When traffic lights were invented …

A group of strategists gathered around a table to discuss ways to solve the problem of traffic congestion in their city. After several hours of brainstorming, one guy came up with an excellent idea.

“Let’s have pre-programmed lights to control the traffic” he suggested.

“That’s a great idea”, said another. “We can have three different colors to indicate signs to “stop”, “ready” and “go””.

“That’s brilliant! Congratulations team, we have just found the solution!” group leader proclaimed.

“No, that will never work!” one member challenged, “it sounds good in theory but it’s not practical!”

“Why not?” the others inquired.

“To start with, this can make the whole city late. Late for work, late to schools, late to appointments”.

“Well, everyone will have to adjust their travel timings to incorporate the delays that are caused because of the lights”. Group leader explained.

“Even if everyone changed their ways, this can still fail!” the pessimist defended his stand. “What about ambulance carrying serious patients to hospitals? What about fire trucks on their way to fight a fire? It will be so wrong to keep them waiting, because of a stupid light”.

“That’s what we call exceptions, my friend… we are finding solution for a general problem. Therefore this is made to accommodate the norm, exceptions are not bound by such rules, and so they are exempted!”

Solutions are easy to find if we are willing to change; if we can free our minds of preconceived notions and judgments; and if can simply allow ourselves to think out of the box.

“Friendly” organizations of the Maldives.

The importance of providing friendly and quality customer service for the success of an institution; be it public or private are among few concepts which has unanimous acceptance across the globe.

Maldives is no exception; with our economy dependent on tourism, all about good service makes us take the concept even more seriously.

Vision/mission statements of two leading companies of the Maldives talk about quality service as listed below:

BML: “"We will lead the way through quality of service and dedication of our staff. We will serve all our communities to the best of our ability, strive always to listen to your needs and so build total customer confidence and satisfaction".

Dhiraagu: “ … Dhiraagu has rapidly built a sound, financially strong business based on a commitment to providing innovative products and services and a philosophy that places high value on customer satisfaction”.

Before I make my point, let me exclude all tourist resorts and other more tourism-related companies from the context of what I am going to say. Most of the resorts have excellent world-class service record and have won several international awards for that … so they are exceptions.

For other institutions/companies in the Maldives whose customers are locals; have a totally unique and different perspective on the “friendly” concept, at least in practice.

Let me tell you something I overheard someone talking over the phone the other day.

I was stuck in the rain one evening, was taking refuge under a small askani (shade of a roof) sharing with a stranger. He was talking on the phone and apparently was asked by a friend abroad to do some transactions through the Bank of Maldives. From the look of it, it appears that my partner stuck in rain failed his friend abroad to do the expected from the BML. What amused me was what he said in his defense for the incompetence. He said that how can his friend expect him to do the job through BML when his friend very well knows that he does not have any contacts in BML. His friend ought to know that he has very good contacts in SBI, hence if he was expected to do anything through SBI, it could have been done.

What was surprising and shocking for me was that he really sounded genuine when he made his defense, as if it is an absolute requirement to have a contact to get anything done anywhere.

The truth is that this is the mentality of an average customer of any institution in the Maldives. If you do not have your acquaintances then do not think of getting a proper service. This mentality is the result of constant incompetent and double standard service that has been continuously provided by most organizations here.

After all we have “friendly” organizations… so you really need to have a friend working there. Like I said, we do take friendly service concept “seriously”.

The other Maldives

“Aneh dhivehirajje” arguably is the most popular and successful marketing slogan ever used in the Maldives; all commercial, social and political campaigns included.

If “aneh dhivehrajje” means other Maldives; as in a different physical location, pardon me for saying this, it has to be Trivandrum, India...

Tomorrow I’m flying there with my parents for a medical treatment. I will be there for about 2 weeks. I have been there couple of times before, and I suspect there are not many Maldivians who haven’t been there for at least once.

The medical tourism for Maldivians there is so developed and wide spread that you can see advertisements written in Dhivehi script all over the city. I’ve been told that Maldivians contribute significantly to the GDP of the City.

