Shaffi Mather

Shaffi Mather (born February 6, 1970) is an Indian Social Entrepreneur, who served as the Economic Advisor to the Chief Minister,^[1] Oommen Chandy, of Kerala's Congress led, UDF Government. He also worked, for a short period, as an advisor to Rahul Gandhi.^[2] He is a lawyer. Shaffi has also worked in the Real Estate sector, along with his brothers. In April 2010, he attended the Entrepreneur Summit which was held at Washington DC, at the invitation of US President Barack Obama.^[3] In his capacity as Economic Advisor, he was responsible for bringing the World Economic Forum community retreat, to be held in November 2013 to^[4] Kochi.

Education

Shaffi, completed his BCom degree from Mahatma Gandhi University in 1990. He went on to obtain an MBA in Finance, from the University of Bridgeport in 1992. Following this he completed an MBA in General Administration from the Joseph M. Katz Graduate School of Business at the University of Pittsburgh in 1993. He then obtained an LLB Degree from the School of Legal Studies at the Cochin University of Science & Technology in 2003 and, a Masters in Public Administration from Harvard. He was a Mason Fellow in Public Policy at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, in 2008.^[5] He is a visiting lecturer at the London School of Economics, where he was also a Chevening Senior Scholar in 2004.^[6] Shaffi Mather is a TEDIndia fellow.^[7]

Social Entrepreneur

Shaffi is a part of the Ambulance Access for All(AAA)team that started the 1298 ambulance service, which provides ambulance services in Maharashtra, Kerala, Punjab and Bihar. The 1298 Ambulance services is operated by Ziqitza Healthcare of which Shaffi Mather is the Chairman. Ambulance Access for All, won the Godfrey Phillips National Bravery Awards in 2006 for 'Social Act of Courage'.^[8][9] Other social initiatives in which Shaffi is involved in include, Bribe Busters, which is an Anti-Corruption fee based, BPO service.^[10] Besides this, Shaffi is also a co-founder of Moksha Yug Access, a micro finance institution that operates in rural India, and the Education Initiative, which is involved in e-learning and starting Schools across India.

Allegations

In March 2013, Shaffi Mather was alleged to have received a bribe from Vijay Mallya during a meeting in Dubai on behalf of the Excise Minister and Chief Minister. The allegations have been denied by the Excise minister and the UB group has clarified that no such meeting took place between Shaffi Mather and Vijay Mallya.^[11] The allegation was made by Mr. Babu M. Pallissery in the Kerala Legislative Assembly with the privilege granted to the Legislature against any legal cases for statements made in the Legislative Assembly. Mr. Mather challenged Mr. Pallissery to raise the allegation outside the Legislative Assembly so that he can take legal steps in this matter but Mr. Pallissery declined to even mention this allegation outside the immunity of the Legislative Assembly.

In June 2013, the leader of the opposition of the Kerala Government, V S Achuthanandan alleged that Ziqitza Healthcare Ltd. which runs the 108 Ambulance network in Kerala, was overbilling the government and gaining financially, through illegal means. immediately after the Opposition Leader made the allegations, Shaffi Mather requested the Chief Minister to urgently conduct a high level inquiry into the allegations by the Opposition Leader to his satisfaction based on which the Chief Minister Oommen Chandy ordered a probe into the allegations.^[12] Achuthanandan, alleged that this was being facilitated by Shaffi Mather who is the Chief Economic Adviser to the Chief Minister of Kerala and also a Director of Ziqitza Health Care Ltd.

Shaffi Mather, refuted these allegations, claiming that he was a shareholder holding 100 shares (and 60625 shares by his family company Mather and Company Pvt. Ltd.), original promoter and co-founder of the company. He also confirmed that he had resigned from the directorship of the company on July 25, 2008 and that this could be verified from the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, Govrnment of India. he also clarified that his investments, assets and liabilities could be checked on his asset disclosure details on the government website.^[13] Shaffi Mather also stated that he would also be initiating legal action against VS Achuthanandan, for raising baseless allegations against him, and requested the CM of Kerala to initiate a probe into the allegations to ensure that strict action be taken against anyone found guilty.^[14]

Resignation as Economic Advisor

Shaffi Mather, resigned from the position of Economic Adviser to the CM of Kerala, on 18 July 2013, upon allegations by his brother Rafi, who alleged that Shaffi was misusing his position to interfere in the Rafi's family matters.^[15] Following his resignation as the Chief Economic Advisor to the CM, Shaffi also resigned from other public posts that he held, such as the 35th National Games Sponsorship and Rights Committee and from the board of Prateeksha Bus Shelters Kerala Limited as well as Ashwas Public Amenities Kerala Ltd.^[16]

References

External References

• Shaffi Mather TED profile
• Shaffi Mather Twitter page
• Entrepreneurship, Making a Social Impact, Microsoft Leadership Conclave, 2011
• 1298 ambulance service
• Shaffi Mather attends meeting with Air Asia chief, Tony Fernandes to discuss shift of Air Asia hub to Kochi