Minister of Fisheries and Marine Resources Ahmed Shiyam has responded to comments made by opposition members at a PNF meeting, stating that governance is something Allah grants to those who work hard with good intentions, and not decisions made on street corners. A video circulating on social media shows former Vice President Dr. Mohamed Jameel Ahmed and a member of that party criticizing the President using offensive language at a PNF meeting. Many people are expressing their sentiments on social media, condemning the comments made about him in that video.

In a post regarding this matter, Minister Shiyam said that there are things that should not be said, even in politics. He also said that “when someone gets hold of a microphone on a street corner, they lose their senses and act as if the world has turned to gold,” and that it would be “much better” to remember that Dr. Mohamed Muizzu is the leader elected by the people in 2023.

The Minister said that governance is something is something Allah grants to those who work hard with good intentions. He also said that it is Allah who grants paradise to those who persist in doing good deeds. Furthermore, Minister Shiyam stated that governance is not decisions made on street corners, and that he prays for guidance for those who think in such ways.

President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu has announced that the government has decided to offer full scholarships to 45 individuals to pursue studies in Fisheries Management. The President made this statement while speaking on the fourth episode of the “With the People” podcast. The President said that if the full potential of the fisheries sector is realized, it could contribute up to three times more to the GDP than tourism.

Noting that the Maldives has a vast sea area and Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) by the grace of Allah, the President said that the government has not yet been able to derive economic benefits or tap into the EEZ as desired.

“We practice very sustainable fishing. We catch each fish individually. We don’t use nets to sweep like foreign countries do. So, the whole world accepts our fishing practices. Therefore, we can expand our fishing to the entire sea area. Even without going that far, there are many things we can do. There are ways we can utilize fishing and other marine resources,” the President said.

The President highlighted that opportunities are now open for foreign parties to invest in various areas, including mariculture, and things are progressing. Therefore, he said the government’s policy is to utilize ocean resources in the most economically beneficial way.

“We have established a college named Maldives College for Fisheries and Ocean Sciences at the National University. We will be offering full scholarships for Bachelor of Fisheries Management from this college in the coming days. All preparations for this have been made. We estimate that we can provide scholarships to 45 students based on our current budget allocation. We are also running other smaller courses,” the President said.

The President stated that this college is a significant step towards developing human resources for the sector. He added that the government is also working through higher education to facilitate scholarships and courses in various fields related to fisheries.

President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu has stated that sharing information is a high priority for priority for him and that he has decided to meet with journalists on the 3rd of May. The President revealed that he will meet with journalists on May 3rd, which is internationally recognized as World Press Freedom Day, during the fourth episode of the “With the People” podcast series, where he answers questions from the public.

The President said that any kind of question can be posed at the press conference he will hold on May 3rd, and he invited journalists to start preparing for it from now. “If a TV station extends an invitation, I am ready to participate in a program conducted by that station and answer questions,” the President said.

The President stated that his aim is to deliver results, and therefore he spends a lot of time working. However, he said that he will dedicate time to matters related to sharing information as much as time allows, and that he will also give time directly to journalists in the future. Sharing information closely with the people and listening to their opinions and concerns is something the President is giving special attention to. While various ministries of his government are also conducting regular press briefings, the President continues to share his statements through various media and social media platforms.

When sharing information in this manner, he pays attention to all age groups and engages with them in ways tailored to those age groups.

The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has sent a case to the Prosecutor General’s Office to prosecute former CEO Hassan Shah and several former employees of Maldives Transport and Contracting Company (MTCC). Regarding this case, the ACC stated that in connection with the tower construction project carried out to provide housing for MTCC employees, the company’s executives worked to provide undue benefits to the company awarded the contract. As such, the ACC has requested prosecution against former MTCC CEO Hassan Shah, Shifa’u Ali who was then General Manager and a member of the Tender Evaluation Committee, Hussain Zuhury, Mohamed Nazim, and Ismail Adham who were members of the Tender Evaluation Committee at the time.

The ACC said that in connection with the announcement to find a party to build two 15-storey towers in the second phase of Hulhumale to provide housing for MTCC employees under the government’s housing policy, points were awarded to a foreign company in violation of the evaluation criteria among the bidders. They also said that after awarding the project to that company, even though the company acted in a way that required termination of the agreement, instead of terminating the agreement, “advance payments” and “progressive payments” were released to the company. The ACC also said that efforts were made to assign works required under the agreement as separate tasks, and while the contracted company had not carried out the work as per the agreement, that agreement was not terminated. The ACC said these actions have caused significant financial losses to MTCC.

