To alleviate the tension between the Government and the Southern fishermen, the Government of the Maldives has announced its intention to distribute MVR 70 million in overdue payments by the end of the day on February 22nd, 2024.
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On the 20th of February 2024, a significant development that underscores the persistent challenges faced by fishermen in Southern Maldives, a protest erupted due to unreceived payments from the Maldives Industrial Fisheries Company (MIFCO). The protest, now stretching over two days, has garnered widespread attention across the nation, drawing attention to the plight of fishermen grappling with overdue payments extending back several months.
Despite the enduring significance of the fishing industry as the backbone of the Maldives, deeply rooted in ancestral traditions, fishermen persist in encountering significant hurdles in their daily operations. Chief among these challenges is the delays and discrepancies in the weighing of their catch, compounded by the prolonged wait for payments from MIFCO. Despite President Dr Mohamed Muizzu's commitment to expedite the reimbursement process, ensuring that payments for weighed fish are promptly delivered within 48 hours, MIFCO's failure to fulfil its promises has fueled mounting frustration among fishermen.
This culminated in a decisive demonstration of dissent, as Southern fishermen mobilized to obstruct the sale of fish to MIFCO, effectively preventing 15 fishing boats from unloading their hauls at the island's fish processing factory. Although this major pushback from Southern fishermen was met with silence by the Government in the first 24 hours of the protest, it appears that the Government has now started taking measures to resolve the issue which continues to grow by the day. In an effort to alleviate the tension between the Government and the Southern fishermen, the Government of the Maldives has announced its intention to distribute MVR 70 million in overdue payments by the end of the day on February 22nd, 2024.
“Settlement procedures of this MVR 70 million will proceed today and tomorrow. The remaining MVR 30 million will be settled and concluded on Monday. We have begun procedures for dispersing this MVR 70 million to the Fishermen.” - Fisheries Minister, Ahmed Shiyam.
While the issue surrounding unsettled payments continues to grow by the day, it appears that the Government is only able to make the payments in instalments, with one-third of the outstanding payments to be made today, and the remainder set to be paid off by March of 2024.
With this, the Fisheries Minister of the Maldives Ahmed Shiyam has reiterated the Government’s promise to reimburse fishermen for their catch within 48 hours so that a similar situation does not arise in the future.
Source: https://mfr.mv/fisheries/fishermen-protest-over-unreceived-payments
