Following ruling coalition parliamentarian Ahmed Thoriq's allegations against Minister Dr. Mohamed Shainee, MP for Nilandhoo constituency Abdulla Khaleel has said that the Fisheries Minister has the full support of the ruling coalition.
Noting that Minister Shainee has done a lot of work to develop the fisheries industry, Khaleel, in a series of tweets on Wednesday, said that he has the "full support" of the Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) and its coalition partners.
The parliamentarian and secretary general of PPM said that the Minister is working 'tirelessly' in his work, and that the work will be of benefit to all fishermen across the country.
Thoriq had, in a social media post, accused the Minister of having 'unacceptable' relationships with exporters, noting Shainee's 'various failures'. The MP even called on Minister Shainee to resign.
When RaajjeMV called Minister Shainee for a response to Thoriq's allegations, he did not answer the call, but had replied to a Viber message with a simple "hehe" (laugh). However, he did not respond further on the matter, choosing to ignore the follow-up questions to his response.
MP Thoriq's allegations comes a week after Minister Shainee claimed that 'the only reason' why fishermen were not responding to the government's Fishermen Insurance Scheme 'Beyas Nubeyas' was because of how well they are doing.
In a tweet sent out on June 18, the Ministry claimed that 'the only reason why fishers are not signing up for Beyas Nubeyas in numbers'. A photo of 'the average earnings for a fisher from Gemanafushi [of Gaafu Alif atoll]' was attached to the tweet, showing that the Ministry's comment was based on the income of fishermen from just one island.
While the Ministry claims that all the fishermen in the country are doing well in numbers, there are a number of issues facing the fisheries sector, with a fisherman even confronting Minister Shainee in April. While a recording of the heated discussion circulated around social media, the fisherman is heard questioning the Minister over President Abdulla Yameen's pledge.
According to the President Yameen's campaign pledge in 2013, all professional fishermen would receive a monthly income of at MVR 10,000; regardless of their yield.
