The opposition Progressive Congress Coalition held its first major rally in Malé since August. Media coverage of former president Abdulla Yameen’s 30-minute speech focused on his repeated accusations of India “enslaving” the Maldives and interfering in domestic politics. He also dismissed alleged ties to extremists as the government playing the “death card” in relation to the abduction of journalist Ahmed Rilwan in August 2014.
A verdict in Yameen’s bribery and money laundering trial is due to be delivered on Sunday (25 December). If convicted, the opposition leader will be barred from contesting in the 2023 presidential election.
Newly reclaimed land in Gaafu Alifu Dhaandhoo was officially handed over to the island council. Speaking at the function on the southern island, President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih highlighted the achievements of his four-year administration and pledged a credit scheme to provide ice to fishing boats and assured adequate fuel supplies through the State Trading Organisation.
The family court officiated 58 marriages as many couples chose to tie the knot on the palindrome date (22.12.22). Seats with a tent cover were put up outside the busy courthouse in Malé.
Ceremonial foundation stones were laid for the new high-rise Ahmadhiyya International School building in Malé.
A young woman was arrested on suspicion of stabbing her brother during a domestic dispute at a residence in the Henveiru ward of Malé. The victim was treated at the Senahiya military hospital.
The Asian Development Bank pledged grant aid of US$9.5 million for a project to strengthen gender equality and social inclusion.
“ADB’s assistance will help the Ministry of Finance to integrate gender-responsive budgeting into the national budget system, and support efforts by the Maldives Bureau of Statistics to address critical gaps in the collection and use of gender statistics and data disaggregated by sex, age, and disability. It will also fund climate-resilient shelters for domestic violence and gender-based violence survivors in Addu, Hulhumalé, and Raa-Ungoofaaru, and strengthen the capacity of the social service system to provide aged care and early childcare services,” according to the bank.
Fishers from Baa Fulhadhoo caught a six-feet-long sunfish, a rare deep-sea species that is protected in the country.
The sacking of five senior policemen last year was unlawful, the civil court ruled on procedural grounds, after the former officers challenged the police board’s decision to recommend their dismissal. Contrary to legal prerequisites, the board did not consider either allegations made against them or evidence to support wrongdoing, Judge Ali Abdulla noted.
The Attorney General’s office has since decided to appeal the judgment, citing the lower court’s incorrect interpretation of the police law.
The dismissed officers were assistant commissioners Ahmed Mohamed and Mohamed Jamsheed, superintendents Mohamed Daood and Ismail Shameem, and chief superintendent Abdulla Shareef.
During his official visit, Takei Shunsuke, Japan’s State Minister for Foreign Affairs, attended a ceremony to relocate the Seawall Tetrapod Monument in Malé. The seawall that protects the capital from storm surges was built with Japanese assistance after flooding in 1987 and 1988.
Exchange of Notes for grant aid of ¥700 million (MVR80 million) “to enhance sustainable waste management capabilities” was also signed during the state minister’s visit.
The Housing Development Corporation announced the lease of 23 plots from Hulhumalé’s industrial zone to relocate garages and workshops from Malé.
In November, 10 expatriates were killed after a fire broke out at a garage in the overcrowded capital.
The Anti-Corruption Commission sought criminal charges against three former health ministry officials over advance payments made to a Dubai company for 75 ventilators in April 2020, a suspicious procurement that caused a loss of MVR31 million (US$2 million) to the state as only 15 ventilators were delivered, of which five did not meet specifications.
The anti-graft watchdog recommended corruption charges of “acting in a manner which precludes an advantage to the public or the state where a benefit exists” against former deputy minister Shiyama Mohamed, former director Ahmed Aslam and former legal officer Ali Shiham.
After a compliance audit flagged suspected foul play in August 2020, the ACC submitted cases against 11 officials including former health minister Abdulla Ameen. But the Prosecutor General’s office declined to press charges, citing the suspension of public finance rules for the pandemic emergency response.
In August this year, Transparency Maldives called on the state to ensure accountability and recover lost funds. “The upfront payment of 90 per cent of the total value, the use of single source procurement procedures using false information, the absence of a performance and advance payments guarantee, and selecting a brand of ventilators that was not agreed by the Bid Committee in order to award the contract to Executors General Trading all show that an unfair advantage was given to a particular party,” the NGO noted.
