Island Chic’s Babble

Maldives in the past few decades have made considerable achievements in social, economic and political fronts.  We have done well in terms of improving our GDP per capita ($2912 in 2008 at 1995 constant price), building a world class tourism industry, eliminating extreme poverty, achieving a high literacy rate (over 90% of the population) and [...]

When I read the news that Maldives has slipped a few places in the Corruption Index (on a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being the least corrupt and 0 being the most) it was definitely a surprise!
Since embracing a fully democratic mode of governance with the election of President Nasheed through multi-party elections [...]

I wanted to write this post based on a really weird dream I had recently. It’s quite funny but I promise you, I have a point!

In this dream, I was travelling in China and I get to a really beautiful beach city (I assumed it was Sanya City) and the sea was so beautiful, [...]

The video message from the Maldivian President H.E. Mr. Mohamed Nasheed, at the premiere of the climate blockbuster ‘The Age of Stupid’, where he announced the Maldives’ intention to go carbon-free within the next 10 years.

His message to the world by this announcement is ‘Please, Don’t be Stupid’. Yes, it is time to take [...]

Considering that the Maldives is perhaps the most vulnerable country in the entire world to the threats posed by global warming, it is an achievement for the Maldives to let its voice be heard by the rest of the world.

Maldives for the last few decades have been at the forefront of climate change negotiations representing [...]

What is the credit crisis? How did it happen? Who is affected? What’s the impact? These are questions that laymen will never understand, although we hear it on TV almost daily.
Here’s a brilliantly simplified visual explanation of the complex crisis of credit that “quickly supply the essence of the situation to those unfamiliar and uninitiated”. [...]

This afternoon, as I read the news about masked gunman opening fire on the Sri Lankan cricket team’s bus in Pakistan, killing eight people and wounding six players from the Sri Lankan team, it got me thinking… Are there any limits or boundaries to terrorism and terror? Is anyone safe from it? Is there such [...]

Decentralization in the Maldives is a much needed aspect of public policy and governance, which has been long overdue. President Nasheed’s government has made a positive approach to the process of decentralization, especially with the establishment of autonomous provincial councils.
The decision to nullify the existing Ministry of Atolls Development and moving its staff to various [...]

Usually stagnation is bad and change is good. However, human nature almost by default resists change when comfortable for too long with a particular way of doing things. Perhaps the Maldivian government is a good example.

It was a huge achievement for the Maldivian Democratic Party and its supporting parties to instigate a change in our [...]

As the world sinks deeper and deeper into a full blown global recession, countries the Maldives will suffer extensively due to reduced spending on travel and leisure. More than 1/3rd of the Maldives’ Gross Domestic Product comes from its tourism sector and any negative trends in revenue from tourism could lead us to impending financial [...]