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Corruption in the Tourism Ministry; Will the best bidder get an Island for resort development?

by a correspondent 20th May 2004

'Tourism is the hen which lays golden eggs', said president Gayyoom in one of his state addresses. In 90's dominant fisheries industry was replaced by the tourism industry as the country's maj

or economic activity. Since then, the industry has attracted people from all backgrounds.

Tourism industry has been seen by many people as a money spinner; especially when it is directly connected with 'green notes'. Though private sector with foreign partners dominates the industry, the government represented by the Ministry of Tourism has an influential role in determining the overall policy of the industry. Therefore most of the public view the officials of the ministry as important actors to influence the very inner sphere of the activities in the industry. Getting a senior post in the ministry is vital for many people and there always exists a power struggle in the ministry itself. It is rumoured that even the very ordinary 'inspectors' of the ministry use their influence deliberately to get 'free goodies' such as all paid free weekend in a luxurious resort.

It doesn't stop there. Top civil servants, the very senior ones are more determined to use these powers for private gains. Not many have been busted unlike the case in 2002 where a corruption charges where made against the assistant director, Mr Amir. He was jailed for taking, or perhaps borrowing money from many industry men in the name of the Tourism Minister Mr Hassan Sobir. These allegations are proved in the court to Maldivian standard, where he had been deprived of legal representation.

Apparently it was rumoured before he moved to the Ministry of Tourism, he had a corrupt track record in the FPID (now MIFCO), the government owned fisheries company. With his many links in the civil service and family connections in Ministerial post he was able to move from one office to the other with influence. No department in government bothered to look in to these matters. There is strong feeling in Male' that Amir's case is a set-up as his conversation was recorded. Some of the industry insiders confirm that the current Tourism Minister borrowed a huge amount of money from Mr Nazim as commission for granting him Landaa Giraavaru. Finally when the deal did not go through, Mr Nazim asked the money back from the Minister in a crowded gathering.

Though Mr Amir was busted there are other officials in the ministry who had a very long record of accepting bribery and using government money for their own activities. One of the well known characters in the ministry for his notorious power abuse and corruption is the Deputy Director Mr Ismail Firaq, who is in-charge of selecting islands and the bidding processes for new islands for tourism development. In the year 2000 he regained his lost power after previous tourism Minister Mr H Zaki demoted him for alleged rape of a friend's wife and reckless behaviour after a night out in Full Moon Beach Resort in 1997.

Mr Firag is also known for his high temper and favouring his 'booze party' members in the industry. People who don't offer 'free drinks' often get mocked by him. Some of his disgusting behaviours were viewed by many in the industry and in the ministry during 2002's regional eco-tourism summit held in the Maldives.

On 7 July 2004 there will be bid opening for the new islands which are on public auction now. The man in charge of the whole process is still Mr Firag, who many believe doesn't have any credibility to conduct such evaluations. It seems that the islands will be gone to parties who are wiling to pay (to share with the Minister) him the most. The bid evaluation and logistic team in the ministry works from direct instruction from Mr Firag. Insiders of Tourism Ministry says that he is keeping the whole process so tightly controlled so he can do what ever he likes. They obviously share the bounty. Mr Firaq is as influential as the minister in-charge of the Tourism Ministry. The power is directly linked with his wife's (Fathey's) position in the President's office as President's personal secretary.

It is not surprising or unusual in the Maldives government to employee people with corrupt track record. The norm is the more corrupt a person becomes the more seniority that person gains. With such corrupt people to handle the multi-million dollar industry, the best bidder may fail to get an island to develop a resort.

Let's hope that no one related to Gayyoom is bidding for any of the islands. They always have the best bids and tend to win no matter what.