Minivan News brings you the third part in a breakdown of a 29-page auditor general report on Theemuge, the palace of the former president, Maumoon Abdul Gayoom.
The former president, Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, spent an average of Rf5,500 (US$430) a day on food for himself and his family in 2007 and 2008 – equivalent to one month's wages for an employee working at his palace at that time.
The revelation was made in the chapter on household expenses in Auditor General Ibrahim Naeem's latest report on Theemuge, Gayoom's former residence.
The report reveals the average annual food expenditure was Rf2 million (US$156,000) over the two years, excluding food expenses for employees. "We note that it is not the practice of democratic countries to spend from state funds on food for the president's adult children," the report reads. Personal expenses Naeem writes that travel, medical and entertainment expenses for Gayoom's family were all included under the president's personal budget.
More than 300 staff were employed at the presidential palace at a total cost of Rf45 million (US$3,500,000) in 2008 to serve Gayoom and his wife as well as their children and grandchildren.
The audit revealed that "all expenses, small and large, of all types" for the former president and his family were drawn from the Theemuge budget.
Examples given in the report include two designer suits from Singapore; a branded diaper for Gayoom's grandson, which was air freighted from London to the Maldives via the high commission in the UK; and a week-long stay for him and his family at the Grand Hyatt hotel in Singapore at a cost of SGD28,291 (US$19,000).
Credit card
In addition to the president's official and unofficial visits, paid for by the president's office in 2007, the report states that Rf3 million (US$230,000) was siphoned from the Theemuge budget as spending money on these trips.
"We do not know what the money was spent on, thus we note that this is an act of irresponsibility," Naeem writes.
Further, in 2007, Rf1.7 million (US$130,000) was spent on overseas trips using a number of different credit cards for purchases including items made of gold and men's suits.
"These are all personal belongings and we believe they should not be paid for by the Theemuge budget," adds the auditor general.
"We reiterate that this should be done with the president's own budget as such expenditure is irrelevant to the operation of the government and the benefit of the public."
"Unscrupulous"
The travel and medical expenses of the president's family members totalled Rf3.8 million (US$300,000) in 2007 and 2008.
Medical costs covered Gayoom's children and their spouses, his grandchildren, and travel expenses for their maids.
Naeem describes the expenditure as "unscrupulous".
Further, in 2007, the president took a contingent of 19 people with him on a pilgrimage to Mecca, spending over Rf1 million (US$78,000) from the Theemuge budget.
The report notes that as the trip was unrelated to government affairs the money should have come from his own pocket.
The same year, the former first lady, Nasreena Ibrahim, travelled to Dubai with "many members" of the Society for Health Education.
The report concludes that as no record was to be found, stating the purpose of the trip, the money spent was a misuse of state funds.
Delayed
The auditor general concludes the chapter by recommending Gayoom and Nasreena return all expenses, which were for personal use rather than for the benefit of the state or general public, not only in 2007 and 2008, but in all previous years.
Information for the audit was gathered from documents and financial records from Theemuge, the ministry of finance and the president's office.
Although the audit was originally planned for August 2008 it was twice delayed on the request of senior staff at Theemuge. It was eventually carried out from January to April this year.
"We note this was due to difficulties and delays in receiving information, lack of proper records, documents and figures and failure to complete financial records for 2008," the report reads.
The report has now been submitted to the parliamentary public accounts committee.
Check back on Minivan News for more articles about the audit report on Theemuge tomorrow.
by Maryam Omidi and Ahmed Naish
Minivan News brings you the first part in a breakdown of a 29-page auditor general report on Theemuge, the palace of the former president, Maumoon Abdul Gayoom.
More than US$3 million earmarked to be distributed among the poor and improve social welfare in both 2007 and 2008 was spent on the president’s relatives, ministers and their families, senior government officials and some MPs, the latest auditor general’s report reveals.
The audit report on Theemuge, published on Thursday, states 49 per cent of the palace’s budget, equivalent to Rf48.2 million (US$3,750,000), was diverted from the poor in 2007 and 52 per cent of the budget, or Rf44.9 million (US$3,500,000), in 2008.
“We believe this is corruption and misappropriation of public funds,” the damning report reads.
