Subsidy would be better spent on investments: Minister

Minister of Fisheries and Agriculture Ahmed Shafeeu has said that the MVR100 million assigned as subsidy for fishermen would be better spent on investments in the fisheries sector.

In an interview with Sun Online last week, Shafeeu said that fishermen are in need of funds for investments, and that the subsidy of MVR100 million could be used for investments for the development of the fisheries industry.

“We know from fishermen that they want ice plants and such things. It is a great concern for fishermen that they can’t get ice at low prices. Several investments like that, such as building ice plants, several things like that can be done with the money assigned as subsidy. That’s why I think the money could be better spent on those things,” he said.

He stressed the importance of assigning the subsidy in the budget, as it encourages fishermen to go fishing.

“I have shared this concern with the Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee as well. I am hoping that this will be given priority when the budget is made,” he said.

It was noted in the Audit Reports of Fisheries Ministry for previous years, that subsidies were disbursed even to vessels that never went fishing, and that subsidies were not distributed fairly.

To combat these problems, the Public Accounts Committee has decided to assign MVR1 million out of MVR100 million for administrative purposes and to disburse subsidies as per policies created by the Committee.