On the eve of the launch of Women of Worth (WOW), Minister of Human Services and Social Security, Priya Manickchand, said the Government has made no secret of the fact that it is keen on taking care of and protecting vulnerable groups in the country.
She was at the time making her presentation to the National Assembly in support of the Fiscal Enactments (Amendment) Bill No 5 of 2010. The Minister said this facility, in which the Government has collaborated with the Guyana Bank For Trade and Industry, will serve to alleviate poverty generally but specifically amongst single parent women, make women more financially independent thus reducing the incidents of violence against women and children, and will serve to catapult Guyana closer to a place where the country genuinely enjoys the benefits of gender equality. “All in all,” the Minister said, “this facility would be excellent and should be seen as another tool in the effort to empower women.”

Manickchand said the criteria for benefit are that applicants must be women, single parents, between the ages of 18 and 60, earning under $40,000, and they must be registered on the single parents register. The Minister said too that the applicants must be in possession of a skill or must have expertise in the field in which they wish to begin their business. No collateral would be needed.
Further, a minimum of $100,000 and a maximum of $250,000 will be issued at a repayment rate of 6% per annum. The loan must be repaid over a twenty four month period, the Minister outlined.
She said that with regard to children, the administration had taken a menu of measures including passing a large number of laws including the Protection of Children Act, and that the authorities are in the process of now implementing these laws. Additionally, she said the Childcare and Protection Agency Act has been established and has since intervened in the lives of many children to the benefit of those children. She said too that the programme Mission Child Protection continues and as a result children who were on the streets have been taken into care by the Government.
Manickchand said senior citizens, too, have come in for special treatment under this government. She said as of today, 44,326 persons are in receipt of old age pensions and all persons over 65 years of age who live in Guyana are entitled to this grant, without enduring a means test as before, and further, the amount given has consistently risen over the years.
Manickchand told the National Assembly that the Domestic Violence Policy, the new Sexual Offences Act that was assented to by His Excellency on May 24, 2010, the single parent assistance plan, and this new micro credit facility are all ways that the party in Government is honouring its promise contained in the PPP/C’s manifesto to “further empower our women by strengthening laws and institutions that protect their rights…. (and) implement a Single Parent Assistance Plan which will include micro credit for income generation activities.”
Manickchand said that last year, 362 single parents were trained under the Government’s Single Parent Assistance Plan and all of them, save one who died, received grants of 65,000 dollars to start up their own businesses in the areas in which they have been trained. The women were trained in Regions 3, 4, 5, and 6 and were trained in the areas of their choice of child care, care of the elderly, catering, garment construction, cosmetology, information technology and office procedures and computer repairs. She said all of the parents were exposed to micro credit training and some to basic mathematics and English.
Additionally, Manickchand said over 176 persons were trained by the Guyana Women’s Leadership Institute.
Minister Manickchand quoting from Kofi Annan, former UN Secretary General, said “microfinance is an integral part of our collective effort to meet the Millennium Development Goals. Sustainable access to microfinance helps alleviate poverty by generating income, creating jobs, allowing children to go to school, enabling families to obtain health care, and empowering people to make the choices that best serve their needs.”
The Minister emphasised that people, particularly Guyana’s single mothers, would benefit from the passage of the legislation which allows for taxes to be waived from any income earned from a lender of money.
She said that studies have shown that access to financial services has improved the status of women within the family and the community.
With this facility, she said women will become more assertive and confident, will be able to own their own assets and accumulate wealth, and will be more capable of playing a stronger role in decision-making.