Do you trust the Majlis to act responsibly?

Among the three powers of the state, parliament has the singular role of representing the people. So if the parliament – or People’s Majlis in the Maldives context – does not enjoy the confidence of the people, its locus standi becomes shaky.

The role of People’s Majlis came to sharp focus when it recently decided to take a recess while important legislation was pending before it regarding the general elections slated for February. The Commissioner of Elections, among others, has deplored this move saying it could jeopardize holding the elections within the constitutional deadline, possibly throwing the country into a constitutional void.

People are also concerned at the composition of the current Majlis, with its disproportionately high representation of people with direct and indirect interests in the tourism industry. These concerns are particularly acute at this time because of another piece of legislation currently before the Majlis – that to extend resort release to 50 years. Perceiving a conflict of interest in this issue, some are of the opinion that an issue such as resort lease, which would affect even future generations, must be decided through a referendum rather than a simple majority vote in the Majlis.

A salary of 62,000 rufiyaa and a total take home package of about 100,000 rufiyaa may be quite reasonable from the point of view of the many business magnates in the Majlis. However, from the point of view of the average Maldivian whose take home pay averages less than 5000 per month, it may appear a bit excessive, particularly considering the working hours.

In a democracy, the parliament is supposed to act as a watchdog over the other two powers. Conversely those two are supposed to similarly keep an eye over the parliament. This is theory. The question is does this work in the Maldives context?

Celebrating Defeats

We Maldivians appear to be collectively suffering from a rare streak of masochism. We have a strong tendency to celebrate our defeats and disasters.

Take the example of the tsunami, which we celebrate as ‘National Solidarity Day’. Notwithstanding the spontaneous outpouring of sympathy and support for the victims in the immediate aftermath, what happened later was anything but solidarity, especially the feuds that developed between refugees and host communities. Even at the national level, the government has failed to settle the victims even after four years, despite the availability of funds.

So why then, one wonders, do we celebrate December 26th each year as ‘Solidarity Day’ of all things? If it is to encourage positive qualities like sharing each other’s problems, then we could have chosen something less hypocritical. Building on a foundation of lies may not be the best way to develop positive qualities.

Take also the 3rd of November, which we celebrate as Victory Day. What victory? The leaders simply went into hiding leaving the people at the hands of mercenaries, till the Indian Army came and rescued us. Sure, Hussein Adam and a few others sacrificed their lives for the nation, and we remain grateful to them. [I also received and ‘Addana’ for what I did on that day.] But does it qualify that day to be a Victory Day?

Now we come to the Martyrs Day, which remembers the untimely death of King Ali the 6th. Apart from folklore we really don’t know what exactly happened to him. In trying to glorify the king, the story labels all the citizens of Male as cowards. So what are we celebrating on Martyr’s Day?

To complete the list of disasters to celebrate let us think of some more. We can celebrate the sinking of Enama Boat as National Maritime Day. Civil Aviation Day can be celebrated on the day Air Maldives declared bankruptcy. Child Rights Day could be celebrated on the day Naseem Soa case surfaced. Health Day could be changed to coincide with either the Cholera epidemic or Dengue epidemic. Any more ideas?

Civil Service and Job Security

When the Civil Service was instituted it was hyped to provide job security to the 35,000 odd government employees in the Maldives. They were promised protection from politically motivated and arbitrary dismissals. Join the Civil Service and assure a lifelong career, they were promised. But today hundreds of civil servants under threat of dismissal from 'redundant' government offices are wondering where the promises and assurances have gone.

Whatever its faults – be it discrimination, favoritism or nepotism – Maumoon government rarely practiced arbitrary dismissal from government service. In fact if the Civil Service Commission goes ahead it with the current spate of planned dismissals, the Commission would be responsible for more involuntary dismissals from service in one year than Maumoon in thirty years.

When an assistant secretary who has served faithfully for over 15 years in her job, her only means of subsistence with her two kids, faces dismissal just because her ministry is no longer deemed expedient, it matters little to her whether the dismissal is politically motivated or legalistically justified. What matters to her is she faces destitution tomorrow. What matters to us as citizens is that the State has failed to protect job security for its people.

