Protesting fishermen threaten to storm Addu factory
"It cannot be done immediately given the current financial situation of the state and the lack of cash flow at MIFCO”.
By
Shahudha Mohamed
Fishermen in Addu have threatened to stop the operation of the Maldives Industrial Fisheries Company (MIFCO) fish factory in Hulhumeedhoo as part of their protest over the delay in receiving payment for their catch.
Since the change of government, fishermen have staged several protests over the delay in receiving money for fish.
According to the government, the problems in paying the fishermen have been caused by the fact that the previous government had not released the MVR 200 million owed to the fishermen when the government changed hands.
Fishermen have been protesting in Hulhumeedhoo since Friday over the delay of payments owed for the past three months.
About 80 fishermen gathered at the Hulhumeedhoo port are demanding immediate payment for the fish bought over the past months. They are also calling for payments to be made within 15 days of purchasing the fish in the future.
Some of the protesters threatened to stop the work of MIFCO's Addu complex if their demands were not met. Thus:
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All senior employees of the factory will be removed from the building
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Cooking in the factory’s kitchen will be stopped
Fisheries Minister Ahmed Shiyam told Atoll Times that the ministry is closely monitoring the protest and is in touch with those involved in it.
The minister said transactions for the disbursement of funds have been delayed due to the Eid holidays. He said he would know for sure how long the money would be released to the fishermen after government offices open on Sunday.
'Either way, I don't want to tell them to stop the protest, that we can arrange money on Sunday. That's because it won't happen,' Shyam said.
"It cannot be done immediately given the current financial situation of the state and the lack of cash flow at MIFCO”.
However, the minister assured that the government would do everything necessary to pay the fishermen as soon as possible. Thus:
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MIFCO is looking for a facility, whether from the domestic market or from any other country, to fund the fishermen
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An update will be available when the government opens on Sunday
Shiyam appealed to the protesters not to cause any damage to public property even though they were protesting for their rights.
“I really don’t want to see a situation where we have to take action [if they do such a thing],” he said.
He asked the fishermen to continue their protest peacefully without interrupting operations or damaging any property.
In February, the fishermen staged a protest at Gaafu Alifu Kooddoo over non-payment of dues. Protests were also held in the capital city earlier this month. Both the protests were called off after MIFCO paid a major portion of what was owed to the fishermen.
However, after that, the backlog has once again expanded, and the money has not been released to the fishermen for a while now.It is learnt that MIFCO last paid fishermen for the fish weighed on April 11.
