Shameem on land sale: ACC has no authority to provide legal counsel to gov, that’s AG’s role

Former Prosecutor General Hussain Shaheem says the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) does not have the authority to provide legal counsel to the government, after the Housing Ministry announced it was seeking the opinion of the ACC after its recent decision to sell a plot of state land in Hulhumale’ Phase II at well under its market value sparked public backlash.

A memo by the Housing Ministry regarding the sale of the plot for MVR 468,750 – at the rate of MVR 375 per square feet – to an individual by the name of Ahmed Zahir leaked over social media earlier this week – sparking immediate public backlash.

In a statement on Wednesday, the Housing Ministry stated that the decision was made as the resolution to a 23-year-old dispute, and that they had asked the ACC to investigate whether the decision involved any irregularity. The Housing Ministry said that the land transfer agreement will be signed based on the ACC’s legal counsel.

Writing on his personal blog on Saturday, Shameem noted that the plot in question was state-owned land – the sale of which the country’s legal system does not recognize, whether it be to the government or a private individual.

He wrote that given that such land can only be sold after it is privatized, the government’s decision to sell it cannot be considered to be in line with the law.

Shameem said that Ahmed Zahir was previously supposed to be sold a land owned by the Maldives Housing and Urban Development Board, and that if he remembers correctly, the lands were not state-owned at the time, meaning that it was possible that there was no legal barrier to selling it at the time.

Shameem said that the Housing Ministry does not explain what Ahmed Zahir had asked for or how in leading to his success in securing the land, or the standard based on which his living situation was accessed.

He also said that while the Housing Ministry attempted to suggest that Ahmed Zahir was treated equally same as anyone else in the situation, the government failed to explain any established policy based on which the decision was made.

“The decision lacks transparency as they failed to explain where the policy is written, if there’s indeed any such policy. Its hard to judge the fairness of a decision that lacks transparency,” he wrote.

Shameem said that the Housing Ministry’s statement leaving many questions unanswered, including the reason why the government had not implemented the decision in the 23 years since Ahmed Zahir receiving official government documents on December 22, 2003, announcing the decision to sell a plot to him.

Other questions raised by Shameem include:

• Why did the decision remain unimplemented for 23 years, if there were no issues with it?
• How many decisions have remained unimplemented for the last 23 years?
• This resulted due to which official on the administrative side?
• What is the action taken against this individual or individuals?
• Why did Ahmed Zahir not submit the issue to a court despite being in possession of a legally-executable document?

Shameem said that a document issued by a state institution to a private citizen is legally enforceable.

He said that Ahmed Zahir has the right to the land he was promised by the government back in 2003, and that the government, regarding of which administration, had the responsibility to enforce the decision.

Shameem said that he was not questioning the good will behind the incumbent administration’s attempt to implement the decision.

“The problem isn’t the decision to sell a plot of land to him, but that deciding to get this done in a manner that leaves related administrative and legal issues unresolved opens room for further infringement of his rights," he wrote.

Shameem said that what worries him about the Housing Ministry’s statement is not the sale of land itself, but the misconception the government appears to have over the role of the ACC.

He said that the ACC does not have the legal authority to provide legal counsel to specific state institutions, but is empowered by law to run investigations and provide recommendations to state institutions to stop acts of corruption.

Shameem said that interpreting the provision as the authority to provide counsel to the ministry or government on specific matters could create a far more dangerous issue, with the ACC getting too involved in the administration of the government, and permanently losing its oversight function.

He added that if the government were to implement the counsel of the ACC on this matter, then it would render the commission unable to investigate the case.

“It’s the attorney general who will provide legal counsel to the government. ACC does not have the legal authority nor capacity to provide legal counsel to the government or an institution,” he wrote.

The remarks come after Housing Minister Dr. Abdulla Muthalib stated that Housing Ministry has decided to stop directly deciding on years-long housing disputes, and that such cases will hereafter be sent to the Office for Civil Rights run under the Attorney General’s Office for a decision.

It also comes with the ACC accused of failing to properly investigate corruption.