maldives, which has been a Muslim state for over 900 years, has one of the longest traditions of shariah law in the Arab world, said Zuhair. He said the Maldives encourages the Libyan NTC to apply democratic norms and values, and to use many small elections as they build a modern Muslim democracy.

“The Maldives would like to see Libya become a modern Islamic democratic state that is fully functional,” said Zuhair.

Colonel Gaddafi was only 27 when he took control of Libya after a military coup in 1969. His 42 years of power brought wealth to Libya, but his reign was also characterised by erratic policies and terrifying punishments. When the revolution began in February of this year, Gaddafi reportedly said, “Muammar is the leader of the revolution until the end of time.”

Earlier this week, the NTC reportedly placed a US$2 million bounty on Gaddafi’s head.

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Committee to probe 2003 Maafushi Jail shooting

A second investigation of the 2003 Maafushi Jail shooting has been launched by a special committee appointed by President Mohamed Nasheed and his cabinet.

The committee includes Housing Minister Mohamed Aslam, Attorney General (AG) Abdulla Muiz and Defence Minister Thalhath Ibrahim Kaleyfaan, and will investigate the incident that took place on September 20, 2003 – a watershed moment following the death in custody of Evan Naseem that led to street riots, the declaration of a state of emergency, and ultimately, the introduction of multi-party democracy and the eventual ousting of former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom.

An investigation was previously conducted by a special commission under former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom. The censored results were published in January 2004, and 12 prison guards were sentenced to death. Captain Adam Mohamed, the commanding official charged with ordering the shootings, was granted clemency by Gayoom. Subsequently, the sentence of the prison guards was commuted to 25 years in jail.

In June 2011, the case was re-opened and three of the former prison guards, who were living at large, were sent back to jail.

State Home Minister Mohamed Naeem previously told Minivan News that he regretted sending the convicted men back to prison after a long period without clear legal action.

“If [the former administration] had not freed them from prison, by now they would have served most of their sentence and could have even possibly applied for clemency,” said Naeem.

However, he did say that the action of the former administration had not only violated the rights of the convicted, but also those of the victims.

“When the victims who survived that time see these convicted people roaming around the streets, how do they feel? It is unfair for them,” he said at the time.

An individual who was imprisoned at Maafushi jail at the time of Evan Naseem’s death and the prison shootings spoke to Minivan News about the renewed investigation.

“I think they need to find out who ordered the torture of Evan Naseem–was it the highest ranking officer, or a lower officer? This has been delayed too long now. We have to have proper justice to move ahead,” he said.

The source added that a lot of information surrounding the incident had been censored, and said he wasn’t sure that “the right people” had been sent back to prison.

“I think it is wrong for the one who complied with the order to take the punishment. It should be the one who gave the order,” he said.

Former President Gayoom at the time was also Minister of Defence and National Security.

The former Maafushi prison guards involved in the shootings were recently re-arrested for the 2003 event. The source said several senior prison officials had informed him at the time that the order to shoot on September 20 had come from the top.

The shooting occurred after inmates broke out of their cells “to learn the details of fellow Evan Naseem’s death”, the source said.

The source told Minivan News that he could hear people being tortured from his cell, and that he had also heard these sounds on the night that Naseem died. His own cell was secure at the time of the riot.

“This army man was controlling us, and he said it was nothing. But we knew some things were happening. I knew, because I saw people jumping off the wall from my cell.

“When they opened the door to the block to bring the breakfast things we kept asking the guards what was happening but they would tell us nothing. Finally, we asked the guards to please open the gate so we could see, and at that time we saw a lot of people lined up on the beach in handcuffs. By the evening the army came and took control of things. Then, an inmate said ‘let’s burn this place down!’, but I said, ‘No, let’s work to get free. We are not going to burn the prison.’ I told him not to do anything, but he said ‘Let’s use [force].’ I said, ‘Let’s negotiate.’  So we negotiated.”

Following the shooting, 19 inmates and one officer were reported injured, and three inmates were reported dead. 15 of the 20 persons wounded had been shot above the knee.

An English translation of the initial investigation, provided by the Dhivehi Observer on January 24 2004, described the prison break as “not an emergency situation,” and determined that the use of weapons against the inmates was “neither a proportionate response nor a reasonable means of control.”

The report, which was filed by the former administration’s special commission, further stated that inmates were partially excused for the alleged riot “on account of the fact that they were acting on deep grief and frustration and did not appear to intend further harm [other] than demanding an investigation into Naseem’s death.”

Naseem “died due to grievous hurt caused to him by some personnel of Maafushi Jail Security System,” stated the report. The report further notes that inmates at Maafushi Jail had requested to meet with a security officer from the Department of Corrections several times after learning of Naseem’s death. Captain Adam Mohamed was assigned to this meeting, but chose to ignore it; he was the captain that the inmates confronted with their questions during the outbreak. The investigation report states that the captain “did not offer any reasonable response to those questions.”

CCTV recordings of the prison’s Operations Room and the block in which the initial outbreak took place had not been preserved for the investigation, and no Event Log Book had been used by officials, the report claimed.

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President apologises on behalf of state to people of Thinadhoo

President Mohamed Nasheed has apologised to the people of Gaaf Dhaal Thinadhoo for “injustices resulting from measures taken by the government of the day” to end a short-lived secession of three southern atolls from 1959 to 1963.

Speaking at a working session of the cabinet held in Thinadhoo yesterday, President Nasheed said that the Thinadhoo Island Council had requested the apology and acknowledged that the central government in Male’ had “acted unjustly” towards the people of Thinadhoo in the suppression of the separatist movement.