In this case, in addition to the financial loss of MVR 39,241,855.78 to MTCC, the ACC has instructed MTCC to calculate and recover additional financial losses incurred. The charges requested for prosecution in this case include the offense of using official influence improperly to obtain and provide benefits, as well as the offense of acting otherwise in a matter where the state could have benefited. The ACC has also sent to the PG’s office an additional charge of attempted crime against Shifa’u Ali.

Russia has stated that an anonymous account on X (formerly Twitter) is run by a former senior political leader of the Maldives. The Russian Ambassador to Sri Lanka and the Maldives, Levan Dzhagaryan, said that the account named Hassan Kurusi onusi on X is operated by a former Maldivian senior political leader who has fled to a European country.

The Ambassador made this statement while noting that the Kurusi account is working to weaken the relationship between the Maldives and Russia. He also assured that the statements made by that account would not affect the relationship between the two countries.

The Kurusi account has alleged that chips were transported to Russia via Velana International Airport. This claim was made by the account in reference to the US Ambassador to the Maldives. Ambassador Dzhagaryan further stated that President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu is taking many steps to improve the Maldives’ weakened financial situation, and highlighted that the thousands of Russian tourists visiting the Maldives are greatly contributing to this effort.

The Hassan Kurusi account was very active during the previous MDP government. It frequently disclosed highly confidential internal government information and posted many criticisms of the government. As a result, it was initially suspected that former President Mohamed Nasheed was running the Kurusi account. However, Nasheed has denied this.

The Kurusi account was created in October 2022. The account has been criticizing the government and various political figures, as well as making allegations of corruption. As the issue with the account escalated, in August 2023, the police obtained a court order through the Criminal Court to identify the person behind it. However, the identity has not yet been officially discovered. Currently, over 50,000 people follow Kurusi on X.

The President of the Republic, Dr. Mohamed Muizzu, has today ratified the amendment to the Maldives Immigration Act banning Israeli passports. This bill was passed in today’s session of the People’s Majlis. The purpose of this bill is to prohibit the entry of Israeli citizens with Israeli passports into the Maldives, as a measure taken by the Maldives against the inhumane acts and genocide being carried out by Israel to eliminate the Palestinian people.

The government continues to work extensively in various international forums for the rights of the brotherly people of Palestine. The President has previously called for the establishment of an independent state in Palestine in accordance with the pre-1967 borders, including East Jerusalem, and for Palestine to be granted full membership in the United Nations.

The Committee on National Security Services (241) has passed an amendment to the Immigration Act to prohibit entry into the Maldives with Israeli passports until Israel stops its attacks aimed at eliminating Palestinians. The proposal to amend the Immigration Act to ban individuals with Israeli passports from entering the Maldives was submitted by MDP member Mickail Ahmed Naseem, representing the Galolhu South constituency. The bill, submitted on May 29 last year, was accepted and sent to the Committee on National Security Services (241), where it has remained at the committee stage.

After a long period, at today’s committee meeting to work on the bill, numerous amendments were made before passing it. The most significant amendment was the removal of the provision that banned both individuals with Israeli passports and those from other countries who also hold Israeli passports from entering the Maldives. Instead, the ban now only applies to those who attempt to enter the Maldives using an Israeli passport. This change was made after Immigration informed the committee that it would not be possible to implement the ban otherwise.

With this change, individuals who have Israeli passports along with passports from other countries or those with dual citizenship will be able to enter the Maldives. The bill was passed unanimously by the committee, where the government PNC holds a majority, after these amendments. This passage of the bill with significant changes comes at a time when the opposition MDP and the public have been heavily criticizing the government for the delay in proceeding with this matter.

The project to construct 400 housing units in Hulhumalé under a loan from the Saudi Development Fund has commenced today. The project was inaugurated at a ceremony held in Hulhumalé Phase 2 by Minister of Finance and Planning, Moosa Zameer, and the CEO of the fund, Sultan Abdulrahman Al-Marshad. The Ministry of Housing stated that this project will facilitate homeownership and housing for many people under the government’s policy. However, no further information is yet available regarding the affordable housing units to be released.

After inaugurating the project, Zameer said that this work will solve the difficulty of providing affordable and suitable housing that the country is facing socially and economically. Zameer said that this is a development that brings hope and progress to housing projects. He also noted that this is a step towards reducing congestion in Malé and improving living conditions. In March 2023, the Ministry of Finance had announced to find a consultancy firm for the project to build housing units in Hulhumalé.

During this visit of the Saudi Fund’s CEO to the Maldives, an agreement for an additional loan of 17 million dollars to develop the terminal at Velana Airport was also signed today.