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| Vice President of the National Integrity Commission of Maldives, Mr. Yoosuf Maaniu. Photo by: Facebook |
Following is an exclusive
interview given to Adam Mohamed of Adamington Online by the Vice President
of National Integrity Commission of Maldives Mr. Yoosuf Maaniu via an
email after a Direct Message (DM) session of Twitter. The NIC is mandated to oversee
the cases regarding Maldives Police Service, Maldives Customs Service, Maldives
Correctional Service and the Department of Immigration and Emigration. This is the first exclusive
interview given to Adamington Online by a sitting member of an Independent Institution
of Maldives.
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Adam Mohamed: Do you think state regulations are too complex, if so how do you think
they can be overhauled to allow people to make sensible choices?
Mr. Yoosuf Maaniu: No. I do
not think state regulations are complex. In comparison to other developing
countries we have reached to a level where our nations development has reached
to an area which equals developed countries like in the field of tourism and
hospitality we are the region’s most professional, hospitable and have created
a safe haven for our guests whereas places like Sri Lanka, Thailand, Malaysia
and even Singapore, safety is an issue for visitors to hotels unless the hotel
is an international chain. With development and most importantly to keep the
uniformity of development is imperative that more state regulations should come
in to place. The problem we have in Maldives is that the nation has the
potential for growth but it’s necessary that people grow with the nation. In
our case a few individuals have grown with the nation leaving behind a majority
who hold on to our old culture of laid back thinking with 6 hours a day at
coffees whereas this time could be used for more productive purposes like
education and work. Mostly lower middle class spend their time at coffees while
the time they could have spent earning more money or spending quality time with
their children. When Maldivians waste their time at coffees, foreign workers take
advantage of it and earn the money which could have been earn by Maldivians. I
think I might have swayed from the actual question, but this had to say. It’s
every citizen’s responsibility to check on new laws and regulations and be
aware of it, especially when it concerns the person’s business or work.
Adam Mohamed: Do you think civil
service rules make it harder to cut wasteful spending and to efficiently manage
public ministries?
Mr. Yoosuf Maaniu: Yes, it
does. I personally believe that the Minister should have a say in the
appointment of the top management of the Ministry so that he/she could take
full responsibility for its success or failures. It should work more
efficiently if the leadership (ministers, state ministers and deputy ministers)
has the power to make even minor decisions or else the red tape in between will
hinder efficiency. But we must not forget it depends all on the integrity,
expertise and knowledge of the minister to make use of his leadership to serve
the nation for the interest of the public.
Adam Mohamed: Would those you've
worked with describe you as a person of integrity? If yes, why did they reach
that conclusion?
Mr. Yoosuf Maaniu: I think it’s best to ask people who had worked with me about
that. I would say yes. People who had worked with me will say I’m a person of
integrity because I live and breathe for the betterment of this nation. I
believe that it’s my calling in life to serve the public. If you look behind my
past wok experiences, you would find that in each and every organization I had
contributed significantly towards its development and also helped in cutting
down wasteful expenditures and most importantly worked to enhance staff
experience.
Adam Mohamed: Have you ever
experienced a loss for doing what was right?
Mr. Yoosuf Maaniu: Yes,
definitely lot of times. I had been asked to resign from jobs before year 2000
because I had pointed out corruption or illegal activities. But I’m afraid I
have to keep that to myself as I had reported to the necessary organizations
and it had been dealt with. But still no amount of intimidation can stop me
from doing the right thing always. I rather get fired than do wrong. I guess
it’s the way I have been brought up. Ethics, loyalty and honesty are always my
priority.
Adam Mohamed: What is the
worst professional obstacle you've ever had to face and how has it helped you
to grow?
Mr. Yoosuf Maaniu: My worst
professional obstacle was that most organizations in Maldives do not follow
international standards or best practices so it had been very difficult to work
around it, when you know it’s the wrong way to go but everyone else goes that
way just because it’s the norm its very vexing. I had been educating people by
pointing out what is wrong and showing them the right way as I’ve had
international exposure which is tremendous when it comes to work experience.
But now I realize that most people are not ready to follow rules and
regulations and even best practices not because they don’t want to, because
their mentality is programmed in such a way that being rebellious and always
challenging authority is the way to go. So I have learned to keep my advice to
myself and only share with people who seek it. I realized it wasn’t they who
were a problem, it was me. I had to adjust myself to this work culture in order
to survive. Now I’m subtle about rules, regulations and best practices, when I
need something done the right way I lay out invisible plans for everyone to follow
which leads to the best course of action.
Note: Mr. Yoosuf
Maaniu holds a Master of Business
Administration from University of Ballarat, Australia
& a Degree in Marketing from University of Northumbria at
Newcastle, UK. He was appointed to the National Integrity Commission of Maldives
by President Mr. Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayyoom on 15th October 2015.
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