-Parliament to amend legislation to bolster financial support for the scheme
THE micro-credit scheme, slated to help transform the lives of many single parents, will be inaugurated next week Friday, Head of the Presidential Secretariat (HPS), Dr. Roger Luncheon announced yesterday. He told his weekly post-Cabinet media briefing, at Office of the President, Shiv Chanderpaul Drive, Georgetown, that it would, initially and minimally, provide $500M for a revolving loan system.
Luncheon reiterated that a major component of the intended beneficiaries would be single parents and much attention is expected to focus on those who have and would have successfully completed the training programmes that have been offered by the Government.
He reminded that the idea, essentially, is to have money provided to the would-be entrepreneurs to get them to either acquire tools for the skills in which they were trained or  acquire the start-up ingredients for business.
“In the context of the entrepreneurial skills training that continues to be offered and with dedication to mentoring of the would-be beneficiaries, the expectations, indeed, are that the scheme would contribute to transforming the lives of many of the single parents and their families,” Luncheon maintained.
About the size of the undertaking, he declared that “the size is not likely to end where it starts.”
Luncheon said in Parliament, right now, in response to interest shown by financial institutions, primarily the banks, there is a piece of intended legislation, the Fiscal Enactment (Amendment) Bill 2010.
It is really to amend the Income Tax Act to allow financial institutions to attract certain considerations, were they to invest in the micro-credit scheme.
The Fiscal Enactment Amendment Bill 2010 is intended to bolster the support offered by financial institutions resulting in comparable increase that could amount to $2-3 billion.
Luncheon said, already, an iron clad commitment has been given by one financial institution to put up $500M. (Priya Nauth)