President Announces Land Reform Measures

President Mohamed Nasheed has announced the reforms to be proposed by the government to legislations that govern land and land transactions in the Maldives.

He made the announcement, speaking at the ceremony held in Manadhoo of Noonu Atoll today to begin transferring state held land titles in the islands to island councils.

The President said there were a number of reforms to existing land legislations and new legislations necessary to facilitate use of land as a transferrable commercial property and to ease the shortage of land in the Maldives.

The President said the government intended to propose reforms to existing Land Act and propose two new legislations on condominiums and mortgages.

On the reforms proposed to Land Act, the President said the aim of these reforms was simplifying both legal and administrative procedures in buying and selling land, and transferring ownership of land.

He said the duration that takes to conduct land transactions and the confusion involved in the process was obstacles to commerce and economic growth.

Outlining the new Condominium Bill to be sent to the People’s Majlis, the President stated that this legislation would facilitate individual ownership of pieces of real estate, usually apartment houses, housed in a single building.

He said such legislation was necessary to successfully deliver the government’s housing programme which aims to provide housing on installment basis.

The legislation would also overcome current obstacles to mortgage an apartment as the individuals do not own an apartment until they paid the price of the apartment in full.

In addition, summarizing the mortgage bill to be proposed to the parliament, the President emphasized the need enmesh the procedures for mortgaging properties and land, and the rights of the mortgagee and mortgager within the legal framework.

In his speech today, the President underscored that the severe shortage and resulting higher cost of land prevailed in the country not because of limited land but because of hindrances to transacting land.

He said the government wanted to change the way land transactions were done in the Maldives to allow easy of use of land as for commercial use, as a commercially transferrable asset.

The President said attaining national development and economic growth would not be possible without freeing land from unnecessary legal and procedural hindrances and allowing commercial transactions of land.

Commonwealth workshop to promote dialogue between government and opposition

Members of Parliament and other senior politicians from ruling and opposition parties from Commonwealth countries in Asia will participate in the first workshop of its kind in Maldives, jointly organised by the Commonwealth Secretariat and the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA).

The workshop will also bring together selected resource persons, civil society representatives and observers from regional and international partner organisations of the Commonwealth.

The workshop, which bears the theme, Government and Opposition – Roles, Rights and Responsibilities, will be held from 13 to 15 June 2011 in Malé.

“Commonwealth Asia is the association’s most populous region, with both old and deep-rooted democracies, as well as more nascent ones. In all democracies, it is important for government and opposition parties to engage more effectively to promote democratic culture, political stability and socio-economic prosperity in their countries and the broader region,” said Commonwealth Deputy Secretary-General Mmasekgoa Masire-Mwamba, who will launch the workshop together with the Speaker of the Majlis, the Maldives Parliament, the Hon Abdulla Shahid, as well as the representative of the CPA.

“At this workshop, parliamentarians will be able to share their own experiences and knowledge with peers from other countries, as well as learn from the experiences of others. This will help develop greater insight and understanding of issues, as well as generate good practice for Commonwealth Asia and beyond. This workshop aims to reinforce the Commonwealth’s commitment to strengthening democratic values, processes and institutions, which are characterised, among other things, by free and fair elections and representative legislatures,” she added.

The delegates will explore issues such as the challenge of good governance; the role of Parliament; transparency and accountability; the role of political parties in credible and peaceful elections; and managing conflict.

The workshop is part of a highly successful series that has been held in different parts of the Commonwealth. Previous workshops have covered the Pacific, Caribbean, West African and Southern African regions.