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Journalism of Courage
The Maldives government on Tuesday said that its anti-corruption agency8217;s clean chit to the selection process for Male8217;s Ibrahim Nasir International Airport would not have any bearing on the termination of its concession agreement with GMR Infrastructure. The agency8217;s report,however,could still likely give the infrastructure firm a shot in the arm as it prepares its submissions for an arbitration hearing on Friday.
Masood Imad,media secretary to the Maldives President,told FE that corruption allegation was not the ground for termination of the contract. 8220;The reasons for terminating the contract are not based on any corruption allegation during the signing of the agreement. The call for the cancellation of the agreement was the airport development charge ADC, he said. Imad added that the investigation had started during the previous government8217;s rule,and that the anti-corruption agency had slept over it all this time.
I haven8217;t seen the report myself. Our first understanding of the GMR-Maldives Airports Company Limited MACL agreement was that there was a 100-million cash advance that was supposed to have been paid to the Maldivian government. There are reports of only 78 million in the records,the other 22 million has not been not been accounted for, said Imad. If the ACC has looked into this and has it accounted for,then I think there is absolutely no corruption. But if this 22 million is not accounted for,then I have reason to doubt.
Sathiyamoorthy N, with the thinktank Observer Research Foundation,told FE that since the ACC members were appointed by former President Mohammed Nasheed8217;s government,they will not have the same acceptability as the present government. However,he added that no political party in the island nation,including the ruling party led by President Waheed,would want to antagonise India with its elections approaching.
GMR did not comment on the development apart from saying that they were studying the investigation report.
In December,the Waheed government had terminated the 25-year concession agreement with GMR on the grounds that the agreement was 8216;void ab initio,or void from the start,as it ran afoul of the law of the land. GMR is claiming 800 million for the termination of the concession agreement,and the arbitration process is expected to be closed by April 2014.
GMR Maldives International Airport,the company that ran the airport till December 2012,had paid an upfront fee 78 million to the government under the concession agreement. GMR also agreed to pay a concession fee and to spending 369 million on a new terminal and other improvements.
A special audit by the Maldives Auditor General8217;s office,published in April 2013,had said that there were a number of failures to comply with the regulations,a lack of due process and unclear roles and responsibilities. Lack of thorough evaluation of the potential economic costs and benefits meant that the government was not in a position to manage risks and maximise the net benefits for the economy.