The report, which focuses on expenditure from the Theemuge budget for 2007 and 2008, also covers the palace’s expenses, including household costs; the president’s launch, purchased in 2002; the construction of Theemuge; property and other assets bought under the budget; and the president’s amenities.
But Aneesa Ahmed, a member of the main opposition group, the Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP), has described the allegations against the party's leader as “unsubstantiated”.
“By publishing such a report, the auditor general has violated clause 128 of the constitution. If he has reason to believe the former president misused public funds, he has to first of all get the Anti-Corruption Commission to investigate.”
Article 128 states a person who has served as president without committing any offence shall be entitled to the highest honour, dignity, protection and financial privileges.
The poor and social welfare
An examination of invoices and statements by the auditor general reveals that funds intended for the poor were instead spent on medical trips to Singapore by “influential senior officials”.
This includes their travel expenses, their stay in expensive hotels, their food, taxis, long-term apartment rental and medical check-ups.
More than SGD$2.3 million (US$1,500,000) was spent on one of Gayoom’s relatives and his family on trips to Singapore throughout 2007 and SGD$1.4 million (US$930,000) for another relative and his family for multiple trips to Singapore.
In March 2008, SGD$23,756 (US$16,000) was spent for a minister’s grandson to stay in a hotel in Singapore for 21 days; in April, SGD$50,022 (US$33,000) was spent on medical expenses for a friend of the president’s; and in July 2008, SGD$6,905 (US$4,600) was spent on two pairs of glasses for a minister and his wife.
US$13,000 in cash was given to the leader of an unnamed political party on different occasions throughout 2008.
The funds, spent by the Maldives Government Trade Centre (MGTC) in Singapore, were to be reimbursed by Theemuge.
Invoices and statements of the expenses show most of the trips were arranged via a note or telephone call from Theemuge rather than following a formal procedure.
“Therefore, these expenses were made to gain the love, loyalty and support of the recipients, and since these expenses were not made for state purposes or for the benefit of all citizens, we note that these expenses were made unlawfully from the budget for personal benefit and gain,” the report states.
Private parties
The report reveals that while most people who requested healthcare assistance were impoverished, three trends were noticeable.
The first was the acceleration of welfare assistance for those who attended DRP events in 2008. Letters collected at these events were sent to Theemuge through the president’s office to expedite the process for the selected applicants.
Secondly, among the private recipients of welfare, 60 per cent were “coincidentally” members of the DRP.
And thirdly, no letters submitted to Theemuge for assistance in 2007 and 2008 could be found, despite repeated requests from the auditor general’s office.
On the well-known “US$300 and a return ticket” doled out by Theemuge for ordinary citizens in need of healthcare assistance, the report notes this was given for trips to Trivandrum, India, and Colombo, Sri Lanka, on the condition that the family would submit records of all expenses and return any unspent money.
In a Television Maldives presidential debate in September 2008, Gayoom said the public did not have to “beg” for medical care, which was spent from the state budget according to legal procedures.
“80 per cent of the Theemuge budget is aid for the Maldivian people. The salaries, food, housing and medical care for the people there.
“84 per cent is for the benefit of the people. These things are being talked about for some other purpose.”
Kings and monarchs
Around Rf500,000 (US$39,000) in 2007 and Rf600,000 (US$47,000) in 2008 was spent on prizes for school competitions and gifts for events the president attended, mainly on invitation from senior government officials or their relatives and the president’s family or their associates, according to the report.
It notes numerous wristwatches, including some worth more than Rf100,000 (US$7,800) were purchased for these parties and events.
The expenditure is described as “unlawful” as it was intended not for the benefit of the majority of citizens but to gain the “admiration and support” of particular individuals. The expenses were further unaccounted for and comparable to spending by “kings and monarchs”.
On scholarships, the report states that while Rf2.5 million (US$195,000) was given as assistance to students in 2007 and Rf2.3 million (US$179,000) in 2008, there were no obvious criteria for selecting recipients. Instead, the money was doled out by the president as he saw fit.
“We note this was used for undue gain and opened the path to corruption,” the report reads.
Assistance to clubs and associations, the report adds, was not fairly distributed. While a sport club that supported DRP on one island was given Rf100,000 in 2008, others which did not back the party were denied funds.
Opening of Theemuge had clarified many facts - public
Many visitors to Theemuge had said that it had clarified many facts which were not known before.
