MIFCO to disburse pending payments to fishermen after processing this month's salaries: Minister

The Fisheries Minister has announced that MIFCO will begin disbursing pending payments to fishermen for their catch after processing this month's salaries or by the end of the month.

Responding to a question posed via video message during the ongoing 'Ahaa' forum, the Minister stated that there is currently 27 million Rufiyaa in pending payments to fishermen. The Minister added that MIFCO will commence efforts to disburse these funds as soon as possible after the end of this month.

"It is always the case that if fishermen are not paid on the day they catch the fish, and if the catch is good, the amounts will be large. As I speak right now, there is 27 million Rufiyaa pending for fishermen. However, this is not an amount we cannot pay. God willing, once this month's salaries are finalized, MIFCO will pay the pending funds to fishermen as soon as possible," the Minister said.

The Minister noted that when President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu assumed office, there was a very large amount of pending payments owed to fishermen. Specifically, when the administration took over on November 17, there was over 250 million Rufiyaa owed to fishermen.

"As you know, between the first round of the election on September 9 and the second round on September 30, the price of fish was changed on September 16. The price of fish was changed from 17 Rufiyaa to 25 Rufiyaa on September 16. I am talking about the accumulated amount of unpaid funds to fishermen following that change," the Minister said.

The Minister stated that the fishermen's "backlog" came at a very difficult time for the government. Due to the financial situation, it was challenging to pay off the funds all at once. The funds accumulating since November 17 were paid off as much as the government could manage, eventually clearing the "backlog" entirely.

"However, prior to the last month of Ramadan, the President wanted to clear all pending payments to fishing families. It had been accumulating since November 17. The government was paying as much as it could. But that backlog was completely cleared before the month of Ramadan," the Minister said.

The Minister also stated during tonight's forum that 850 million Rufiyaa has been disbursed to fishermen so far since the President assumed office.