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Snapping-shark bidders
circle Maldive resort islands
The present round of bidding for new resort islands has split the board of the Maldives Association of Tourism Industry, with MATI official Ali Shiyam from AAA company writing a letter demanding the resignation of the organisation's chairman Mohamed Umar Manik. Ali Shiyam's letter was the result of an interview given by Umar Manik and MATI general secretary Sim Ibrahim Mohamed with Haveeru newspaper. Shiyam claims the interview violated MATI rules against individual board members promoting their personal interests in the name of the organisation. While anxious bidders snap and snarl like hungry sharks circling a floating carcass, more thoughtful Maldivians are wondering what the millions of dollars in rents and bribes will be used for. The money's destination is certain. It will end up with all the fishery profits in the secret foreign bank accounts and investment portfolios owned by Gayyoom and his associates, and the bulk of the resort profits will go to the Male' families who have moved overseas to live in countries where people are protected by real laws and administered by bureaucracies that don't have to be bought. In the last few weeks, public discussion in Male' about constitutional and legal reforms has diverted attention from Gayyoom's plot to allocate most of the new islands to the same pack of greedy people who already control the industry. This is happening despite the President's public promise to diversify and share tourist industry wealth among as many Maldivians as possible. As usual, Maumoon Gayyoom was lying. The current bidding process cannot deliver a just and equitable distribution of income to the Maldivian people because only wealthy people can afford to make bids and pay the bribes the president demands. The workers in these resorts will receive a pittance, and anyone who complains will endure imprisonment and torture at the hands of Gayyoom's NSS. Resorts should be owned in trust by the people in the particular atoll where they are located, and the profits used to provide education, health and other social services to that atoll's population. Private management and competition for customers would ensure these businesses are properly run and every Maldivian would benefit, instead of just a few families headquartered in Male' and overseas. Such a system would bring food supplies, employment and communication infrastructure to those areas where they are most needed. Gayyoom perverts and corrupts everything he touches, and under the present system he can pick and chose from a smorgasbord of bribes and collect the money he needs to enrich himself and maintain his power in Maldives. Bribes will be collected even from unsuccessful bidders, and no payments are ever returned. Some analysts are suggesting that Gayyoom is preparing a 'war chest' for a mass bribing of voters in the Majlis elections due this year, and as a buffer against trade sanctions. In the past, the threat of international sanctions has prevented the National Security Service from staging a coup and establishing an open military government, but the continuing growth of the campaign for democracy and legal reform has made its senior officers very nervous. Despite NSS intimidation and Gayyoom's active sabotage of the reform process, public meetings in Male' to discuss the future direction of the country are attracting large numbers of outspoken and intelligent people. Gayyoom can no longer justify his arrogant and neo-colonial attitude towards the Maldive people. The standard of discussion at the public gatherings is better than anything heard in Majlis or cabinet meetings, and far more convincing than the incoherent and duplicitous ravings of Maumoon Gayyoom. The NSS can no longer control the masses with bluff and threats, and regular clandestine meetings between the NSS and the president's brother Yameen are causing increasing concern among reformers. If NSS Commander-in-Chief Maumoon Gayyoom can gather enough bribes from this latest round of resort island allocations, the NSS may be prepared to make mass arrests and risk international sanctions. As in Iraq during the last decade of Saddam Hussein's ignoble rule, it will be the poor Maldivians who suffer from these sanctions while their brutal masters say it is the price of independence for their country. The list of bids given below shows the millions of dollars involved in new resort island allocations. This list has not appeared in the Maldive media. Resort bids list 375k htm file The Maldives Culture company mentioned in the list has no links with anyone associated with this website. Similarly, the Rasmathi (Royal Family) company has no connection with Majid Abdul-Wahhab's 'Maldives Royal Family' website. Perhaps the next round of bidding will contain groups calling themselves 'Dhivehi Observer', 'Sandhaanu' or 'MDP'. We suggest future potential bidders seeking instant popularity also consider company names like 'Resign Now Gayyoom' and 'Arrest Police Chief Adam Zahir'. Readers should note that some of the companies currently renting islands pay only a pittance to the Maldive government, despite regular review of their rents. For example, the Universal group delays all renovation work on their resorts until just before rents are reviewed. These renovation costs are then accepted as a reason why their rents should not be substantially increased to a realistic level. The Ministry of Tourism and Maumoon Gayyoom are bribed handsomely to approve these renovations and Universal continues to pay only token rents, while collecting an average 35% profit per annum from its operations. Panorama Cerst's $US484 million bid is obviously not serious, and Island Dreams' $US4.9 billion bid is an error by the company. Close associates of Maumoon Gayyoom made low bids for the islands, and they are complaining loudly that high rents will destroy the tourism industry. Gayyoom's supporters have made similar accusations against the movement for democratic reform. Once again they are confronted with the reality that the only real traitor in Maldives is President Maumoon Gayyoom himself. |
Maldives Culture is an independent internet magazine of Maldive cultural issues.
Editors and translators: Michael O'Shea and Fareesha Abdulla, Australia
We invite contributions from Maldivians and others interested in Maldives.
Contributions and comments - mc_editors@hotmail.com
