Tag: president’s office

President Nasheed meets with Chinese delegation

President Mohamed Nasheed has met with the visiting Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) delegation at the President’s Office, reports Miadhu.

President Nasheed noted the Maldives and China enjoyed close and cordial relations, and said China was making important contributions to the social and economic growth of the Maldives.

He added that both countries share concerns such as climate change, and the two governments should collaborate more on the issue.

Vice Chairman of the CPPCC, Sun Jiazheng, assured the president that China would continue to cooperate with the Maldives, and added climate change is a great concern to his country.

Jiazheng briefed President Nasheed on China’s political system and the government’s efforts to further develop the country and bring prosperity to its people.

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Cabinet to decide on matters that could result in the public paying fees

Government offices have been asked by the President’s office to propose any services that could result in the public paying fees or charges.

The President’s Office asked that any information regarding the matters proposed should not be made public until the Cabinet has made its final decision on the matter.

All government offices were also instructed all government offices to execute the Cabinet’s decision on the matter once the decision has been made.

The President’s Office has instructed all government offices to propose any matters that could result in public paying any fee or charge, to the Cabinet through the line ministry. The President’s Office made the instruction in a directive issued today.

The directive state that any information regarding the matters proposed the Cabinet should not be made public before the Cabinet issues a final decision on the matter.

The directive issued by the President’s Office also instruct all government departments to execute the decisions of the Cabinet once the President’s Office informs the relevant ministries of the decision.

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Presidential Commission member resigns over “political influences”

Presidential Commission member Idham Muizzu Adnan resigned from the commission yesterday, claiming a lack of transparency and impartiality.

The Presidential Commission is an independent body created by President Mohamed Nasheed in May 2009 to investigate corruption allegations in the country. The president was also responsible for appointing all of its members.

Spokesperson for the Presidential Commission, Abdulla Haseen, said the commission’s mandate was to investigate corruption cases, particularly targeting people accused of corruption under the previous regime.

However Adnan, who has worked with the commission since it was created, said he resigned because of “certain political influences” that were being imposed on the commission.

“I agree the president has the power to dictate [how the commission is run]… but he should do it in a reasonable and impartial manner,” Adnan said.

Adnan said sometimes the commission was pressured “not to call on certain people” when investigating a case, or was advised not to disclose certain information to the public.

“In decree, the commission is to function independently… [it] should not be used as a tool to protect people or attack opponents.”

Furthermore, “we should be allowed to disclose any information [we find],” he said, “because these corruption issues need to be investigated.”

Adnan said a press conference scheduled for yesterday evening was cancelled at the last minute on request from the President’s Office, which made him reconsider his position in the commission.

“I feel [the commission] cannot function in an impartial manner,” Adnan said.

Haseen confirmed Adnan’s resignation and said Adnan “is really concerned about transparency… he is not satisfied with our decision to postpone a press conference.”

Haseen confirmed the scheduled press conference was postponed “on the advice of the President’s Office.”

He said the commission gives press conferences “frequently” and this one was postponed “because the issue is quite controversial.”

The Presidential Commission is allowed to share information with the public, Haseen said, but “we have some limitations.”

Haseen explained that once the investigation of a case is completed by the commission, a press conference will normally be held before the registration report is sent to the police. The police then have to send it to the Prosecutor General’s office, who decide whether the case will be sent to court.

Although Haseen said the President’s Office “never intervenes with the process” of investigation, on this occasion, “Mr Adnan is not happy about it.”

Haseen said the commission regularly seeks the president’s advice, since “he appointed the commission, it is related to his advice,” and their investigations are always “cooperative.”

Haseen said the issue of the commission’s transparency was “nothing to worry about.”

Press Secretary for the President’s Office Mohamed Zuhair said President Nasheed expressed his regret about Adnan’s resignation, and thanked him for his sincerity and the legal advice he provided the commission.

Zuhair noted the President created the commission to strengthen the role of the Anti Corruption Commission (ACC) and the Human Rights Commission of the Maldives (HRCM), among other independent commissions

“The Presidential Commission is an auxiliary body to help police and other agencies at the front line of legal matters,” Zuhair said.

He said he believed Adnan “jumped the gun” with his resignation.

“He may have other assumptions [about the commission],” Zuhair said.

