Tag: transport

Regional transport links on the agenda during SAARC Secretary General’s Maldives meeting

Fathimath Dhiyana Saeed, the recently appointed Secretary General of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), has met with President Mohamed Nasheed this week in the Maldives ahead of hosting an annual summit in Addu City later this year.

Saeed, a Maldivian herself as well as the first woman to be appointed to SAARC’s most senior post, used her visit to discuss a number of the association’s key policies with the president, including connectivity between the various members states through the development of a cargo ferry link.

During the discussions, Nasheed called on SAARC to try a reach a “material outcome” on the transport project by the time of the Addu conference expected to take place in May.

The association aims to cooperate over economic and social development issues and consists of eight member nations that include Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Bhutan, Nepal, Sri Lanka as well as the Maldives.

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India and Sri Lanka to be added to Maldives ferry network, says Transport Minister

The government will connect neighbouring countries including Sri Lanka and India to its growing ferry transport network, Minister for Transport and Communication Adhil Saleem said today.

The government is in discussions with the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) to add its member countries to Maldives Transportation Network, under phase two of the rollout of the ferry network.

There is currently no scheduled passenger ferry service between the Maldives and other countries, with travellers forced to fly to their destinations.

Domestically, all provinces have at least a skeletal ferry service in place, Minivan News understands, while the Ministry’s statistics show that the new ferry transportation network has completed over 311,000 ferry trips since it began operation last year. A government bus service has completed an additional 49,204 trips.

Inter-island ferry transportation in the Maldives has historically been limited to private operators working to sporadic timetables. More commonly, passengers to an island such as Maalhos in Alif Atoll would travel on an unscheduled vessel owned by someone on the island, such as a shop owner, for a variable price. Chartering a local vessel could cost up to Rf 1000 (US$77).

Now, a government ferry from Male’ to Maalhos costs a fixed Rf 50 (US$3.90). Inter-atoll island hopping is set at Rf 20 (US$1.50).

Speaking at the Transport Ministry today, Adhil said that the transportation network had proven to be “very successful”, with “much more demand than we estimated.”

The service was intended to commence after three years, he said, but upon request by the government the ferries had commenced with the best available service possible.

”This year the work of establishing ferry terminals will commence, and in some areas has already begun while in others has been completed,” he said.

”Today we can see short eats made on one island sold in another islands of that atoll, we can see mangoes produced in one island sold in other islands of the atoll, we can see horse mackerel caught in Thinadhoo’s reef sold and eaten in Fuvamulah,” he said. ”Many of the people are benefiting economically and socially through this ferry system.”

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HRCM report on persons with disabilities highlights gaps in equality

The Human Rights Commission of the Maldives (HRCM) in conjunction with the UNDP have this morning presented their report on the rights of persons with disabilities in the Maldives.

The report, Activities Addressing Rights of Persons with Disabilities, is a “baseline assessment” of the rights and challenges concerning disabled people in the Maldives, as well as a number of recommendations from the HRCM on how to improve the lives of those with physical or mental impediments.

The report shows that in 1981, when the first ever screening was conducted in the Maldives, there were 1,390 people with disabilities, or 0.9 percent of the population.

In the 2000 census, the number rose to 4,728 which comprised 1.75 percent of the population. In 2002, the figure had risen further to 3.4 percent, or 9,216 people.

The most recent census (a preliminary report by Handicap International in 2009) showed 8.1 percent of the population has either temporary or permanent disabilities, including 4.7 percent with severe permanent functional limitations.

The HRCM report states that “lack of standard definitions of disability and different survey methodologies do affect the number of persons screened as having disabilities.”

The Maldives signed the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) in 2007, but the Parliamentary approval needed to ratify the convention was only reached in January 2010.

Although rights for persons with disabilities are part of the Constitution, the proposed bill on protecting rights of persons with disabilities was sent back to Parliament by the president for reconsideration in January 2010.

According to the HRCM, the bill was sent back “because it was found crucial to amend the bill in line with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD).”

Education

The HRCM reported that approximately only one out of every ten children with disabilities is enrolled in school. This means 230 children out of 2,250 with disabilities in the entire country are attending school.

Jamaluddin School, Ghiyaasuddin School and Imaduddin School are currently the only schools in Malé which offer a full curriculum for children with disabilities. This began in 1985 when Jamaluddin School opened up enrolment for children with hearing disabilities.

There are currently eleven schools nation-wide which provide for children with disabilities.

The Ministry of Education had planned to set up “minimum one school in each atoll that enrols children with special needs by 2010” but the HRCM report says in most schools, “classes are accommodated with multi-handicapped children with a limited number of teachers.”

Training teachers to work with children with special needs is another major issue, as is creating an action plan for children with disabilities and improving special education policies.

The HRCM reported that “there is virtually no access to or transition to secondary level education for children with special needs.”

Health services

The HRCM has pointed out that “human resources and facilities required to address mental health is lacking.”

According to the report, there is no mental healthcare available in Malé; there are only two psychiatrists working in the country who deal mostly with drug rehabilitation.

There is also a lack of quality residential care. There were more than thirty-one persons with disabilities waiting for a place at the Home for People with Special Needs in Guraidhoo as of March 2010. In contrast, there were thirty-one other patients who had been discharged but not taken home.

The HRCM said “their families aren’t taking them home. Some have been there for over six years.”

There are currently 137 beds in six wards around the country. A seventh ward was built in 2009, but cannot start functioning until furniture can be brought in.

The government is also providing “approved essential psychotropic drugs free of charge to registered psychiatric patients.” Patients can send in a form to the Ministry of Health and Family to get approval for free medications, including anti-depressants and anti-psychotic drugs.

The government also provides assistive devices, such as wheelchairs, crutches, spectacles, hearing aids and special seats with children with cerebral palsy.

