Fishermen have not been paid for their catch bought by the Maldives Industrial Fisheries Company (MIFCO) since March 7, creating a backlog of about 10 days despite President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu saying that arrangements will be made for settling payments within 48 hours.
Fishermen were last paid on March 10 for the catch weighed till March 7. Since then no payments have been made.
They were not paid for their catch for two months after the formation of the new government. The fishermen protested for several days and the fish factory in Koddoo was closed. Payments resumed while the protest was ongoing.
Before payments resumed last month, fishermen said they had not been paid since December. The government said it inherited a backlog of MVR 250 million.
The failure to settle payments for fish catch has been a longstanding concern of fishers. President Muizzu's pledge was to make payments within 48 hours of weighing the catch.
Arrangements for settling payments within 48 hours will be made after clearing the backlog, the President said last month. However, the pledge has not been fulfilled yet as fishermen have been waiting for their pay since March 7.
Following the protests by fishermen, the President urged fishermen to "accept economic reality."
"When we took over, there was MVR 260 million or so unpaid even then. That MVR 260 [million] has been paid. However, payments have to be made because fishing is going ahead bountifully. Our aim is to establish the mechanism for fishermen receiving [payments] in 48 hours. I am someone who acts as I pledge. We're doing the work of reaching the target. We will reach that target," the President said.
In line with the current government's policy to solve problems in the fisheries industry, MIFCO was reverted from a State Trading Organization (STO) subsidiary to a separate 100 percent state-owned company. However, MIFCO has not seen any positive changes.
MIFCO's Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Ahmed Shamaah, was suspended from his post yesterday to investigate corporate governance issues.