The Civil Service Law requires employment in the service to be career based. What it means to most people is that once a person chooses a civil service job one is assured job security as well as the opportunity to go up the steps in a hierarchy, provided one performs satisfactorily in one's job. In the Maldives Civil Service things don't work out exactly that way. For example, when a DG position falls vacant, it is openly advertised with no preference given to in-service candidates. Even Deputy DGs in the same department will have to compete for the job with all those who apply including fresh graduates. In other words getting the DG post is more or less equivalent to getting a new job. In effect someone in a deputy DG post has two choices: remain in the post for ever or find another job. One wonders how one could call it a career based system.

No one says an unproductive person must be retained in the civil service. But are all those currently under the guillotine unproductive, and if so how does one know? The staff appraisal system is still in its infancy and in most offices appraisal forms are filled mechanically at the end of the period, the same way overtime approval forms are filled towards the end of each month. Can one rely on such appraisals to decide someone's future?

Why do People Blockade Island Offices?

With a democratically elected government coming to power, one would have expected islanders to stop detaining government officials and blockading island offices –a false expectation apparently. If one goes by the recent spate of blockades, climaxing with the detaining of Constructing Minister Aslam, things are getting worse, if anything.

The only redeeming feature in this gloomy scenario is that the current spike could be a passing phenomenon related to the ongoing budget debates in the Majlis. Many of the incidents do indicate a close linkage with the budget, as exemplified by the incident involving Minister Aslam, which was apparently in protest against not including money for the island harbor in the budget.

It may be interesting to find out why islanders continue blockading offices. The widespread use of this method of protest appears to suggest that a significant number of Maldivians believe it to be an effective method. Let us examine some factors that may have led to this belief.

• Often the government is seen to give in to the demands of the protestors. This was particularly so during the last few years of the previous regime. It’s too early yet to judge how the current government will respond to the situation.

• While the Penal Code of Maldives prescribes harsh punishment for kidnapping and obstructing the work of government offices and officials, in practice action is rarely taken against the perpetrators.

• With a history of non-elected officials and nominated committee members controlling island administrations, government officials at island level do not enjoy the confidence of the people.

• There appears to be no alternative method of brining to government attention the issues at island level, since island Katheebs are apparently incapable of doing it.

• For the average islander, the offices provide very few services. Most islanders have rarely visited an island office, except for a few once-in-a-life-time tasks such as applying for a plot of land or dividing a plot. Thus even if an office is closed it causes few problems to an islander.

Privatization: A Panacea for Poverty?

Can anyone think of any failed government enterprise that was privatized and became a success story in the Maldives? Dhiraagu? MWSC? Maldive Gas? Not many people agree that these companies were privatized in the first place. Further, on closer look the success of such organizations may not be related to privatization at all.

A former board member of Dhiraagu says the success of the company was mainly due to the management expertise of the foreign partner, which also had the advantage of a signed agreement with the government through which they were able to control government interference to a minimum. The exclusive monopoly on telephony also helped of course. It’s the same story basically with MWSC.

Will privatization help a company such as STO? A former STO board member doubts it. According to him the main problem with STO during his time was government interference, particularly from relatives of the former president. It was particularly difficult when two very close relatives were vying for influence and giving conflicting commands to STO.

From these examples it appears that the remedy for poor performance is reducing government interference, not privatization. This is exactly what Deng Xiaoping did in China. He did not privatize the village factories, which were the engine of the growth of the rural economy. In fact, they were almost all owned by local governments in Deng’s China. In the cities too, reforms in industry didn’t include privatization at all. What Deng did was cutting government influence from the factories and open them up to market forces. Perhaps we can learn something from his policies.

“It does not matter what color a cat is as long as it catches mice.” –Deng Xiaoping

The Surprise Present

A short story

Hassan was waiting at the jetty for his present. Ibbe had only said it was a packet from Aikko's mother. Hassan couldn't guess what it could be. Perhaps it was actually from Aikko herself, not her mother, Hassan surmised. But why didn't she mention it when he phoned her yesterday evening? May be she was sending him a surprise present, Hassan thought, as he waited expectantly for the transfer launch that will bring Ibbe and the mysterious present to Kaanidhoo Island Resort and Casino.

