Not Corruption but Daylight Robbery - STO episodes....

When you think of corruption the first person to come to our minds is Yaamin... When we all believe and know that Yamin has a hierarchy of loyalists who facilitates his inflow into his wealth. These corruption and whitewash machines have been in motion for the past 20 odd years and has built an empire for Yaamin along the way and pocketing some for them selves.

It was this governments first mistake not get rid of them in the first place when they had the chance. After just a year in power we are seeing these Yaamin's machines disguise themselves as MDP loyals and do havoc to places. A classic example is STO Shareef....

Like a plaque Shareef has spread the virus of corruption into the new management of STO. From a simple deal to million dollar deals, the new management of STO and relatives of this management are pocketing huge amounts of money under the watch of Finance Ministry including the ever strong State Minister Assad, the Minister Ali Hashim and even fooling Anni into thinking that who they have appointed are indeed working for the betterment of the people.

Tomorrow we will see light to the news of Megachip (The most corrupt Computer seller during Golhaa's regime who embezzled millions using corrupt tactics mostly at Education Ministry) practicing the same tactics during the current yellow revolution.

In the coming days you will hear about more corruption inside STO partnered by Soarey, Shad (Relative of Megachip family), Shareef and even Sana Mansoor.

I have begun to believe that this is "Wathan Edhey Goiy"....

STO – Dhen V Hiyaanaiy - 2009

New Government, New heads of Companies and new wave of corruption. I think this is what we should expect just after one year in power by the current Government.

Yes, corruption is rife, it is happening. New Managing Director twisting and turning documents to favor their cousin brothers. Yes, tenders are re-tendered until cousin brothers come up with the right figure. And they just did. The tender has been submitted today and we will all see it getting awarded to the cousin brothers.

In the coming days you will be hearing more on the MD and the cousin bother’s episodes to exactly how they did it. In the meantime let us all join hands and sing along….

Esss Teee Oohh – Dhen Vee Hiyaanaaiy… Esss Teee Oohhh – Dhen Vee Hiyaanaaiy…

One Year On... Have we wiped out corruption and favoritism

After more than four long years of struggle to bring about democracy and rule of law to this nation , the people who sacrificed their time, energy and money celebrated the fruits of their labour on 11th on November 2008. A struggle that was painstaking and tiresome. A struggle that witnessed the torture of many and the true force of people power.

Today we mark the 1st Anniversary of the first democratically elected Government in the history of Maldives. 365 days of rebuilding the nation. 365 days of rehabilitation. 365 days of hope and 365 days of democracy machine put to action.

During these 365 days we have witnessed the formation of several public/private and public companies to deliver on the promises of our struggle. We have seen major projects rolled out and we have appointed new heads to almost all government and public companies.

But, after 30 years of the plaque of corruption, are we sure that we will not see a new strand of the plaque once again. We are witnessing a trend emerging and if the current institutions do not keep a closer eye on the events unfolding before their eyes, we might as well sink into a deeper corruption hole than the previous regime. The trend that we are seeing today includes.

- Owners of major businesses are appointed as Chairman's, CEO's and Board Directors. - Mega projects being controlled by proxy companies

- Associations and NGO's manipulating financial documents to obtain government funding

- Managing Directors favoring the businesses of their brothers and finding ways and means to disqualify others.

These are just few very basic symptoms of the plaque that we lived on almost all of our adult life. Unless we, as the people who went onto the streets try and stop this we will see the whole system falling into chaos once again.

So let us all join hands and voice every event and incident that can or will lead to corruption.

Happy 1st Anniversary to Democracy.

Submission ends 0000Hrs tonight - Submit now!

With just 7 hours left until submission deadline Postcards from the Frontline campaign is overwhelmed with submissions. Together with email submissions the total number has surpassed 4000. The campaign team request more submissions in the coming hours and to stop all what you are doing and submit the photo(s) that you were thinking of submitting but couldnt find that time. Submitting online is pretty simple and fast. Just visit www.350postcards.com/submit

Postcards from the Frontline is an initiative by Volunteers to alert 350 world leaders of what you and all Maldivians will lose if they are to continue the status quo on carbon emission. The initiative is one among more than 1600 events and activities across the globe. On 24th October world will sing in unison the number 350.

For more information on 350 visit www.350.org.

Postcards from the Frontline Website:www.350postcards.com

YOUR PHOTO CAN SAVE OUR HOME

submit to POSTCARDS FROM THE FRONTLINE TODAY!

In the battle against global warming, the Maldives is at the frontline. With an average height on 1.5m we are the flattest country on earth. The UN Intergovernmental Panel in Climate Change predictions suggest that the Maldives will be facing a catastrophe of immense proportions by the end of the century if global warming continues at the rate that it is currently increasing. We will undoubtedly be one of the first and hardest hit by rising waters; our eventual fate - that of environmental refugees.
On October 24th, 2009, millions of people around the world will take action to spread the number 350, the safe level of CO2 in the atmosphere measured in parts per million, and make sure the world leaders are on the course to reach that target.
As Maldivians, we believe it is our responsibility to get our voices heard on a global scale and in turn make sure that the world is aware of our plight.
Postcards from the Frontline will give Maldivians this voice.