Ismail Zahir, one among the visitors said that the entire third floor of the palace had been dedicated for former president’s grandchildren, which he said is illegal.
“I also believe that the president should be treated honorably and that he should be protected. However, I just can’t accept that president’s daughters and sons, their spouses, as well as their own daughters and sons shouldn’t be looked after by taxpayers money” some people said.
Thousands of people visited Theemuge, when the palace was opened up for public since 1400 hrs last Friday. Some people spent 2 hours in the queue.
Some people also said that the palace shouldn’t only be shown to Male’ residents and that opportunities should also be given to the people living in provinces to come and visit the palace. Because, they said many people in the provinces are looking forward to see it as well.
As swimming pool, sports center and kitchen, which were among the most importance areas of the palace, were not open to public, some of the visitors urged to open up those areas as well in a second round.
Journalists were allowed to see Theemuge’s bunker on Friday morning. Bunker area was also designed in a way that people can live there, including kitchen facilities and other amenities. The employees at the Palace had also said that they were not told of the bunkers existence.
Two beds in the bunker’s bedroom were covered by an “STO” bed sheet and four old and one new copies of Holy Quran were also seen. Nothing else was visible in the room.
Funds unaccounted for in Theemuge budget
19 April 2009
Ahmed Naish
Minivan News brings you the second part in a breakdown of a 29-page auditor general report on Theemuge, the palace of the former president, Maumoon Abdul Gayoom.
The auditor general has advised the government to recover public funds, unaccounted for, following the construction of the presidential palace in 1994 and retrieve any assets purchased for personal use from the Theemuge budget.
An audit report of Theemuge for 2007 and 2008 released last week notes the construction project, which began in 1992, exceeded its budget by US$1.7 million, while records of changes to the project were not kept.
The report describes management of the project as “carelessly incompetent” due to the lack of proper documentation and records of expenditure.
According to official documents, the palace was constructed at a cost of Rf207 million (US$17 million), with Japanese company, Mitshui Corporation, paid Rf107 million (US$9 million) for construction of the buildings.
The main three-storey building in Theemuge has seven rooms, carpeted and made from marble, as well as a swimming pool, a badminton court, a gym, a private office for the president, two large halls for parties and events and a small observatory on the roof.
The section of the audit report on the construction of Theemuge adds that although five foreign contractors were ostensibly hired for interior decoration and paid a fee of US$5 million, no copies of the contracts were to be found.
The report further questioned the role of the Maldives Government Trading Company (MGTC) in Singapore for making payments, noting the possibility that outside parties could have received money as the auditor general’s office was unable to verify whether companies had been hired or paid.
“Our repeated request for information has been unsuccessful as neither Theemuge nor MGTC seems to have documents related to these expenses,” the report reads.
Further, construction material and machinery imported for the project has disappeared, including more than Rf3 million (US$233,463) worth of machinery.
The report slates former president Maumoon Abdul Gayoom for removing items he believed were his “personal property” when leaving Theemuge after his defeat in the October 2008 presidential election
In addition, a “fixed asset register” was not kept and Gayoom did not follow best practice by making lists of items he was taking with him.
The report states the issue was highlighted because a large number of material goods were purchased from the Theemuge budget for either the president’s or his family’s personal use and the auditor general’s office has reason to believe many such items were taken from the palace.
The report accuses palace officials of “gross negligence in maintaining accounts” due to the lack of records showing purchases made from the budget for personal use.
"There is no way of knowing what was taken because no 'personal belongings' were to be seen in Theemuge after the president left."
Auditor general exposes THEEMUGE cronyism
18 April 2009
Maryam Omidi and Ahmed Naish
Minivan News brings you the first part in a breakdown of a 29-page auditor general report on Theemuge, the palace of the former president, Maumoon Abdul Gayoom.
More than US$3 million earmarked to be distributed among the poor and improve social welfare in both 2007 and 2008 was spent on the president’s relatives, ministers and their families, senior government officials and some MPs, the latest auditor general’s report reveals.
The audit report on Theemuge, published on Thursday, states 49 per cent of the palace’s budget, equivalent to Rf48.2 million (US$3,750,000), was diverted from the poor in 2007 and 52 per cent of the budget, or Rf44.9 million (US$3,500,000), in 2008.
“We believe this is corruption and misappropriation of public funds,” the damning report reads.
