Funds unavailable for Funaddoo fish factory development
Bonde described the project as a payment of debts by MIFCO to some people.
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By
Ahmed Naif
Confusions have arisen over fisheries ministry's decision to hand over the development and management of Th. Funaddoo fish processing factory to MIFCO after it was purchased by the ministry after Bank of Maldives (BML) announced the sale of the island due to non-payment of a loan.
BML announced the sale of Funaddoo for the non-payment of a loan taken by a company owned by former DRP leader Ahmed Thasmeen Ali. The fisheries ministry had earlier said it was looking to raise $10.2 million (MVR 157.3 million) for MIFCO to start operations on the island as the island had been badly damaged when Funaddoo was bought by the government and handed over to MIFCO.
The parliament's SOE committee has initiated an inquiry into the matter and in response to a letter to MIFCO seeking clarification, the company said in its reply to the committee that the deal to purchase Funaddoo is yet to be fully completed. In the letter, MIFCO also stated that the project cannot be taken up unless the required funds are made available.
Here are some of the things MIFCO pointed out in the letter:
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Since Funaddoo has been leased to someone else, the ministry and MIFCO cannot hand over ownership of the island without the lease rights of the island
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MVR 236.04 million was required to start operations in Funaddoo, but no capacity to raise such a huge amount of money
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MVR 145.9 million required for construction of Funaddoo port; it has been requested to build the port within the PSIP budget
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MIFCO ready to start the project once the government allocates funds
The main concern of the members at the committee meeting held today to study the issue was that the statements in the letter sent by MIFCO and the information provided by the Fisheries Ministry did not match. The Fisheries Ministry informed the committee that:
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Funaddoo has now been handed over to MIFCO and efforts are underway to get funds
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While the ministry estimates that it requires MVR 157.3 million to make the island operational, MIFCO’s claimed amount is much higher
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The funds are expected to be disbursed for June, but it is not clear now when it will be settled
Kinbidhoo MP Mohamed Nashiz, who is also a member of the SOE committee and chair of the Public Accounts Committee, said that there were discrepancies in the letter sent by the Fisheries Ministry and the response given by MIFCO. He said the estimated costs involved in executing the project were different. Nashiz requested that both sides clarify further information.
Maafannu Central MP Ibrahim Rasheed questioned whether it was done by the company's board as the government had placed a burden on MIFCO that it could not bear. He added that the island is also yet to be handed over to MIFCO and the ownership of the island is not completely clear. He described the project as a payment of debts by MIFCO to some people.
"Whose debt is the government trying to pay? The island hasn't even been properly handed over yet, and there is a lot of confusion in the project. There are discrepancies in what both sides are saying," said Ibrahim Rasheed.
Following the concerns raised by the members, the committee decided to examine the matter further after MIFCO and the Fisheries Ministry clarified more about the project.