When Hassan succeeded in the interview to get a waiter's position at Kaanidhoo, he thought it was a dream come true. The resort was super luxury and boasted the world's largest under water casino, the Dome, which rivaled Venetian Macao with its exquisite theme décor. Hassan's dream started fading when he was shown into the room that would be his home for the next 3 years. Far from the glitter of the main gaming floor of the Dome with its constantly spinning roulette wheels, baccarat tables and slot machines, his room was 10 by 10 feet, shared by 3 Bangladeshis sleeping on double decker cots. "And remember," the sad looking guy who escorted him instructed while leaving, "don't step out of the room without your uniform. Don't wander around the rooms. Just take the straight route to the coffee shop and back. And strictly no sea bath. You have no business on the beach."

The personnel manager looked up from a large pile of paper. "So you want leave? You guys always keep on taking leave…"

"But sir," Hassan pleaded, "This is the first time I'm asking for leave…I've been here one and half years…"

"All right, all right. But remember if you are not here on the 10^th, then you need not come. I'll hire another Bangladeshi."

When Hassan landed on Maakandoodhoo jetty, he was greeted by his wife Aikko, Muhamma and his wife Maryan. Muhamma was the son of Ahmed Kaleyfaanu the biggest trader on the island. He was Hassan's childhood friend, and the two couples shared a wonderful time during Hassan's holidays. When it was time to leave Hassan had exhausted all his savings amounting to 3500 rufiyaa. Muhamma reassured him saying if Aikko needed anything she could get it from his father's shop.

"We need to talk again. The old deal is off. Now things are totally different. We got 20 more years. So you will understand we can't give the island for 25 million dollars. We already have offers of 150 million. But we will consider 125 if you are interested," Hassan overheard Ronnie telling the South African guy who was occupying Villa number 27. Ronnie was Kaanidhoo owner Shakeeb's son born of a Canadian mother.

"But Ronnie, this is just a windfall you got out of the blues. You were to lose the island in five years and then suddenly the lease increased to 50 years. Why don't we split 50-50 and settle for 75 million?" the South African offered.

"No way. My last price is 100 million."

"Done," the South African said and stood to shake hands.

The launch arrived. Ibbe handed over the packet and went on his way without a word. Hassan rushed to his room and opened the packet. It contained photos. But before he could see them his attention was diverted by a piece of paper falling. It was a note from Aikko's mother. It read, "I couldn't bear to tell you what my daughter did. But these pictures will tell you the whole story."

Hassan looked at the pictures. They showed Aikko and Muhamma. Hassan's dream suddenly became a nightmare.

[This is entirely a work of fiction. Any resemblance to a real place or person is purely coincidental.]

Violent gangs: Do they come from another planet?

The scenario is all too familiar. A young boy is walking down the street. A group of boys emerge out of nowhere and pounce upon him with sharp knives. Maimed and bleeding the boy makes and attempt to run, falls and collapses. They disappear into nowhere. Its only after they make good their escape, there is any mention of any bystanders, whose role it is to transport the wounded body to the hospital, to be declared dead.

The above description of the death of Samir in Henveiru two days back will fit almost any gang death reported in Male during the last few years. In any of the accounts what is not reported is more striking than what is reported: What was the motive for the attack? Did the victim have a history of gang activity? How and why were these rival gangs created? Is there anyone who sponsors them?

It appears that nobody knows the answer to any of these questions. In fact the parents of the suspected attacker were also not aware of the activities of their son. His mother was so shocked to hear about his involvement in the attack that she has been unconscious since hearing the news, Miadhu Daily reports.

Nobody appears to be interested in doing any research or even find out anything about the gang scene. Will this help or worsen the situation?

Reaching out

The new government has come to power with the promise of 'closing the doors' on entry routes of drugs into the country. About one year back National Narcotics Control Bureau (NNCB) launched a 'Wake Up' campaign to raise awareness on drug abuse prevention. Now the question is who will reach out to the estimated 10,000 to 15,000 drug addicts already on the streets and treat them?

The obvious answer is NNCB. But look at the numbers. The Bureau has capacity to treat a maximum of 400 addicts per year. This is just about 3% of the addict population. What happens to the remaining 97% ? Further, some of the 3% would relapse, thereby reducing the number further. In short probably the number of people cured would be less than the number of new youngsters getting addicted. Thus the numbers would in fact be increasing rather than decreasing. This is borne out by the everyday experience of ordinary people.