Havaru Thinadhoo, historical capital of Huvadhu atoll, was attacked and depopulated on the orders of Prime Minister Ibrahim Nasir in February 1962.

Following Tuesday’s official apology at the cabinet meeting – held outside Male’ for only the second time – Vice President Dr Mohamed Waheed Hassan Manik noted that his grandfather was among those forcibly expelled and stressed the importance of documenting the events in official Maldivian history.

Dr Waheed told state broadcaster MNBC One that “today the President who is the highest official of state has asked the forgiveness of the people on behalf of the state.”

“As someone who hails from Thinadhoo, I am very happy and grateful for [the apology]. I rest assured that everyone will accept the apology by the state,” he said.

The cabinet meanwhile discussed a request by the island council to revert the island’s name to ‘Havaru Thenadhoo’ and decided to hold a public referendum on the proposal.

The working session of the cabinet in Thinadhoo was attended by state and deputy ministers, island councillors and directors of regional corporations and featured a presentation on planned development projects.

At a ceremony after the cabinet meeting, President Nasheed inaugurated the Thinadhoo Development Corporation to develop the reclaimed area of the island and handed over the completed stadium of the Upper South Province to the island council.

Inhabited islands of the Maldives “have to be connected and linked together to ensure development,” Nasheed said at the ceremony.

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Government seeks bipartisan support for economic reform package

President Mohamed Nasheed has signaled the government’s willingness to address opposition concerns and incorporate changes to the proposed economic reform bills currently before parliament.

Speaking to press following an official meeting with main opposition Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) Leader Ahmed Thasmeen Ali at the President’s Office last night, Nasheed said that the government would consider DRP proposals after “discussions at a technical level.”

“Our wish is to find a way to enter into detailed discussions with the DRP,” he said. “I asked Thasmeen about it and he said they will give an answer after consultation with their party.”

He added that broad consensus and bipartisan support was very important before putting a taxation system in place: “In my view, all citizens and politicians in the country understand very clearly that establishing a taxation system is not going to benefit a particular government,” he said.

President Nasheed noted that the government had consulted the tourism industry and received support for the proposed reforms.

Thasmeen meanwhile told press outside the President’s Office that he conveyed concerns about the proposed growth in expenditure over the next two years as well as the impact of the personal income tax.

“We cannot accept government expenditure exceeding the current Rf13 billion [annual state budget] after levying new taxes,” he said.

The minority leader of parliament said that the party was “especially concerned” about the income tax as “all citizens would be affected.”

Speaking to Minivan News today, DRP MP Dr Abdulla Mausoom confirmed that “a technical team” from the party will engage with the government to discuss details of the concerns expressed by Thasmeen at last night’s meeting.

“We have a parliamentary group meeting tonight to discuss what the DRP is going to propose,” he said.

The “prime focus” at the moment was the two bills completed by committee, said Mausoom, which were bills on the General Goods and Services Tax and an amendment to the Import-Export Act to excise and reduce import duties.

While final amendments to the bills are due before Tuesday, Mausoom said that the DRP would propose maintaining import duties for “watermelons, papaya, bananas and mangoes to protect local farmers” and ensure price competitiveness for local agricultural produce.

“The rest is the way the MDP wanted,” he said. “With the numbers in parliament right now, MDP can pass bills the way they want.”

President Nasheed meanwhile told press last night that Thasmeen gave assurances that he would “not play any part in bringing Majlis to a halt.”

“As you know, the government has support enough to pass the bills,” he said. “But that would not be best for both the government and the people for such a major change.”

Nasheed stressed that a comprehensive package was proposed to ensure that the new taxation system would be “well-rounded and water-tight.”

Concluding the press conference, President Nasheed praised Thasmeen for showing the “necessary principles of a statesmen.”

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Adhaalath Party concerned over “second chance” offered to criminals in Maafushi Jail

Adhaalath Party has said it is “very concerned” over the decision made by the President to offer a second chance to more than 400 convicted criminals imprisoned in Maafushi Jail.

‘’Releasing convicted criminals without involving the Parole Board and solely by the decision of the President will disrupt the peace of our society and cause disorder,’’ said the Adhaalath Party in a press statement.

The party said given that the actions of the government in releasing the criminals were “uncivilised” and “undemocratic”, and accused the government of seeking political gain from the release of the convicts.

‘’Offering such an immunity to the criminals, putting aside the rights of  society to security is, the Adhaalath Party believes, a violation of rights,’’ the party said.

Most of the criminals to be offered a second chance were imprisoned for theft and robbery, drug abuse and other ‘serious’ criminal offences, the Adhaalath Party alleged.

‘’It is to be noted that while the government is releasing drug addicted criminals, there is no adequate mechanism to rehabilitate drug addicts in this country,’’ the party said, adding that the decision would not end up with a favorable result despite the government’s efforts to provide the former inmates shelter and job opportunities.

If the government wished to release inmates responsibly, the government should decrease its expenditure and spend money to upgrade the prisons, Adhaalath suggested.

‘’All citizens know that illegal drugs are available in the prisons, and that inmates are testing positive to drugs is evidence that they are not being adequately looked after inside the prison,’’ said the party.

Press Secretary for the President, Mohamed Zuhair, recently said the impending release of close to 400 convicts would not result in a spike in crime rates in Male’.

“Our statistics show that there will be nearly 400 convicted criminals that have been granted a second chance,” Zuhair said. “Out of the 119 people released on a previous occasion only two people had to be taken back to prison for committing an offence.”

Zuhair added that the inmates will be released on the condition that they will be returned to prison to complete the rest of their sentences if they commit any sort of offence in the next three years.

Apart from being hired for government jobs, the released inmates will be required to participate in rehabilitation programmes as well as national service programmes over the next two years.

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