President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu has given his assurance that under the initiative to pay fishermen within 48 hours for the catch sold to the Maldives Industrial Fisheries Company (MIFCO), payments will continue to be issued to fishermen without interruption in the future.
He gave this assurance during his address to the residents of Fiyoaree last night, as part of his ongoing tour of some islands in Huvadhu Atoll.
He stated that the fisheries industry is the highest priority industry for this government, and one to which he personally pays the utmost attention. He noted that although the fisheries industry is the lifeblood of Maldivians and the livelihood of many Maldivian families, it has remained an industry where multiple governments made various promises and gave hopes that never materialized. He added that he made promises to fishermen knowing this and by listening to their voices.
Noting that when President Dr. Muizzu assumed office, the biggest complaint from fishermen was the delay in receiving payments for their weighed catch, he highlighted the efforts made to resolve the issue. He stated that the outstanding payments from the previous year, including the money owed to fishermen when this government took over, were paid on the last Fishermen's Day, completely clearing MIFCO's "backlog". He also highlighted that, in line with his promise to fishermen, the issuance of payments within 48 hours of weighing the catch has commenced, and he assured that this will continue without interruption.
"Since the last Fishermen's Day, no matter how much fish is weighed continuously, by the grace of God, we are making the payments. We are doing it that way. And in the future, we will continue to pay in that manner without interruption. That brings me great joy. All parties involved in this are doing very hard work. A very strong collaborative effort is being made by MIFCO, Bank of Maldives, Fisheries Ministry, and Finance Ministry. God willing, it will continue that way," the President said.
The President stated that as part of the efforts to advance the fisheries industry, work is also underway to reform MIFCO. In this regard, he said that work has begun to strengthen MIFCO's management and make the company capable of providing adequate services to the fisheries industry.
"To improve MIFCO's management, to strengthen the company. To rectify wasteful expenditures and issues arising from mismanagement, and to streamline many such things to make the company capable of providing suitable services to the industry, numerous reform efforts have been initiated," the President said.
In his speech, the President shared information on the projects initiated by this government for the development of the fisheries industry. He highlighted the work to establish fish factories and cold storage facilities planned for all parts of the Maldives, as well as the provision of facilities to install refrigerated seawater (RSW) systems on vessels. Specifically, he assured that under the government's project to arrange fuel availability for fishermen from every atoll in the Maldives, fishermen will receive fuel at affordable prices.
"Work is underway to arrange fuel availability at STO rates in every atoll to provide fuel to fishermen at affordable prices. We have announced that schedule. It has been decided to establish at least one location in every atoll during this current year," the President said.
In his address, the President assured all fishermen in the Maldives that the promises made to them by this government will be fulfilled. He also gave the happy news that in the coming days, he will continue to listen to the complaints, concerns, and ideas of fishermen, and will move forward in collaboration with fishermen to fulfill the promises made to them.