What's the solution? Train more counselors? Expand the capacity of NNCB? These are all tried solutions –and not with very impressive results. In fact with a very high attrition rate, the number of NNCB counselors is steadily dwindling. Can you believe your ears when you hear that the Drug Rehabilitation Center in Himmafushi has only 5 trained counselors? Frankly speaking, the pay and perks of a counselor are grossly inadequate for the hazardous work they do daily. Thus, even if training courses are made available not many would apply.

So it is obvious some innovative thinking is required. More resources need to be mobilized –particularly human resources. We can think of volunteers –teachers, nurses, health workers, religious scholars. NGOs can take the lead in organizing the volunteers with support from the government. Only a supreme national effort can save the nation from going under a tsunami of drug addiction.

Can Internal Tourism Reduce Income Disparity?

The eerie silence and the empty streets of Male give a rough idea of how many people left the capital city for Eid holidays. While accurate numbers are not available, a boat captain leaving with 80 passengers bound for Thaa Atoll estimates more than 2000 people are expected to go to that atoll alone, Haveeru Daily reports. Thus one could make a safe guesstimate of between 15,000 to 20,000 local tourists going to all the atolls.

Assuming each tourist spends about 400 rufiyaa per day on accommodation, food, travel within the atoll, shopping etc. the total spending by 20,000 tourists in 7 days of Eid holidays would amount to Rf 56 million. While Eid holidays are an exceptional period, other periods could also attract significant numbers of tourists if internal tourism is better organized –scheduled transport, guest houses, tour operators, etc.

Internal tourism could potentially help to transfer money from the Capital to the peripheral islands and reduce the income disparities between the two areas. According to Poverty and Vulnerability Assessment Report 2004, the median household income was Rf 49 per person per day in Male, compared to only Rf 21 in the atolls. Thus in 2004 incomes in Male were 2.3 times higher than those in the atolls. Worse, the income disparity is apparently increasing. In 1997 Male incomes were only 1.7 times higher.

These inequalities pose significant challenges to the country as a whole. They include rising unemployment, particularly among young people. Many young secondary school graduates, ambitious and with high expectations, are not aiming to return to their island if the only jobs available there are limited to the traditional sectors like fisheries. So if more attractive work is not made available in the islands they are likely to remain in Male, frustrated and disillusioned, leading to social tensions in Male'.

Thus urgent solutions are needed to reduce the imbalances between Male and the atolls. Will internal tourism contribute to the solution?

Extending Resort Lease: What is at Stake

By Ahmed Salih

Why do we Maldivians fear increasing resort leases to 50 years? It is not the type of ownership we are concerned with. It is the influence the owners will exert in running the country. This is the most important resource the country has – nothing to compete or compare with it. Who controls these vital resource controls the country.

It is unlikely, any other industry or any economic activity could match in the foreseeable future with the resorts to have a proper balance in economic power or political power. This balance is becoming more important than ever especially when we march in a democratic environment where funds are required for campaigning.

Need a fact? Look at the parliament now and five years ago. The little balance we had there was because President could then nominate members and politically influence the elections of the parliament members. When this equalizing power is removed in the next election, the majority if not the whole parliament will be controlled by the tourism industry or those industries that feed to tourism industry.

We have already seen what has happened. As his influence was diminishing during the last regime, Mr. Gayoom invited the big guns from the tourism industry to join the cabinet. Messrs Qasim, Deen, Thasmeen and Hilmy were seeing sitting in the cabinet. Some of them had never before seen the working of a government from inside. The others such as universal and Champa played the role of the king makers.

The argument from the president down the line for raising the tenure of the resorts is to generate the funds required for development. This is an old argument. The tenure of the lease period has been increasing since the introduction of the tourism in 1972. In 1970s, the tenure was for 10 years. Then the next government raised the limit to 35 years and collected part of the future rent. This government wants to increase the limit to 50 years and collect some more of the future rent. Leasehold period of 99 years will come. It is not likely that the industry will have to wait for 30 years but only 10 maximum - with the election of the next presidency. Then freehold or ownership will not be much far away.

The other arguments is also stale: why should Maldives be shy when countries like Bangladesh and India do it? These countries are huge, compared with Maldives. They have two of the three factors of production – land and labor. But we do not have either land or labor. These countries attract foreign investments to create jobs. Do we currently have such a workforce needing these basic jobs? Most of the youngsters who need may need jobs hardly can stand in this country according to one of the entrepreneur. So, why are we in a hurry? To get part of commission to own pockets again?