The report, which focuses on expenditure from the Theemuge budget for 2007 and 2008, also covers the palace’s expenses, including household costs; the president’s launch, purchased in 2002; the construction of Theemuge; property and other assets bought under the budget; and the president’s amenities.
But Aneesa Ahmed, a member of the main opposition group, the Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP), has described the allegations against the party's leader as “unsubstantiated”.
“By publishing such a report, the auditor general has violated clause 128 of the constitution. If he has reason to believe the former president misused public funds, he has to first of all get the Anti-Corruption Commission to investigate.”
Article 128 states a person who has served as president without committing any offence shall be entitled to the highest honour, dignity, protection and financial privileges.
The poor and social welfare
An examination of invoices and statements by the auditor general reveals that funds intended for the poor were instead spent on medical trips to Singapore by “influential senior officials”.
This includes their travel expenses, their stay in expensive hotels, their food, taxis, long-term apartment rental and medical check-ups.
More than SGD$2.3 million (US$1,500,000) was spent on one of Gayoom’s relatives and his family on trips to Singapore throughout 2007 and SGD$1.4 million (US$930,000) for another relative and his family for multiple trips to Singapore.
In March 2008, SGD$23,756 (US$16,000) was spent for a minister’s grandson to stay in a hotel in Singapore for 21 days; in April, SGD$50,022 (US$33,000) was spent on medical expenses for a friend of the president’s; and in July 2008, SGD$6,905 (US$4,600) was spent on two pairs of glasses for a minister and his wife.
US$13,000 in cash was given to the leader of an unnamed political party on different occasions throughout 2008.
The funds, spent by the Maldives Government Trade Centre (MGTC) in Singapore, were to be reimbursed by Theemuge.
Invoices and statements of the expenses show most of the trips were arranged via a note or telephone call from Theemuge rather than following a formal procedure.
“Therefore, these expenses were made to gain the love, loyalty and support of the recipients, and since these expenses were not made for state purposes or for the benefit of all citizens, we note that these expenses were made unlawfully from the budget for personal benefit and gain,” the report states.
Private parties
The report reveals that while most people who requested healthcare assistance were impoverished, three trends were noticeable.
The first was the acceleration of welfare assistance for those who attended DRP events in 2008. Letters collected at these events were sent to Theemuge through the president’s office to expedite the process for the selected applicants.
Secondly, among the private recipients of welfare, 60 per cent were “coincidentally” members of the DRP.
And thirdly, no letters submitted to Theemuge for assistance in 2007 and 2008 could be found, despite repeated requests from the auditor general’s office.
On the well-known “US$300 and a return ticket” doled out by Theemuge for ordinary citizens in need of healthcare assistance, the report notes this was given for trips to Trivandrum, India, and Colombo, Sri Lanka, on the condition that the family would submit records of all expenses and return any unspent money.
In a Television Maldives presidential debate in September 2008, Gayoom said the public did not have to “beg” for medical care, which was spent from the state budget according to legal procedures.
“80 per cent of the Theemuge budget is aid for the Maldivian people. The salaries, food, housing and medical care for the people there.
“84 per cent is for the benefit of the people. These things are being talked about for some other purpose.”
Kings and monarchs
Around Rf500,000 (US$39,000) in 2007 and Rf600,000 (US$47,000) in 2008 was spent on prizes for school competitions and gifts for events the president attended, mainly on invitation from senior government officials or their relatives and the president’s family or their associates, according to the report.
It notes numerous wristwatches, including some worth more than Rf100,000 (US$7,800) were purchased for these parties and events.
The expenditure is described as “unlawful” as it was intended not for the benefit of the majority of citizens but to gain the “admiration and support” of particular individuals. The expenses were further unaccounted for and comparable to spending by “kings and monarchs”.
On scholarships, the report states that while Rf2.5 million (US$195,000) was given as assistance to students in 2007 and Rf2.3 million (US$179,000) in 2008, there were no obvious criteria for selecting recipients. Instead, the money was doled out by the president as he saw fit.
“We note this was used for undue gain and opened the path to corruption,” the report reads.
Assistance to clubs and associations, the report adds, was not fairly distributed. While a sport club that supported DRP on one island was given Rf100,000 in 2008, others which did not back the party were denied funds.
maldivesdictator@live.com
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