Who the fuck is Champa Afeef?

As I boarded flight SQ 452 to Male’ last night from Singapore, I took a tablet of avomine to induce a calm and restful sleep. I carried The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell to keep me company till I fell asleep. During the four hour flight, I could do neither. As I put my first step into the aircraft, my eyes caught sight of Mr Champa Hussain Afeef sitting on the very first row. I shook his hand, greeted him, put my carrying case to the overhead compartment and tried to settle down in my seat. I was booked on a seat three rows behind him. I could not settle down. My inner self urged me to move up to the empty seat beside Mr Afeef and say hello to him more completely instead of that brief greeting we exchanged.

Who was this important person who was so important to Minister of Information Nasheed? After some paragraphs of praise for Champa Afeef Nasheed comes to this conclusion.

Therefore, it is immensely relevant that some mechanism be introduced to recognize the important work done by the movers and shakers of this country who not only shaped the country’s economy but gave its people a reason to prosper and think beyond their households and neighborhoods.

We always speak of politicians, statesmen and scholars. We seldom speak of those silent heroes residing away from the limelight but contribute enormously to our economic and social make up. The country must recognize their work and salute their services.

We are honoured to follow in the footsteps of Nasheed to salute Mr Champa Hussain Afeef. To honour Champa Afeef, here are some vital information.

1. The guy allegedly took part in the alleged coup attempt by Kerafa Ahmed Naseem (current MDP Ambassador to God-knows-where). Afeef spilled the beans to Gayoom (who was not a six star general at that time) and allegedly told the location where the arms shipment was dumped into the sea.

As a reward Gayoom gave resorts (RESORTS, do you hear? RESORTS) to Champa Afeef.

2. Who knows if his resorts (kuredhoo and meerufenfushi, etc) were put on bid or if the lease term ever expired?

3. Champa Afeef holds shares in Crown Company and besides resorts owned by Crown Company, he owns several other resorts. He is the richest man in Maldives. Do you hear that DO Sappe? Champa Afeef is the richest man in Maldives. Not your illiterate “American Dream” Qasim. Kuda Sappe’s idol Qasim is no more than a servant of Endherimaage family just managing their riches and fortunes under Villa brand.

4. Champa Afeef once had a heated argument with David Hardingham, founder of Friends of Maldives.

Champa Afeef was only one who defended the mighty rule of Gayyoom in a heated argument with the founder of Friends of Maldives, Mr. David Hardingham. Mr. Afeef told David that Gayyoom was a great leader and that those who oppose him were all educated by the government and that all they want is power, what they don’t have. Furthermore, Champa Afeef asked David why he is so concerned about the human rights abuses in the Maldives despite the situations in other countries like Cuba and China. In a sarcastic tone, Mr. Afeef told David that the human rights record in the Maldives is better than that of the United Kingdom.

5. FOM put Champa Afeef’s resorts on their black list of Maldivian resorts once. But “a close associate of Mr Afeef” assured FOM that Afeef was fully supportive of the pro-democracy movement in Maldives.

When the FOM Selected Resorts Boycott Campaign began – Mr Afeef resigned his post as Presidential Appointee of the Majlis, at the same time FOM were approached by a close associate of Mr Afeef who assured FOM that he (Afeef) was fully supportive of the Pro-Democracy movement in the Maldives and would the resorts be taken off the list. In the light of his resignation as Presidential Appointee in the Majlis FOM made a decision to remove his resorts from the FOM Selected Resorts Boycott List.

Who was this “close associate of Afeef” who has so much influence on FOM? We don’t know. But FOM knows who that person is.

6. Later realising that they were duped by the cunning Champa Afeef, FOM put his resorts on the black list again, as Minivan News has reported. So Afeef is back on the list of regime resort owners. He is back in the same league as Mohamed Waheed Deen (youth minister), Qasim Ibrahim (former finance minister, financier and boss of Republican Party) and Sun Travel Shiyam (Deputy Leader of DRP).

7. Champa Afeef is Chairman of Maldives Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC). He put photos of Meerufenfushi (his resort) on marketing brochures of Herathera resort (MTDC resort). Under his leadership Herathera became a total failure. Thomas Cook had to divert a chartered flight. Thomas Cook had to issue travel advisories asking travel agents not to take guests to Herathera. Champa Afeef is a pioneer of Maldivian tourism. Read reviews. (warning: some reviews say Herathera is good. But the bad reviews are shocking).

Take this post from a couple whose dream holiday was shattered…

Words cannot even begin to explain our anger and disappointment.

Every person who was there immediately left for other accommodation, screaming and shouting in disgust at the travel agents for even allowing people to go there yet…

There are no facilities i.e. shop, dive center, games, bars even the swimming pools are still empty, construction crews and heavy machinery is operation 24/7, our room had no lights, no aircon, the toilet did not work and the Jacuzzi was not yet installed to completion, we did not event have steps to get into the room…

Other things on the website that do not exist are the spa, bicycles, tennis courts, badminton courts, well basically nothing is there yet but an incomplete reception area and incomplete rooms.

The island is a mess, there is building material everywhere and most rooms have not yet even been started. The resort does not yet even have its own boat to move you around let alone fishing boats, wind surfers and canoes.

The entire website is fake, where they got these pictures I will never know, the pictures were not taken at the resort, perhaps only the pictures inside the rooms are real, yet they do not show that the power points are not finished, we had no TV or DVD in the room and neither did anyone else who stayed there and the outside of the rooms have cables and sewage pipes still exposed.

7. After realizing that MTDC cannot bear with the embarrassing situation in Herathera, MTDC leased the resort. It is currently operated by Lolly Jabir (Yameen’s boy). Lolly Jabir has renamed the resort as Handhufushi.

8. Champa Afeef and other filthy rich bastards eg: Damas Solih are using MTDC to get more money and control more tourist beds.

Read this article.

Read this article.

Read this article too. From DO website. Sappe must have been on an overdose when he published it about his idol’s business partner.

9. Champa Afeef owns shares in seaplane operation Trans Maldivian Airways (TMA). He and Qasim Ibrahim owns TMA.

10. Champa family owns shares in Maldives Media Company which owns DhiFM and DhiTV. Champa Afeef can influence media in Maldives.

11. Champa Afeef is an inlfuential member of the lobby group of MATI. The travel industry leaders. the movers and shakers. who don’t give a fuck about the living condition of average Maldivians.

12. Champa Afeef has been funding the campaigns of dictator General Gayoom. He gave money even this time to spread the SAFF trophy mania. Champa Afeef will give money this time to buy MPs and to keep Gayoom in power for another 30 years.

13. Champa Afeef was an architect behind Gayoom’s biography A Man for All Islands. Tourism tycoons and then Minister Ibrahim Hussain Zaki (MDP vice president now, calling for a new leader without experience of “dictatorial culture”) funded the biography.

14. Champa Afeef has money. He is shrewd. He is not ignorant like Qasim Ibrahim. He has contacts and his boys and his girls everywhere. He will spend his fortunes for Gayoom. For General Gayoom to be “elected” for another term. He will have his resorts forever.

And we are asking ourselves who the fuck is Champa?

Or should we ask ourselves what we should do about Champa.