MIFCO released a statement last night after meeting with the fishermen, stating that their concerns have been heard and that a cessation to their distress is a high priority. They further acknowledged the fishermen's noble conduct during the gathering.
MIFCO has stated that resolving the problems faced by fishermen and settling their overdue payments are being approached in collaboration with the fishermen.
In a statement released last night, MIFCO stated that Kooddoo Fisheries Complex and MIFCO’s management, alongside their CEO, had met with the fishermen and heard their worries and complaints. MIFCO assured that they are highly prioritizing the approach to conclude the distress suffered by the fishermen.
“We happily acknowledge the noble example displayed by the fishermen and the closeness they had maintained with us in this meeting,” the statement reads.
MIFCO highlighted that they will always persist in their efforts to improve the services offered to fishermen.
The government has now begun the procedures to settle the overdue payments of the fishermen. Fisheries Minister, Ahmed Shiyam stated that MVR 100 million of the payments owed to fishermen will be settled by next week. While MVR 70 million is determined to be dispersed to the fishermen by the end of today, with the remaining payment of MVR 30 million to be settled on Monday next week, as he said.
The current administration has distributed over MVR 400 million to the fishermen for the fish they had caught. However, a payment of MVR 300 remains to be settled.
While MIFCO and senior representatives of the state had personally addressed the fishermen yesterday, their protests demanding payment settlement has persisted for over three days. Due to these protests, the state had presented the fishermen with dates for payment dispersion, however, the fishermen had prevailed their stance to continue their demonstrations until the payment has been settled.