A digest of news and opinion from the Maldives.
Ahmed Fauzan Abbas is on a ferry headed towards a popular surf spot an hour from Malé, the capital of Maldives. The surfer, better known as Karo, remembers a time when locals were arrested for surfing in spots where well-heeled foreign tourists were charged US$25 (MVR375) for access to the waves. “Back then surfing had […]
The Maldives Thursday declared that more than MVR13billion (US$875 million) has been lost or stolen from state coffers since 1999, as it announced efforts to recover assets lost in high-profile corruption case from former president Maumoon Abdul Gayoom’s era. The amount eclipses the entire state budget of 2010. In a press conference held by the […]
State utility firm Fenaka has been fiercely criticised for power cuts in Addu City. Addu City, an atoll comprising six islands with a combined population in excess of 21,000, has been losing power for more than a week after four generators failed. The power cuts have triggered a probe, with Fenaka managing director Ahmed Shareef […]
The Maldives tax authority has reported a 10 percent decline in revenue for September 2017 compared to the same period in 2016. The revenue statistics for last month, published on Wednesday by the Maldives Inland Revenue Authority, records a total revenue of MVR989 million (US$64 million). MIRA recorded MVR1 billion in monthly revenue for 2016, […]
The foundation stones of a new industrial park for small and medium-sized enterprises was laid Wednesday by the tourism and economic development ministers. Financed from the government budget, the MVR30 million (US$1.9 million) project for a six-storey building in Hulhumalé was jointly undertaken by the state-owned Housing Development Corporation and Business Center Corporation. “This building […]
Nearly a quarter of Maldivian youth are not employed or engaged in education or training, according to the World Bank’s new South Asia Economic Focus report. The employment share of Maldivians in the booming tourism and construction industries – the main drivers of economic growth – is relatively low as both sectors attract many migrant […]
A special audit of the Southern Transport Link has flagged more than MVR350,000 (US$22,700) that has gone missing from the subsidiary of the state-owned Maldives Ports Limited. According to the report made public Monday, the money was earned from ferry services, transporting cargo and renting vessels between December 21, 2015 and May 31, 2016 but […]
Hundreds of non-Maldivian fishing vessels have been operating illegally in the nation’s waters, according to an assessment from the Ministry of Fisheries and Agriculture. The assessment was conducted with help from international cooperation, based on Automatic Identification System (AIS) data collected through satellite service providers. The two-year study identified 432 vessels performing unauthorized activities in […]
State utility firms are operating at a loss, a parliamentary committee has heard, with one power company’s debt standing at around MVR1.6 billion (US$103 million). Environment and energy minister Thoriq Ibrahim, as well as utility company bosses, were summoned to a government oversight committee session on Wednesday to answer questions on unequal prices between the […]