Government to Clear Backlog of Payments to Fishers Before Ramadan: Fisheries Minister

Maldives Fisheries Minister Ahmed Shiyam assured fishermen that all outstanding payments owed by MIFCO will be cleared before Ramadan. He attributed the backlog to the previous administration's decision to increase the per-kilo fish buying rate from MVR 17 to 25 during the last presidential election, which made MIFCO lose money. Shiyam said MVR 50 million was released on March 5, and a total of MVR 650 million has been paid since the Muizzu government took office, with MVR 147 million still outstanding. President Muizzu earlier promised to clear the backlog and establish a system for payment within 48 hours of weighing catches. The current administration reduced the purchase price to MVR 20 in February.

Maldives Fisheries Minister Ahmed Shiyam assured fishermen that all outstanding payments owed by MIFCO will be cleared before Ramadan. He attributed the backlog to the previous administration's decision to increase the per-kilo fish buying rate from MVR 17 to 25 during the last presidential election, which made MIFCO lose money. Shiyam said MVR 50 million was released on March 5, and a total of MVR 650 million has been paid since the Muizzu government took office, with MVR 147 million still outstanding. President Muizzu earlier promised to clear the backlog and establish a system for payment within 48 hours of weighing catches. The current administration reduced the purchase price to MVR 20 in February.

Maldives Fisheries Minister Ahmed Shiyam assured fishermen that all outstanding payments owed by MIFCO will be cleared before Ramadan. He attributed the backlog to the previous administration's decision to increase the per-kilo fish buying rate from MVR 17 to 25 during the last presidential election, which made MIFCO lose money. Shiyam said MVR 50 million was released on March 5, and a total of MVR 650 million has been paid since the Muizzu government took office, with MVR 147 million still outstanding. President Muizzu earlier promised to clear the backlog and establish a system for payment within 48 hours of weighing catches. The current administration reduced the purchase price to MVR 20 in February.

This story involves 1 source and may affect public understanding of mifco / fishermen payments.