Our economy is strong as far as the numbers go. We enjoy a higher GDP than our neighbors. What we need is a system to spread the country's wealth evenly and without corruption.

The expected taxes from these resorts, and the rights of the few Maldivians who will work there, depends on the law made in a parliament dominated or controlled by the same industry.

The parliament has so far failed to make the leasehold or the rent even out across the board. The owners of those islands leased for agricultural purposes in the past still enjoy ownership and very low rent.

Before we raise the tenure limits of the resort, what we need is to nationalize the rights of those 'owners' who had leased these islands for agricultural purposes before 1970 and then introduce a minimum rent calculated at the current market rate for all resorts.

The other side of rehabilitation

Original Dhivehi article by Ahmed Hamdhoon*

Ahmed Mohammed (not real name) has gone to the Drug Rehabilitation Center (DRC) in Himmafushi more than four times to escape from heroin, a type of drug. But each time after returning he goes back to the bad habit. In other words he relapses. What's the reason for this?

DRC marked its 10^th Anniversary this year. During the early days, the relapse rate was coming down year to year, and was noted to be particularly low during 2006 and 2007. But things have changed this year. The relapse rate has gone up.

Research conducted by donor agencies has shown that one in three Maldivians uses some type of drug. This is a record level in global terms.

There are many reasons why people go back to the habit after treatment, a counselor at the National Narcotics Control Bureau says. "The biggest problem is the Maldivian environment. Each island is small. No island is free of drug availability. So, after treatment one has to go back to the same den of drugs. In other countries one can shift to an area free of such danger. They have that opportunity. But we don't have that opportunity in the Maldives," the counselor who wishes to remain anonymous said.

Another counselor in DRC says that the rehabilitation program does not get sufficient attention from all government agencies. "This is the biggest and most serious problem facing the nation. But we don't get enough cooperation from all the agencies," the counselor says. "This year alone government budget has allocated more than 50 million rufiyaa to DRC and other rehabilitation centers in Addu and Fuvahmulah. But things are getting worse because enough work is not being done."

In a report released after visiting DRC, Human Rights Commission of Maldives has noted that there is no qualified psychiatrist in the Center. This is a serious issue because many of the young people who go into drugs do so because of inability to cope with psychological problems they face in their adolescence; they take the easy way out and take solace in drugs.

After taking treatment in DRC for about 9 months, having to spend about 11 months in community rehabilitation in Male is also noted to be a reason why many people relapse. During community rehabilitation clients report to the NNCB and give urine samples. The purpose is to identify clients who relapse during the 11 months and send them back to DRC.

If one needs to do community rehabilitation outside Male, one has to go to an island where an NNCB rehabilitation center exists such as Addu and Fuvahmulah. Otherwise, for the whole 11 months clients will have to remain in Male. They cannot take jobs elsewhere and need special permission to go out of Male.

"During the 9 months of treatment in DRC a client is detoxified and is free from physical addiction. What he needs after that is psychological satisfaction. Care from the family. Work to earn money and build life again," a young man from Alif Dhaalu Atoll, who is in community rehabilitation said. "Those who want to stop drugs will remain clean. So when you put restrictions on those who want to remain clean it creates problems. They lose the opportunity to get jobs and family support. When one has to remain idle in Male like this one gets tempted."

Many addicts are not that educated and because of restrictions on going out of Male during the 11 months of community rehabilitation, they find it difficult to get jobs in resorts and safaris. Since many of them are from other islands, they find it difficult to stay in Male, some even sleeping in boats in the harbor.

Lacking trust from the community, many addicts find it difficult to rebuild their lives. Difficulty in getting jobs in the private sector is one of the most serious problems. Thus finding the way ahead blocked, addicts just give up and go back to drugs.

"Private employers don't give jobs to addicts. So the government must show a way to them. If addicts don't get jobs in the private sector the government must take care of them and give them jobs; prevent them from going back to drugs," a member of SWAD and mother of an addict says.

From DRC to the community, recovering addicts face problems. Many people believe that the return on government expenditure on drugs is low. A lot of reform is required in several areas to change the situation.

[*Translated from original article in Haveeru Daily: http://www.haveeru.com.mv/?page=details&id=76612&category=cTrOpir]