Zuhair said the press conference that was cancelled yesterday had originally been scheduled for Thursday, but the commission postponed it until Sunday “for their own reasons.”

He said the president then wrote a letter to the commission asking for the details of the press conference, “saying he should be informed of the key points to be made public.”

Zuhair said “it would not be the decent thing to do to go ahead with the press conference without giving the president the facts he wanted. It is the Presidential Commission. The president is the head of this body.”

He said the president “didn’t want to jeopardise the legal process” by revealing certain information before the case was made public and sent to the police. “The president wanted to know whether the commission had a water-tight case.”

But he assured “there was no order [made] to stop the press conference.”

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Government slams DRP letter to donor delegates as “kids’ stuff”

The Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) has said the letter written by Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) leader Ahmed Thasmeen, which he addressed to the participants of the Maldives Donor Conference, is nothing but “the ramblings of a delusional person.”

On 28 March Thasmeen wrote a letter criticising the current government’s economic policies, saying that the country was being “consumed in destructive politics,” and the opposition was constantly “intimidated and harassed.”

Minister of Foreign Affairs Dr Ahmed Shaheed said the government had “invited DRP leaders and a number of opposition MPs” to the Donor Conference, but “none turned up.”

He said the letter was “devoid of any real substance” and was “a luke-warm attempt” to call for a ban on aid.

“We are in a democracy and we do not hide from criticism,” Dr Shaheed said. “They wrote this assuming we wouldn’t pass it on to the donors. We have passed it on to the donors to expose what kind of stuff the opposition are made of.”

Dr Shaheed said the “transition from autocracy to democracy” was not expected to be easy, and although “there is instability, we are not consumed by destruction. They wish we were consumed by destruction.”

He said the opposition was not being restrained or harassed, pointing out that this is “the only time in the history of this country that there has not been a political opponent in detention.”

“The DRP always see the law as a weapon. Now they have removed the Auditor General from his office by using the law as a weapon.”

Dr Shaheed acknowledged that the government had criticised independent commissions such as the Human Rights Commission for the Maldives (HRCM), saying “they are not doing their job. And I think people have a right to tell others when they are not doing their job.”

He reiterated that the DRP is “still living with a mentality where they think nothing can be said about anybody else.”

Dr Shaheed said the opposition was “against privatisation. They have no idea what liberal means, or what the government needs. They are not listening to what the president is saying.”

On the claims of the incompetence of newly appointed members of government companies, he said the DRP is not indicating any measure to judge competency.

“There is this claim that if you are a political activist you don’t qualify for a job, but this is wrong.”

Dr Shaheed said the government was working hard to fully implement democracy in the country, and “we are the most transparent government this country has had. The most open government this country has had.”

He said that the current government chose to address issues openly in parliament, and not with violence.

“Parliament is a place, not to punch people and call them names, but to work together. The parliament is where the opposition has the road to engage.”

He added “the opposition has so many opportunities to contribute to policies. They should learn to use them.”

None of the delegates of the conference had made any reference to the DRP’s letter, he said.

“DRP is calling this government irresponsible in fiscal policies, and you have the IMF giving us a grant based on our fiscal policies. Who are [the donors] going to believe?”

Press Secretary for the President’s Office Mohamed Zuhair said the “DRP leader wanted delegates to know they are not happy with the government’s economic policy.”

He said the IMF had been especially supportive of the government’s economic policies, and had issued a number of statements commending the government.

“So the question was whether the delegates should believe the IMF and their reports, or whether they are to believe the opposition party leader Thasmeen…about whom there have been comments that he and his family have outstanding debts to the tune of US$100 million to the Bank of Maldives.”

Zuhair said the letter was distributed to all the delegates and no one had made any response.

He added that DRP members and the Speaker of Parliament Abdulla Shahid were invited to the opening session and “abstained from coming.”

Thasmeen told Minivan News today that as far as he knew, DRP members had been invited to the opening ceremony of the Donor Conference, but he did not attend because “as a member of Parliament, I had other engagements.”

He said the letter and dossier the DRP had produced for the delegates “was sent through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs” and had been distributed at the conference.

He added that since the letter was sent out, “we have been having discussions with members of some delegations, but it would not be appropriate for me to discuss what went on in the meetings.”

