Herethere Case Drags on

US $ 55 million is a sum of money that 99.9% of Maldivians will never see in their life time, let alone posses. But that is exactly what Yacht Tours, the company that leased Herethere Resort from Maldives Tourism Development Cooperation (MTDC), is demanding from the lessor as compensation for the loss of the island, which according to many tourism experts is unlikely to make any profit anyway.

So why do people make such extravagant demands at all? Simple: They often win, as Yacht Tours itself did a few years back when it won a $ 31 million dollar case against Tourism Ministry for disqualifying its bid for an island in Male Atoll.

This time however, Yacht Tours appears to have run out of luck. On Thursday Civil Court ordered Yacht Tours to pay a sum of $ 895,319 to MTDC in a counter-claim case filed by the latter. However, the main court case, that for $ 55 million filed by Yacht Tours, is dragging on as is the Company's occupation of the island.

Preventing Anti Social Behavior

Attorney General Husnu Suood has taken a decisive step towards preventing anti social behavior by presenting to the Majlis a bill on the subject for the first time ever in the Maldives. The bill along with another related bill on gang violence will lay a comprehensive legal framework to address the twin issues.

Suood’s initiative brings to the top of the national agenda a grossly neglected area of social development –a neglect that has cost the nation heavily in terms of skyrocketing juvenile delinquency and uncontrollable crime rates. The magnitude of the social cost can easily be estimated by comparing Maldives crime rates with those of Singapore where a comprehensive program to shape the behavior of its citizens has been in place ever since its independence in 1965.

Police statistics show that the number of arrests in Maldives among ‘children’ below 18 years rose from 209 in 2001 to 564 in 2007. This increase is fuelled by drugs for which 164 people under 18 were arrested. For the related crimes of theft and violence 158 and 160 people were arrested respectively.

Study after study has shown that the usual route to crime is: School dropout --> hanging around street corners --> smoking --> drugs --> Gang formation --> serious crimes.

Many experts believe that children’s habits of staying awake till late at night and going out without parental supervision contribute to anti social behavior. The bill presented to the Majlis will address this and other similar issues.

The Day He Never Wanted to See

"This is the day none of us wanted to see," a friend of mine, a strong MDP supporter, told me last night over the phone a short while after former president Maumoon Abdul Gayoom was taken to Police Headquarters.

"But I thought this is the day you have always looked forward to," I retorted. He used to talk frequently about bringing Gayoom to justice and how everyone must be equal before the law.

"Yes, I still want Gayoom to be held accountable. But I think what happened tonight isn't the way to do it, at least not the best way," he replied. "The simple question they asked him could have been asked without taking him there."

"It could have been," I admitted. "But what about equality before the law? Everyone else is taken to the police for such questioning."

"Equality is paramount," he replied. "But what about Article 128 of the Constitution, which gives special protection to him as ex-president?"

Drugs: The Doomsday Scenario

Within the next two to three years, two out of every three students in grades 8 – 10 will use some form of illicit drug, Vice President Dr. Mohamed Waheed Hassan Manik has predicted, based on the findings of recent surveys –findings that reveal drug addiction among children as young as 9 years.

He made this statement at a function in Dharubaarugé Sunday night to mark the 119th anniversary of Maldives Customs Service, where he called on the Customs Service to continue to play their role in controlling drug trafficking into the country, stressing that no other institution has a bigger role in this endeavor. He assured customs officers that the government would provide its full support and cooperation.

Dr. Waheed said that inspection of the vast open areas surrounding the country would not be an easy task. He understood the difficulties they face in controlling the checkpoints and appreciated their diligent work, he said.

Summoning the Former President

When someone takes an apparently futile action it is often because the real objective lies elsewhere. When the famous Presidential Commission, established to probe alleged corruption and embezzlement of state funds and resources, issued a summons to former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, not even the Commission's most ardent fans –Abdulla Haseen included –would have really believed he would come running like Mary's little lamb.

There is a case pending in the courts challenging the legal powers of the Commission to summon and arrest people. Former minister Abdulla Yaameen has also refused to attend the Commission pending the disposal of the case.

Speaking to Miadhu Daily the former President's lawyer Abbas Shareef has confirmed a summons was issued late on Thursday. Abbas stated the Presidential Commission was unconstitutional and as such had no authority to summon people against their will.

Spokesperson for the Presidential Commission, Abdulla Haseen, has confirmed that the former President Gayoom had objected to accept the commissions summon. Haseen said the refusal meant legal action will be initiated.

[To read more details in Miadhu Daily click here.]

