February 19, 2021
Albert Baron Ansu
MUNAFA Micro Credit has been launched by President Bio in good faith to respond to the perennial poverty that has bogged down 60% of the labor force. There is no way anybody can deny this fact and it is not surprising that even the trenchant critics of the government have been sealed lip about the prospect of the initiative. The opposition must be wary that this 100 billion loan scheme is winner.
An assessment of the distributive arrangement of the funds gives the ingrained cynic the chill. It is a proportional share that takes into consideration the population of districts as opposed how political aligned the setting might be.
Fancy Port Loko district, an opposition stronghold allotted the huge sum of 2,250,000,000; and the Western Urban where the opposition also claims to have its biggest support allotted 4,500,000,000. Then contrast this figures with that of the President’s district Bonthe-l only receiving 900,000,000. Then the newly created districts Karena and Falaba bagging 750,000,000 respectively…
Is this not telling us that this a depoliticized arrangement based on a sincerity of purpose to provide stimulus packages Small Medium Enterprises?
The Finance Minister calls a bread and butter project from a listening government not giving to making excuses about the global economic meltdown occasioned by COVID 19. This is a plausible way to go in building resiliency of households contending with shocks of the outbreak.
Where Micro Finance Institutions have been lending small business with crippling interest rates, the government is sensitive enough to have identified credible Financial Service Providers with loans for onward distribution to small businesses at 3% interest per year.
The institutionalized arrangement in the creation of Small Medium Enterprises Development Agency that will work in close collaboration with the Ministry of Finance to handle the day to day affairs of this loan scheme is an assurance positive result.
As a homegrown domestic funding window from national budget that is not going to be one-off but rolling, the safeguards that have embedded in the disbursement of funds to Financial Service Providers meeting set eligibility criteria signals success and mitigation of poverty.
We are impressed about the capacity building incentive for recipients in reporting and supportive follow ups to ensure the core expectations and objectives of bailing out the poor to self-reliant can be realized.
President Bio has thus made his mark as a people-centered president in this national economic stress cushioning initiative; an equal opportunity window opened to all Sierra Leoneans that have attained the age of 18 years, but not exceeding 65. The caveat that the loan taker must have a track record of doing a registered business and record of loan payment demonstrate the sobriety, but it is going to make it quite difficult for many people fit into. So we are suggesting some flexibility, knowing the context of informal petty business of especially women that are associated with this sector.
Training in business choice making will be cardinal for business success lest it becomes a frivolous spending spree that would defeat the good intention of President. He could not have done this purposively to build political in-roads but it is bound to a launch pad for the President’s second term. Make no mistake MUNAFA, which translates as we are better off, is going to impact the national economy to translate into money for citizens and votes for the ruling Sierra Leone Peoples Party…