350 unique photographs of life from people at the very forefront of this battle. They will depict more than the usual ‘wish you were here’ tourism clichés that currently dominate the worlds vision of Maldives. These photos aim to show the world instead honest images of life in the Maldives. Real experiences, real challenges, real stories of life in our low lying islands.
We request ALL MALDIVIANS, young and old, to submit photos for the cause. Entries do not need to fit into a conventional photographic category. It can be absolutely anything that reflects what the Maldives is to you:
The view from your bedroom window. Three patterened burugas sitting side by side on a bench at the artificial beach. The sun -setting over Male’s rooftops. The silver bodies of the fish lined at the Mas maarukeytu. Nimble hands twisting rope. Hikkan alhaafa huri kula kulaige hedhunthah.Your little sister’s smile. The ripple of water on calm seas. The fothi fihaara. A mundu, a golhi jehi gamees, and a koari.. Kites over dharubaarugey fahaiy. Voshufilaas in the sun. Thoshigandu mathee thibi loabiverih.

You know all this because you are Maldivian. Now it is time the world knew too.
The point is to accommodate a wide variety of images that portray the reality of life in the Maldives, as perceived and decided by you. This is a chance to move beyond the usual, the typical, the constructed. It is a chance to show a global audience the authenticity in your Maldives the way you see it.
350 photos you send will be then made into postcards, and sent to 350 world leaders with a very special appeal. These world leaders will decide the fate of Maldives, and the world, at the crucial UN Climate Change Conference Copenhagen 2009 (COP15) this December.

Your photo can save our home. And you needn’t even be a professional photographer. Being Maldivian is all that you need to be.

For more information and to submit your photos, please visit:

www.350postcards.com and www.350postcards.com/submit
For more information on the worldwide 350 initiative:

www.350.org
Do your part to spread the word by linking back or pasting this on your own blog!

Wataniya - Life's NOT good for the contractors

Wataniya Telecom, a Middle Eastern telecom giant came into Maldives in 2005. When the contract was awarded a lot of Maldivian small businesses rushed to them to find work. As finding work on most of the islands is pretty hard and work is scarce, all across Maldives contractors were busy erecting towers, digging and doing construction for Wataniya Telecom so they would not miss the deadline, which was pretty ridiculous, and escape Government fines.

We have recently come to know that Wataniya or the the main contractor Fastcomms owes these contractor millions of rufiyaa and this has been in the Courts of Maldives for the entire life of Wataniya operational in Maldives. So we investigated and this is what a contractor “Ahmed” who hasn’t been paid for over 3 years has to say.

“When we heard the news that Wataniya was awarded the contract to become the second mobile operator we felt very happy as we can raise funds for our youth clubs and other activities by working as subcontractors for Wataniya. When we first went to Wataniya we were shown the main contractor Fastcomms. So as instructed by Wataniya we worked for Fastcomms”.

Who is this Fastcomms. Fastcomms is a Maldivian firm who won the contract to supply and roll out Wataniya network.

“When we didn’t get paid for over six months we filed the case against Fastcomms. But later we found out that Wataniya did not pay Fastcomms so we started to work with Fastcomms to file the case against Wataniya.”

“This case has dragged too long. Maybe because Wataniya’s Lawyer Dheena Hussain is related to the former first Lady. That is what I think. . Even the son in law of Maumoon works with Dheena .”

“But now the court has ruled that Wataniya has to give the money to Fastcomms and we will get paid then. To date Wataniya has not paid Fastcomms, even after the court ruling. So we have obtained a copy of the verdict and we want this to go to all newspapers. People should know what kind of people Wataniya is”

“I wish in this country we can file for damages. Our families have suffered because of that. Our business went bankrupt. In other countries I can file for damages”.

“We have worked with Dhiraagu during their tower project and they always pay on time. Government should not let foreign companies destroy our lives.”

“So today we have decided that we will give this verdict copy to media and tell all Maldivians what kind of a company Wataniya is”.

Dell Comes Up Roses in Corporate Sustainability Index

Dell took the top spot in the inaugural Corporate Sustainability Index, a survey of technology firms’ sustainability efforts put together by Technology Business Research, a market research and industry advisory firm.

Dell scored an overall 317.9 points, putting it ahead of British Telecom (265.2), IBM (258.5) and Hewlett-Packard (255.1), according to a press release. Dell earned high marks for its efforts in renewable energy, recycling and embedded sustainability strategy.

Intel ranked fifth at 250.5.

High-tech firms have been among the earliest and most aggressive adopters of sustainability efforts, with fierce rivals and partners alike egging each other on, in a bid to spur greater overall sustainbility. In particular, Dell and Intel, which are fairly intertwined, have traded jabs on sustainability, reports Earth2Tech.

Dell has a habit of using its high marks on sustainability to encourage its competitors, including when it called out other PC makers for being slow to adopt computer recycling efforts. When HP pledged to double its renewable energy purchases, Dell called the move “a good first step.” Dell sources about 35 percent of its U.S. energy use from green power.

Just over a week ago, Dell claimed to be the first major computer manufacturer to ban the export of electronic waste including non-working electronics to developing countries as part of its global policy on responsible electronics disposal. Dell offers free computer recycling to consumers worldwide.

Source: http://www.environmentalleader.com