Controversy over Decision to Investigate Judge

The Government has thrown a spanner into the works by initiating an investigation against Abdullah Mohamed, Chief Judge of the Criminal Court, for allegedly obstructing a police investigation. The matter has now been referred to the Judicial Services Commission (JSC).

Under article 159 of the constitution, the Judicial Service Commission is entrusted with “the responsibility and power to investigate complaints about the Judiciary, and to take disciplinary action against them, including recommendations for dismissal.”

According to a press release issued by the President’s Office the cabinet has decided to investigate Abdullah Mohamed for obstructing a police investigation related to the 2008 audit report of Bank of Maldives.

Majlis Member for Naifaru Ahmed Mohamed, a former judge and member of the opposition Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP), proposed an emergency motion in the Majlis yesterday to condemn the cabinet’s decision to investigate Abdullah Mohamed. During the debate on the motion, the Majlis witnessed some unsavory scenes and the sitting had to be called off.

Opposition DRP believes the government’s decision was an unwarranted interference in the judiciary because separation of powers is established in the Constitution to prevent one branch of the State exerting undue influence over another. Article 141 of the constitution states that “no officials performing public functions, or any other persons, shall interfere with and influence the functions of the courts.”

However the Government stand is that under Article 115 (b) of the Constitution, the President is entrusted with the responsibility to “faithfully implement the provisions of this Constitution and the law, and to promote compliance by organs of the State and by the people.” Further, the government believes it has a duty to recover money owed to Bank of Maldives as soon as possible because the money belongs to the public.

Former Attorney Generals Dr. Hassan Saeed, Azima Shakoor and Dhiyana Saeed have condemned the decision of the Cabinet, one of them describing it as an “attack on the heart of the judiciary.” Former Legal Reform Minister Mohammed Nasheed has also described the action as “way off the mandate of either the president or his cabinet.” The Human Rights Commission of the Maldives (HRCM) has issued a press statement expressing concern over the cabinet’s decision.

Presidential Salary and Pension

The hottest topics in the Majlis these days appear to be the salaries and benefits for the president and vice-president and the pension and other benefits for former presidents. Two separate bills are on the table, one from the ruling MDP on the emoluments of incumbents and another from the opposition DRP on those for ex-presidents. As such this may be the right time to put forward some questions for discussion.

1. Should the salary of a president be linked to the GDP per capita?
The current GDP per capita per year is about rf 38,500 per year and the salary of a president is about rf 1,200,000 per year. Thus the ratio is about 1:30. Should this ratio be kept at this level or increased to 1:50 or perhaps 1:100? Using the latter ratio the presidential salary would be rf 3,850,000 per year (320,000 per month).
2. How many palatial mansions can we afford to maintain at public expense?
Maintaining a palace would each cost millions of rufiyaa per month, apart from the difficulty of finding suitable buildings for the purpose.
3. What is the purpose of providing security to presidents and ex-presidents?
If it is for ceremonial purposes to boost their ego, then each would require a platoon of troops. But if it is to counter real threats to the life and person of a president or ex-president, then the number of security personnel would be dependent on the threat level assessed by the armed forces. An ex-president also could face serious security threats. In 1953, the then ex-president Mohammed Amin was lynched by a mob, when he returned to Male from exile in Dhoonidhoo.

The Policy of Indiscriminate Privatization* is a Grave Danger to Independence

By Rifat Afeef**

The current policy of the government to handover basic national infrastructure (health services, sea and air transport etc.) on 'commercial basis' to foreign companies is a grave threat to the future security of the country. I am not saying that 'commercial basis' per se is wrong. After all, the progress (in tourism and fisheries) we see today is the result of private enterprise on commercial basis. All I am saying is that if we hand over our basic infrastructure to foreign companies in the name of privatization we are likely to face its bitter consequences in the not too distant future. These consequences will escalate over the years, finally resulting in the loss of our independence.

Externalities~:

In analyzing why this will happen and why we will lose our independence, we must realize that in organizing and implementing any project there are two types of results. The first type includes result(s) one expects and plans for in the project. The second includes the unintended results of the project. This second type of result is called an 'externality' in economics. With few exceptions externalities are harmful. Thus 'externality' generality means the unintended harm from a project or an economic activity –something not accounted for in the project costing.

There are two main types of externalities. The first type includes physical effects that one could feel. The other includes intangible effects such as socio-political changes. Because socio-political externalities are difficult to perceive, we don't even realize their existence. It is this type of imperceptible externality, I am saying, would inevitably result from handing over basic national infrastructure to foreign companies in the name of privatization, affecting the nation's future. Today we can only speculate on things that could –over the years –have negative consequences. In my opinion, the easiest way to undertake such speculation is to take a look at the history of countries, which had experienced such pitfalls, either on their own or under external pressure. So let me take some examples of both types.