Thasmeen said “we value and appreciate and welcome any assistance in development, and hope [the pledges] are realised soon.”

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Nominations for MIRA open at President’s Office

Nominations for the Board of Directors for the newly formed Maldives Inland Revenue Authority (MIRA) and its Commissioner General and Deputy Commissioner General of Taxation will open today at the President’s Office.

Applications for nomination will be open until 5 April 2010.

According to Article 4(d) of the Tax Administration Act, the Board of Directors of MIRA will comprise of seven members. Both the members of the board and the Commissioner General and Deputy Commissioner General of Taxation will be appointed by President Mohamed Nasheed and must be approved by the People’s Majlis.

Nomination forms are available at the President’s Office or through their website.

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Crime boosted by lack of witness protection, claims judge

A senior judge at the criminal court has claimed that a lack of witness protection is the main reason the justice system has failed to check rising crime rates.

At a press conference last week, Senior Judge Abdulla Mohamed said many witnesses are bribed or threatened and many fail to testify in court for fear that they or their families will be in some way hurt.

Prosecutor General Ahmed Muizzu agreed the issue was “very serious.”

“Because [the islands of] the Maldives are so small, it makes our job [of protecting witnesses] more difficult,” he said. “In some cases, witnesses are being threatened or intimidated. In other cases they might be bribed or offered rewards.”

Another major concern raised regarding witness protection was the lack of space to hold witnesses and criminals separately, with witnesses and the accused made to sit next to each other in the court houses. Muizzu says that this is something that the courts are trying to address.

He agreed with the judge that witnesses should be allowed to testify anonymously, and said improvements were being made such as allowing witnesses “to testify via video or audio link.”

Muizzu also noted that “there are some issues of witness protection that are pending in parliament.”

The police are also trying to formulate laws to improve witness protection. Sub-Inspector Ahmed Shiyam said police brought up the issue of witness protection long ago, without response.

“Police get threats as well,” he said. “It’s a major concern for us; we need to give better protection to witnesses.”

Without a witness’ testimony before the prosecution, a case can be dismissed due to lack of evidence. Muizzu explained that “in most cases, confessions made to the police will not have any weight, so it is very important that the witnesses testify for the prosecution in court in order to prove the case.”

Judge Mohamed criticised the lack of cooperation between government institutions, claiming that this was causing delay and even the collapse of many important criminal cases.

The prosecutor general admitted “there have been some instances when there has been delay on our part”, but said he believes that all branches of government are doing their best.

“Our prosecutors do appear in approximately 40-45 cases in criminal court every day, and we do cooperate to the best of our availability of human resources.”

He said there are areas that could be improved, especially witness protection.

“The court will definitely need the cooperation of the police and the prosecution to effectively discharge their duties. And we are prepared for that.”

Shiyam said, “If there is anything police need to be mindful of, judges should tell us what needs to be corrected. They should at least phone senior officers.”

He insisted police are working “hand-in-hand” with other government institutions. “All authorities must come together to provide better security,” he said.

Spokesman for the President’s Office, Mohamed Zuhair, said the government is “strengthening and improving facilities for all institutions and courts.”

He said issues of space for institutions such as the criminal court would resolved when the ministries move to the new Wellaanage complex, soon to be completed.

He also criticised judge Abdulla Mohamed for failing to take his concerns to the “proper channels.

“I don’t believe people in the judiciary should access media to give political messages,” Zuhair said.

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Some functions to be transfered to provinces

The cabinet has announced today that they would transfer some functions of line ministries to province offices.

According to the presidents office this would be done under management contracts between ministries and the seven province offices.

On 13 October 2009, the cabinet appointed a committee to review decentralisation and make recommendations.

Under the committee’s supervision, a team has identified the functions that can now be transfered to province management.

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Indian hydrographers to assist with continental shelf claim

President Mohamed Nasheed has met with Chief Hydrographer of India Vice Admiral B R Rao.

According to the president’s office, the President sought assistance from the Indian Naval Hydrographic Department to claim for an extended continental shelf.

In October 2009, the Maldives decided to see if it could claim for an extended continental shelf.

Once the continental shelf is determined a country can exploit the minerals, natural resources, and sedentary species in that area.

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