Mountain of debt at Fisheries Ministry
Several affiliated institutions under the Fisheries Ministry have accumulated a total of Rs. 2.38 billion as legally bound payments and liabilities to various institutions and are currently facing a debt crisis, Ministry sources said.
It is reported that a severe crisis has arisen in those institutions due to the huge amount of debt that exists at the moment.
This staggering debt is owed by affiliated institutions of the Ministry such as the National Aquaculture Development Authority (NAQDA), National Aquatic Resources Research and Development Agency (NARA), Ceylon Fisheries Corporation, Ceylon Fishery Harbours Corporation, Cey-Nor Foundation Limited, North Sea Limited and the Peliyagoda Central Fish Market Complex.
The debts should be paid to commercial banks, the Finance Ministry, and several other institutions as of October 31, 2024, according to a Ministry report. According to the report, NAQDA’s outstanding credit as of October 31, last year was Rs. 106.54 million and the amount of legal payments and liabilities including tender deposits, money given for welfare to be settled to the Finance Ministry and withholding money to be paid is Rs. 28.79 million.
The balance of scheduled payments including EPF and ETF to be paid by Ceylon Fishery Harbours Corporation is Rs 53.36 million.
According to this report, the largest number of legal payments and liabilities is under the Ceylon Fisheries Corporation. The arrears due under the EPF and ETF is Rs.668.7 million.
The Employee Gratuity payable is Rs.25 million. The loan amount obtained from commercial banks is Rs. 158 million. There is also a bank overdraft of Rs. 64 million. The total legal dues and liabilities of the Corporation is close to Rs. 1,530 million.
The Cey-Nor Foundation Limited has accumulated debt to the amount of Rs. 73.72 million and the total amount of liabilities of North Sea Limited is Rs. 114.19 million, including the loan amount of Rs. 152.05 million received from commercial banks and the amount of legal payments is Rs. 525.37 million.
Also the Peliyagoda fish market has taken a loan of Rs. 56.34 million from a commercial bank.
Commenting on this matter, Fisheries, Aquatic and Marine Resources Deputy Minister Rathna Gamage pointed out that the previous governments has left a mountain of debt at the Fisheries Ministry.
The Deputy Minister emphasized that the Fisheries Ministry owes a huge amount of debt to a number of institutions and that the debt handed over by the previous governments is like a garbage dump.
The Deputy Minister said that this mountain of debt will be cleared with a proper plan.