Fishermen's backlog cleared: President Muizzu

President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu said last night that all the money owed to fishermen by Maldives Industrial Fisheries Company (MIFCO) up until last Friday will be settled.

"With today's payment, the fishermen have been compensated for their catch until last Friday, and the backlog of payments to the fishermen has now been cleared," President Muizzu said in a post on X.

The Fisheries Ministry and MIFCO announced last night that they have initiated the deposit of MVR 157 million, settling the outstanding payments owed to fishermen for their catch by the company.

The Fisheries Ministry said that this amount covers the money owed to fishermen up until last Friday.

All captains with accounts at the Bank of Maldives were expected to receive the money by last night. For those with accounts at other banks, the payment is will to be completed by tomorrow at the latest, as today is an official holiday, according to the Fisheries Ministry and MIFCO.

"We have been working very hard to settle payments owed to the fishermen. Clearing the backlog up until this point is a significant achievement," a senior official of MIFCO said.

According to the current government, former President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih's administration had nearly MVR 300 million unpaid dues to fishermen. The former government had established different dates and distributed funds in installments.

"This is not easy at a time like this. However, the President was determined to finish the payout by the start of Ramadan. He understood the difficulties that the families of fishermen would face if they did not receive the money," said the Minister.

Speaking in Raa atoll Dhuvaafaru on March 3, President Muizzu said that the remaining outstanding payments to fishermen will be deposited by the start of Ramadan.

"We are now looking at any kind of financing mechanism that is coming up during Ramadan. We are working together with the government, the Fisheries Ministry and a company to ensure that all the money is given to fishermen is given before Ramadan," he had said on the same day.

Fisheries Minister Ahmed Shiyam told Mihaaru News yesterday that President Muizzu wished to payout the outstanding dues to fishermen before the begining of Ramadan.

During the last presidential election campaign, former President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih's administration increased the price of fish from MVR 17 to MVR 25. The price of fish has now been reduced to MVR 20 due to the increased financial burden on the state.

According to Minister Shiyam, the change was brought to ensure that the fishermen are paid timely and to prevent MIFCO from going bankrupt.