The case of Palestine:

Even though many people don't know it, the Palestine issue, which plagues the Muslim world today, is a consequence of mistakes made by Palestinians themselves. Lack of foresight on the part of Palestinians allowed Jews to displace them from their own land, though I must admit that the Jews also had laid a treacherous trap. But Palestinians fell into this trap on their own, voluntarily. Had the Palestinians themselves not sold their land for greed allowing Jews to settle there, there would have been no chance for western support for a Jewish state (in the form of Balfour Declaration) and no chance for Jews to take up arms and expel the natives. (It's wise to realize that citizens themselves bear a large part of the responsibility in destroying any nation.)

The Case of Hawaii:

The history of the fiftieth state of the United States in the nineteenth century is also a tragic saga of reaping the results of own mistakes. Kamehameha who united Hawaii allowed United States companies to acquire land for pineapple and sugarcane farming. The companies increased their influence and finally during the time of Queen Liliuokalani, the third ruler after Kamehameha, American forces entered the Hawaiian capital, house arrested the Queen and annexed Hawaii in 1887. It became the 50th state of the US in 1959. (Since history is written by the victors the details of this may not be found in western references.) Today native Hawaiians make up less than 1% of the population. More than 99% are the descendents of Chinese, Japanese and Pilipino immigrants brought by American companies to work in their farms (just like Africans brought to the southern states of the US) and Caucasians who colonized the islands. The native Hawaiians (a very small minority) are at the bottom rung of the socio- economic ladder in terms of income as well as imprisonment rates, for reasons related to the security of the state. (It must be admitted here that when Maldives was under British rule, it suffered less external threats than earlier.)

Attempts at Advocacy:

It has been ten years since I have been trying to bring to the attention of the elected rulers of Maldives the fallacies of some government policies. I made several attempts between 1999 and 2007 to bring to the attention of former President Maumoon some aspects related to development that may not be commonly realized. But the result was no better than drawing lines on the sea. When Uz. Maumoon ignored my pleas, in April 2005 I brought to the attention of individual members of the People's Majlis the dangers of some of the government policies and their possible consequences on national independence. But the result was zero. In 2007, approximately one and half years before the presidential election, I presented to MDP leader Mohammed Nasheed some of my writings on development policy. When I met him accidentally two weeks later he even said they were good. However since his election as president my attempts to get an appointment with him have been in vain.

Consequently the purpose of this article is to bring directly to the attention of the people, my 10-year long plea on the dangers facing the nation, a plea which has been ignored by elected leaders and representatives. I am doing it now because I feel that if the government goes ahead with its plans to hand over basic infrastructure to foreign companies in the name of privatization, it would jeopardize our independence. I want to convey to the people the consequences of what has happened till now and what is planned ahead, because things would go from bad to worse, leaving the nation in a bottomless pit.

The theme of this article is that development policy is broad and interrelated. This article gives only a very brief glimpse of this. More details are given elsewhere in my writings, the most comprehensive of which is a letter I wrote to members of the People's Majlis on 1st April 2005. These writings may be obtained by visiting my website: www.rifatafeef.com.

Notes:

*Original Dhivehi article uses the term 'viyafaari usoolu' here.

**Translated from original article by Rifat Afeef, well-known development consultant.

~Side headings inserted by translator.

What Next in Thimarafushi?

One hopes that nothing more happens in Thimarafushi, now that the election results have been declared, giving Mohamed Mustafa of the ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) a narrow victory margin of 50 votes. Further litigation is unlikely to change the ground reality and will only vitiate the atmosphere further.

The most Ghassan Maumoon could hope for from taking the matter to the court would be nullify Mustafa's candidacy based on an old court case. If that happens many people in the constituency, particularly in Thimarafushi would feel cheated.

Whatever the truth, many Thimarafushi citizens nurse a long standing grudge that their island –the thickest populated in the area –has never had representation in the Majlis because of widespread vote rigging.

But today it is the moment of their victory. "I am very happy. This victory belongs to the people of this island and the history of this island is changing," an islander told Minivan News. "Because we have a lot of development plans. An airport, city hotels and a yacht marina."

So let the islanders enjoy their revelry and dreams while they last.

[Title photo from http://myislandthimarafushi.blogspot.com/]

Civil Service to Axe Five Permanent Secretaries

Maldives Civil Service has given an entirely new meaning to the word 'permanent' by deciding to sack five permanent secretaries barely a year after they were appointed. Five is not a small number considering that they represent about 25% of all permanent secretaries.