Well, to make things clear I’m only going there because I have to… for ordinary Maldivians certain medical treatments are only available in the “other Maldives”.

Getting dirty while cleaning ...

The current political environment is as tense as it has ever been; and it appears that the tension may explode into an intensely devastating blaze at any moment now.

This leads me to think whether the current situation could have been avoided at all. This leads me to ponder whether the current actions by the government are a result of an unfavorable outcome in a certain event in the recent past. This leads me to question whether the intentions of the government are genuine or is politically motivated. This leads me to consider whether someone else could have done it differently.

The fact of the day that I cannot refuse nevertheless is that; today we have a constitution that facilitates democracy to its smallest fraction of the word. The institutions are in place that will guarantee that our country, politics, the whole system is kept “clean”.

The trouble is this: when the new constitution and the institutions came into being, the existing system was already a “junkyard”. Therefore, the first and the foremost task for anyone responsible for enforcing the new elements would be to first clean the mess up.

The question is this: Can anyone clean a junkyard without getting dirty?

My reasoning and rationale for the current actions of the government suggests that, it is absolutely necessary to carry on tasks such as that of what the government is currently pursuing. I totally agree that such actions cannot be conventionally classified as democratic or genuine if viewed out of context. I know that it is very easy to brand such actions as unreasonable, arbitrary or politically motivated. But can you do it differently? I think not!

To clean a junkyard thoroughly you have to get yourself dirty. Once it is clean … then only can we truly practice democracy to the smallest fraction of the word.

Clearing misconceptions

Democracy and party system brought many changes to our society. Some of the changes we expected some we didn’t. Some of the changes that are favorable and some that is not. Some of the changes which were easier for us to get accustomed to, some not so much. The pros and cons so to say, of the political changes we see today are many. Whether the pros outweigh cons or wise verse; is impossible to decide objectively.

Among many things the recent parliamentary election results revealed, one of the main revelations is that the people have accepted the party system and that there are two major political parties in the Country.

At this stage here are some misconceptions now we can clear with the short experience we have in democracy and party politics.

Misconception 1: If the ruling party does not win a majority in the parliament, the government will fall.

In a presidential system of government it is not necessary to have a majority in the parliament for the ruling party to run the government. The impeachment of the president is not an act or a result of the ruling party not having a majority in the parliament. The president under the constitution can be impeached only under three conditions, when two-third of the parliament agrees on the issue. Just a simple fact that the two-third of the parliament does not approve of the president or is not from the same party alone is not a valid reason to impeach the president under the constitution.

Misconception 2: Having too many political parties is not healthy for a small society like Maldives.

Now we know that no matter how many political parties are registered at the Elections Commission, only two or three can gain and win the required support of the public, which is vital for effective functioning of any political party. Therefore, no matter how many parties are registered, if an overwhelming support is not received, that party is equivalent of not having registered at all.

Misconception 3: Political appointees and Civil Servants are two sides of the same coin.

With time and experience we are now able to win the trust and support of the each other, and are proving that they are in fact part of the same drawing board and will have to work together as a team.

These are just a few misconceptions that are spread across people and communities. There are many more that we can clear now and as well as the time goes with experience. Some misconceptions are spread purposely to misinform public to gain a political advantage during a specific point of time, some misconceptions are stereotypic beliefs that are generalized; and some misconceptions are due to our lack of experience and education.

The market is officially black.

The Finance Minister last month in his budget presentations to the parliament nonchalantly declared that a black market in US Dollars was in operation in the Maldives. Listening to that what worried me most was not the fact that a black market was actually in operation, that I knew even before his declaration, but how cool and unconcerned he sounded in his declaration. He sounded as if he was talking about a black market for tickets in SAFF Championship.

What are the implications of that news? What can it do to investor confidence? What are the effects to the economy of a low investor confidence?

