THE Private Sector Commission (PSC) has lauded the government for facilitating financial support for thousands of persons who fall under the low income category and, under normal lending circumstances, may not qualify for loans. The initiatives are the Women of Worth (WOW) project and the Government of Guyana/Inter American Development Bank (IDB) Second Low Income Settlement Programme.
Under the WOW initiative, the Guyana Government, in collaboration with the Guyana Bank for Trade and Industry (GBTI), has set aside G$500M to assist single female parents who are unemployed and those who are earning little income to sustain themselves and dependable ones to obtain micro-loans for entrepreneurship.
The loans are provided at a concessionary interest cost of six per cent.
To this end, the PSC is urging all female Guyanese who are qualified, to take full advantage of this initiative.
Additionally, the first part of the GOG/IDB Settlement Programme is geared to assist persons whose incomes are less than $60,000 per month.
The programme involves building homes for low income persons who qualify at full cost to the government.  It is being implemented at three housing areas in Guyana — Westminster Phase One in Region Three; Area B Lusignan and Block EE Non Pariel, both in Region Four — and will assist those low income persons who have been granted house lots in those areas.
The second part of the programme, which is not yet on stream, will see low income persons being awarded a grant of $200,000 for construction works.  It is expected that this initiative will primarily benefit persons living in Sophia, Greater Georgetown.
In a recent press release, the PSC said it “lauds these initiatives and again urges all Guyanese to participate in these programmes which are geared to enhance the lives of the least privileged.”