President: Payment for all pending dues owed to fishermen handed over to MIFCO

President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu states the payment for all pending dues owed to fishermen has been handed over to the state fisheries company, Maldives Industrial Fisheries Company (MIFCO), for disbursement accordingly.

Prior to this, MIFCO stated there was MVR 9 million in pending dues to fishermen which they were unable to settle at that time. The dues are owed to 331 fishing vessels.

President Muizzu, via a post on X on Wednesday, said the payment for all pending dues to fishermen has been handed over to MIFCO for disbursement accordingly.

He also affirmed that his administration was undertaking efforts to establish a system where fishermen are disbursed payment within 48 hours.

Statistics released by MIFCO show it cleared MVR 862.3 million in outstanding payments between November 17, 2023 and September 30, 2024 – which had reduced the outstanding balance to MVR 6.1 million. But the balance has since increased to MVR 9.1 million.

This includes MVR 5,451,481.27 for fish purchased from the Kooddoo Fisheries Complex, MVR 3,590,838.62 for purchases from the Felivaru Fisheries Complex, and MVR 113,171.90 for purchases from the Addu Fisheries Complex.

Back then, MIFCO attributed the financial setbacks to the low fishing season. It said that it is unable to provide an exact date when it can disburse the payments while noting they were engaged in discussions with the government to find a way to clear the dues.