In Maldives our currency Rufiyaa is pegged to US Dollars. We have maintained a fixed currency regime for a very long time. Through the economic ups and downs over the years, the Central Bank overall has done a good job maintaining the peg in the past. But that should not make us overconfident in an ever evolving and a dynamic global economy where a single economic trigger anywhere in the world can have drastic and lasting effects all over the world.

The emergence or creation of a black market in a fixed exchange rate economy in itself signals among many things; that the Central Bank is having difficulties with its foreign currency reserves.

Typically, a government wanting to maintain a fixed exchange rate does so by either buying or selling its own currency on the open market. This is one reason governments maintain reserves of foreign currencies. If the exchange rate drifts too far below the desired rate, the government buys its own currency off the market using reserves. This places greater demand on the market and pushes up the price of the currency. If the exchange rate drifts too far above the desired rate, the opposite measures are taken.

In the past we have seen that governments attempts to maintain a high local currency to the peg has resulted in severe financial crisis around the world. This was seen in Mexican (1995), Asian and Russian (1997) financial crises; an attempt to maintain the peg against the natural economic conditions resulted in the currencies eventually becoming overvalued. That meant that the government could not meet the demands to convert the local currency into the foreign currency at the pegged rate. With speculation and panic, investors scrambled to get out their money and convert it into foreign currency before the local currency was devalued against the peg; foreign reserves eventually became depleted. In Mexico’s case the government was forced to devalue peso by 30%. In Thailand, the government eventually had to allow the currency to float, and by the end of 1997, the baht had lost its value by 50% as the markets’ demand and supply readjusted the value of local currency.

Subsequent to the declaration by the Finance Minister in April I expected a response or a reaction from the Central Bank MMA. I expected them to formulate measures to build or maintain investor confidence in our country. I expected them to denounce the black market operations and take actions against such operations. I expected them to inform public about the difficulties the country is having in foreign currency issues and about the attempts that are being made to solve the problem. So far nothing has been said by MMA.

In the April 2009 issue of Monthly Economic Review published by MMA, not a single word was said about the current foreign currency difficulties, but merely just stated as follows:

“The Maldivian Rufiyaa, which is pegged to the United States dollar, stood unchanged since the 9 percent devaluation in July 2001, with the buying and selling rates remaining at 12.75 and 12.85, respectively”.

Nothing out of the ordinary this country is experiencing. Everything seems normal and calm … as far as the government and the central bank is concerned.

Are we "worked" enough?

"Are we paid enough?", is what we are accustomed to asking and/or hearing. Instead, have you ever thought of asking the opposite, like " are we paid too much?" or "are we "worked" enough?".

With the new salary structure of Civil Service, the basic salary and take-home pay has been revised for everyone in the service. After a great deal of foul cry, debates, accusations and controversy from many groups and professions in the Civil Service, now the tension seems to have subsided for a little. All the while Civil Service Commission had maintained their position saying, that the new structure is not an increase in salaries per say, but a revision of the structure of pay. Whether it means two different things is a different story. What we know for sure is that everyone in the civil service has seen an increase in their take-home pay. The rate of increase may have been different for different people, but the increase was there nonetheless.

I think now its time for us to ask whether the increase or the total pay we receive is justifiable for the tasks the we are asked to perform. How do we know that? The basic economic concept of demand and supply can be applied to obtain an answer.

Lets say, a personal secretary to a Manager who is merely asked to perform some administrative functions, such as managing appointments, typing letters, answering telephone calls is paid Rf 20,000.00, maybe she is paid that much because she has been in the service for a long period of time hence, huge incremental increase is received. would you consider it too less, OK, or too much? Do you think such an experienced staff is required for that post?

The answer is in asking the following question. Can we find someone who will be willing to perform the said functions for a lesser salary? if the answer is Yes then, she is definitely paid too much, if the answer is No, maybe she is paid OK, or maybe even too little. (assuming the required skills are identified and agreed).

My point is this, if the staff are paid too little, the management is made aware of the fact by the staff everyday all the time. But what if they are paid too much? how will management know about that, the staff definitely will not tell.