The genesis of the problem dates back to last November, when the new MDP government took over and decided to reduce the number of ministries. This left some permanent secretaries in the lurch as their ministries were either dissolved or merged with other ministries. To 'solve' this issue Civil Service Commission (CSC) took the controversial step of assigning two or more permanent secretaries to some ministries, which according to most legal experts contravenes Civil Service Law.

Perhaps it is this ill advised step that led to the current fiasco. Had the Commission assigned the extra permanent secretaries as additional secretaries or joint secretaries at that point in time, it could have been acceptable all round. But in its infinite wisdom CSC refused to countenance this obvious solution all these months. It stuck to its guns so stubbornly as to vitiate the whole atmosphere. So in the end when CSC finally did accept the 'joint-secretary' solution under duress, there were no takers for it.

The way Maldives Civil Service is headed, it does not appear as if it is achieving its purpose. The raison d'être of a civil service is to maintain continuity in policy when governments change. Here we have a situation where 25% of permanent secretaries are sacked in one year. In the coming 4 years if President Nasheed decides to reorganize ministries a couple of times more, the remaining 75% could very well lose their jobs too.

It's not as if we are inventing civil service for the first time in the history of civilization. Why can't we learn how others approach similar problems? One thing we know for sure is that senior civil servants all over the world continue in their jobs (at least in rank and salary) till retirement age. That's why they are called permanent.

Banning Airtel Dish

Some powerful forces in the Maldives are lobbying for a ban on Airtel dish antennas. We would like to believe that such forces are motivated by purely altruistic reasons such as protecting our culture and religion. However there are reasons to believe that it goes a bit beyond this.

The Airtel package is an India-based service that offers a large number of channels for the price of $100 per year, which works out to about Rf 100 per month. The cable packages hitherto available in the Maldives are priced at between Rf 300 and Rf 500. With this price difference Airtel dishes are appearing on Male rooftops at a rapid rate.

A few years back, the then Information Minister Nasheed had made an attempt to negotiate with local cable operators to bring down the prices. This attempt was blocked by the same lobbies, which today are gunning for Airtel.

To what extent our culture (or the lack there of) and religion (including our blatant disregard of its tenets) will be affected by the Airtel package is open to debate. But one thing is certain. Religious programs and pornographic material have been widely available in the Maldives for quite some time through imported CDs, video cassettes and radio, even before the appearance of dish antennas and the internet. If we are to close all these avenues we might as well get a time machine and transport us back to Stone Age.

Rethinking the National Anthem

Many Maldivians, particularly of the younger generation, appear to be having second thoughts on our current National Anthem. They believe the song is out of tune with the new generation and fails to inspire them.

Historically the words of the National Anthem were composed in 1948 by Mohamed Jameel Didi, and were sung to the tune of Auld Lang Syne, a traditional Scottish folk song written by Robert Burns. The tune was replaced by the current (composed by Sri Lankan maestro Amaradeva) in 1972, in preparation for the visit to the Maldives of Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain (including Scotland).

Some people find the words of the National Anthem ‘silly,’ particularly the tendency to greet each and everything one sees. It is also argued that parts of the song are factually inaccurate. For example, the song states that the three colors green, red and white symbolize victory, luck and success. However, the three colors as used in the national flag have different meanings.

These issues however may not be good enough reasons to replace a song which has been in use for over 60 years. If one scrutinizes familiar National Anthems around the world, such as God Save the Queen, Star Spangled Banner, Jana Gana and Hatikvah, there are similar issues, which make them less than perfect.

Further, the existing song is truly Maldivian in its content. If a new song is composed today, it is likely to have much more foreign influences, be it Western or Arabic.

The melody of the song is a different matter altogether. In 1948 and 1972, we did not have experienced musicians to compose a national anthem. But today we do. So, should we still continue a tune composed by a foreigner?

Arresting Drug Barons and Controlling Drug Trade

Whether the number of drug barons in the Maldives is six, or ten, or fifty or even hundred depends solely on how one defines a drug baron. For example if one defined a drug baron as someone who had more than $1,000,000 in assets believed to be the proceeds from illicit drug trafficking, then the alleged second drug baron, who was recently arrested by the police, won't qualify as one. But if the defining limit was set at $500,000 he could be one. And if one set the limit at $50,000, there could be more than 100 barons.

Statistically speaking one should set the defining limit at such a level that the drug barons so identified would collectively be responsible for most of the drug trade, say more than 75%. If one ignores this precaution, one could end up in an embarrassing situation where all the barons are arrested and the drug trade continues 'business as usual'.

In the run up to the parliamentary elections, President's Press Secretary Mohamed Zuhair told Minivan News that arresting the six drug barons would effectively stop the supply of narcotics into the Maldives. We hope he is right.