The country’s first ‘Primary Health Care Demonstration Site’ was launched in Faafu Atoll under a campaign to curb the rise of non-communicable diseases.
“Through an integrated people-centered service delivery approach, the project will enable population-level screening for select non-communicable diseases, strengthen healthy lifestyle counseling; and identify and refer common cancers and select mental health conditions,” according to WHO Maldives.
Abu Bakuru Faisal, who was found hanged inside his cell after his arrest on suspicion of murdering his wife, passed away at the the Kulhudhuffushi regional hospital.
The 32-year-old had been on a ventilator in critical condition after he was rushed to the hospital from the island’s police station.
Faisal’s wife, Nishama Mohamed, 28, was found with bruises on her neck in her native Haa Dhaal Nolhivaram. She was declared dead on arrival at the island’s health centre on 10 December. Earlier in the day, Faisal travelled to Kulhudhuffushi and turned himself in to the police.
According to media reports, family members and neighbours witnessed quarrels and physical abuse both when the couple lived in Faisal’s native Alif Dhaal Fenfushi and after they moved to Nolhivaram with their three young children. But domestic violence was never reported to the authorities.
A new waste management law that could allow the importation of waste from other countries raises “serious concerns about the rights to health and to a healthy environment and the government’s obligation to address climate change,” Human Rights Watch warned, a day after the president signed the legislation into law.
Provisions for importing waste were added at the last minute by a parliamentary committee in light of ongoing Waste-to-Energy incineration projects. But the law will be amended to prohibit waste importation when parliament returns from recess, the environment minister assured.
Human bones were found at an accommodation block for bridge workers in Gulhifalhu that was destroyed by a fire.
According to the Indian developer Afcons Infrastructure, DNA testing would be needed to confirm whether the bones were the remains of a truck driver who has been missing since the fire incident on 16 December. Neither the company nor the government has disclosed the identity or nationality of the missing person.
Of 78 workers who were taken to the hospital with injuries and smoke inhalation, 32 were reportedly admitted for treatment.
Two men were found guilty over the murder of Ali Ziyadham in Laamu Atoll Mundoo.
Ziyadham, 29, was fatally stabbed in March 2015. Both the victim and the convicted defendants, Mohamed Shanoon and Ali Shifam, were from Mundoo. Sentencing is due to take place after the court asks the victim’s heirs if they wish to seek the death penalty or blood money.
Speaker Mohamed Nasheed announced his intention to seek the divided Maldivian Democratic Party’s ticket for the 2023 presidential election, setting up a contest with President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih.
It will be the first time that an incumbent faces a primary challenge.
The former president filed his candidacy papers on Thursday. President Solih’s candidacy was submitted with the support of 20,000 members, according to his campaign manager. Several MPs gathered support forms from their constituencies. The minimum requirement was 500 signatures.
The MDP primary is due to take place on 28 January.
Earlier in the week, President Solih met with lawmakers and party officials to plan his campaign. About 80% of the MDP’s national council – the party’s governing body – support the incumbent. At the first campaign rally on Thursday, Foreign Minister Abdulla Shahid heaped praise on the president’s “patient and skilful” governance as well as his success in sustaining a diverse ruling coalition.
Nasheed meanwhile criticised the failure to prosecute the beneficiaries of the MMPRC and ventilator corruption scandals. He also questioned the validity of the MDP voter list, alleging the expulsion of 39,000 members. But the party defended the new “cleaned up” registry and pledged to reinstate members who had been fraudulently registered with other parties.
Earlier this month, Nasheed accused his “childhood friend” Solih of sidelining him after working closely together until mid-2019. The president then tried to consolidate power and build his own support base, he suggested.
In August, Nasheed withdrew a proposal for the MDP’s national congress to endorse the parliamentary system. Solih, senior ministers and coalition partners support the existing system and favours contesting next year’s election with the incumbent as the MDP’s candidate.
In May, the president’s faction won fiercely contested internal polls to elect a new chairman. Solih’s faction also controls a comfortable majority of the MDP’s 66-member parliamentary group.