Employment and financial assistance

The HRCM states “the most obvious gap in services provided to persons with disabilities is lack of employment services.”

They note that there is no support from the government in helping disabled people find jobs, and 72 percent of working age men and 93 percent of working age women with disabilities were not in work as of 2008.

The HRCM believes one of the biggest challenges with employment is that many employers have low expectations about what persons with disabilities can and cannot do, thus excluding them from the workforce due to discrimination.

The HRCM stated that “although assistive devices are available from the government, there is limited information made available to persons with disabilities.”

The government currently provides a monthly allowance of Rf 1,500 (US$118) for legally blind persons through the Ministry of Finance and Treasury, but “there is no income assistance to persons with other forms of disabilities.”

Access to buildings and transport

The HRCM has recognised limited access to premises and on transport as one of the major service gaps for people with disabilities.

They note that “inaccessibility of the built environment is a major contributing factor that decreases the number of workplaces available to persons with disabilities,” and suggests that homes, hospitals, schools, mosques, government offices, courts and shops be “more accessible and user friendly.”

Although they note there is “evidence of genuine attempt to address this issue” in the Family and Children Service Centres, the National Building Code must be amended in order to eliminate obstacles to indoor and outdoor facilities.

“The roads, pavements, road signs and traffic lights are not designed to be friendly for persons with disabilities…it’s lamentable that wheelchair access is not possible even on ferry services between Malé and the airport.”

The HRCM suggests that improving roads and transport to be more accessible will not only help those with disabilities, but will also benefit the elderly, parents with prams, and people carrying groceries.

The HRCM made numerous recommendations in their report, including how to improve leadership and commitment from the government and community; teaching sign language to staff at the Ministry of Health and Family and the Maldives Police Service, among others; and improving access to information for people with disabilities on how their lives can be bettered through government policies.

NGOs

There are several NGOs working to improve the rights of disabled people in the Maldives, such as Hand in Hand, Association of Disability and Development, and Handicap International among others, but the Care Society is currently the only one who provides services and has been working with people with disabilities for eleven years.

Shidhatha Shareef from the Care Society said “clearly, we have a long way to go. Many services are still not available [for persons with disabilities].”

She said the NGOs are also facing many challenges and limitations, especially regarding staff training and public awareness.

The Care Society runs a school for children from zero to twenty-five years of age with disabilities. They are currently catering to 55 children and are trying to promote education services on other islands.

Shidhatha said one of the bigger problems with education concerning children with disabilities is that most schools only take children with very limited to moderate disabilities, and not those with more severe disabilities.

She said the best way the government can help improve the lives of persons with disabilities is by “prioritising the issue,” and added “we do hope the bill [on protecting rights of persons with disabilities] is ratified soon.”

Shidhatha said despite all the work being done to ensure the rights of persons with disabilities, such as signing the CRPD, “people with disabilities do not have equal rights.”

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President Nasheed speaks of development and politics in Noonu Atoll

President Mohamed Nasheed has said political rivalry in the islands should not impede their development.

Speaking at Noonu Manadhoo, in the final leg of his visit of the northern atolls, President Nasheed urged all parties to communicate in situations of disputes and disagreements.

He said the government would consider public opinion before implementing all its policies.

He spoke on the measures to be taken in improving the education system. He said school boards were formed in most of the schools and they were given considerable authority in the management of the schools.

The president noted the connection between educating the youth and the future development of the country.

President Nasheed also mentioned the transportation and housing projects being set up for Noonu Atoll.

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Staff disgruntled as MTCC closes Feydhoo office

The Maldives Transport and Contracting Company (MTCC) closed the company’s Addu Mulaku regional office in Seenu Feydhoo, leaving many employees redundant.

MTCC closed the office after the government handed over ferry services for the region to MVK Maldives Pvt Ltd, which commenced services from 1 January.

But many employees from the Feydhoo office feel their terminations have been handled unfairly, holding a demonstration and refusing to allow MTCC to take assets from the office.

An employee who did not wished to be named said “We did not want them to take any of the things back to Male’ until our full salaries and compensation has been paid.

“However, it’s a private party that’s transporting the goods back to Male’ so we don’t want to cause any more trouble. They have already loaded everything onto a boat, and there isn’t much we can do to stop it.”

Many employees said an MTCC official from Male’ had met them at the end of last year and promised a three month termination notice.

“He said we would get three months, as well as holiday and medical pay, but a week after he left we received one month’s notice,” the employee said.

“We have a written document, but it doesn’t have the MTCC stamp on it so we can’t use it in court.”

The staffed also claimed they had received a much smaller amount than that promised.

Another staff member who was made redundant said “how can I describe how I’m feeling? I have a family to look after. It’s very difficult now.”

A disgruntled employee said he had been forced to beg around the island.

“I am doing odd jobs here and there – it’s very hard to find work these days,” he said.

Ahmed Zareef, the manager of the Feydhoo office, said that the MTCC manager who promised three months’ notice hadn’t given anything official, “It was just his word.”

“The notice said employees should receive Rf3000 (US$233) but many have recieved Rf1900 (US$147). It’s a big loss for these men, they have families to take care of.”

Asked what would happen to him, Zareef replied “I will lose my job as well. I was offered an MTCC job in Male’, but how can I live in Male’ on a basic salary when the living expenses are so high there?”

MTCC response

Ahmed Zaki, another MTCC manager, said that the company follows employment regulations set by the government.

“The employment regulations state that all employees who have been with the company between one to five years will get a one month notice,” he said.

“The stories of an official from Male’ saying three months are hard to believe. He would not have said that.”

“All employees were given opportunities in MTCC in other regions,” Zaki added.

“We have also been talking to the employees for a few months prior to the termination notices, telling them about the possibility of the Feydhoo office closing.”

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