Payments to local fishermen are being processed well within 48 hours as pledged by President Dr Mohamed Muizzu, State-owned fisheries firm, Maldives Industrial Fisheries Company Limited (MIFCO) has said.
When this Administration took office in November last year, arrears to local fishermen amounted to around USD15 million.
Despite some initial setbacks, this Administration has gradually settled the arrears.
On this year’s Fishermen’s Day, celebrated on 10 December, President Muizzu had announced that his Administration had now made arrangements to settle payments to fishermen within 48 hours.
True to the President’s pledge, MIFCO told PSM News that it is now depositing payments to fishermen well within 48 hours, adding that sometimes payments are settled even on the same day.
MIFCO highlighted the assistance and cooperation from the Ministry of Fisheries and Ocean Resources along with Bank of Maldives (BML) in the efforts.
Since President Dr Muizzu assumed office, a total of USD63.15 million has been disbursed to fishermen, amounting to a record 55,299 metric tonnes of fish.