President Bharrat Jagdeo said he wants the large pool of untapped business potential that single mothers represent to become part of the workforce and a valuable link in the economic chain of the country. The President was speaking yesterday at the unveiling of Women of Worth (WOW), a collateral-less, low interest rate credit scheme for single mothers, at the Guyana International Conference Centre.
Speaking to the gathering of mostly women, the President said that he was very pleased that a special programme is being created for single parents. He lauded the Guyana Bank of Trade and Industry (GBTI) which has stepped up with $500 million to be lent to single mothers, between 18 and 60, earning less than $40,000 per month, and whose names are on the Single Parent Register at the Ministry of Human Services and Social Security.
Once they qualify, they will be able to borrow up to $250,000 for a series of small business ventures, and in most cases they will have a three-month moratorium on repayment and will have 24 months to repay at a rate of 6 percent.
The Government is putting $50 million towards helping with the supporting mechanism for the programme.
“This is visionary thinking on the part of GBTI…in the future they will be small borrowers and then the big ones,” he said. He urged the bank to understand the peculiarities of the women borrowers and the time constraints and other challenges that they face. He noted that the image of a bank manager with a tie and with a stack of forms on his desk is enough to intimidate borrowers. Here, he urged the bank to have a human face.
He said that apart from making the programme a success, “we have to ensure that all women have access to credit…we have to break down barriers…it is not just about single mothers.”
The President said that with Thursday’s passage of the Credit Reporting Bill and the Fiscal Enactments (Amendment) Bill 2010, rates for lending should come down.
“The partnership in the housing sector has worked well,” said President Jagdeo, pointing out that the Government has lent its support through a similar fiscal concession that has led to phenomenal growth in home ownership.
“I have no doubt that the fiscal support to this facility will allow it to enjoy similar success [to the housing initiative],” the President said.
He spoke of the need for girls in Guyana to be made smarter and said that this is already evident in examination results. He said that the only thing left to be done was a scheme to help women’s business, and the launch of WOW is it. The President said that Government will be going further and making women more able to be treated fairly when it comes to their rights regarding property in a marriage.
“This is not about competition [between men and women],” the President said. He said that many women are in the position in which they find themselves because of “us men” who do not live up to “our” responsibilities or take care of “our” children.
He said too that it is the known fact that women are the ones that take the responsibility of imparting values to the children. The Head of State said that the State has a duty to support those women to toil to make a better life for their children.
President Jagdeo made the comparison between running a household with limited resources and running a country, where prudent choices, sometimes tough ones, have to be made as to where the money goes. He said there are many legitimate needs of the people of Guyana and all of these cannot be fulfilled at the same time. But he said because of the prudent choices that the Government has made, the country is able to pay its bills from its own revenue.
“You will see the government of Guyana working in partnership with others to make this work. It is not just about credit,” he said. The President made the point that Government has to also guard against importation, or dumping, of cheap items on the market, which will make it hard for the local manufactures to compete.
He said in addition to these measures, Government will continue to support the programme by providing training and by creating the enabling environment for the success of the entrepreneurs.
Further, the President said if the women wanted to start a company, they should not be the victims of a bureaucratic system. He said if persons in various official capacities act with their hearts when dealing with potential business owners, then the country can change at a faster rate.
One single mother who received training through a $65,000 grant from the Government, Kamlawattie Persaud, said that the because of Government, she was able to realize her dreams. She urged all women to take advantage of the opportunities that WOW presented.
Valarie Adams-Sharpe, Chairperson of the Regional Women’s Affairs Committee, Region Ten, said that the overall impact of micro credit is a positive one. She said many women have the skill to do well in business but they don’t have the way to access financing. “I thank GBTI for allowing the needs of women to take precedence over profit,” she said.
Minister of Human Services and Social Security, Priya Manickchand, said she serves on a Cabinet where the value of women’s empowerment is well understood. She said with the launch of WOW, “we are going to continue to empower single parent women [to give them and their children a better life].” She said when women are empowered, they can then join in the decision making. The Minister said with such a programme in place, gender-based violence can drop and so can the drop-out rate of children, since their mothers will be able to take care of them. “Your lives and those of your children will be better off,” the Minister said.
She promised that red tape will not be an encumbrance to accessing funds under the WOW scheme ,urging women to “get on board,” saying it will be a life changing experience.