Loans for Samurdhi families who lost self employment ventures in tsunami

Uditha Kumarasinghe

COLOMBO: The Samurdhi and Poverty Alleviation Ministry has decided to grant concessionary loans to Samurdhi beneficiary families who lost their self employment ventures in the tsunami. These loans will be subject to a maximum of Rs. 100,000.

All these self employment projects were conducted by obtaining loans from Samurdhi Banks.

In order to provide this credit facility to affected Samurdhi recipient families, the Asian Development Bank has granted Rs.200 million to the Samurdhi Ministry, Samurdhi and Poverty Alleviation Minister Pavithra Wanniarachchi told the Daily News yesterday.

The Ministry will provide a maximum of Rs. 100,000 credit facility to a Samurdhi beneficiary family to restart their self employment ventures. Only a six per cent annual interest rate will be charged on these loans, she said.

Meanwhile, the Ministry has also decided to write off all loans obtained by Samurdhi beneficiary families whose house holders lost their lives in the tsunami catastrophe and where their self employment projects were carried out successfully.

Arrangements have also been made to supplement the loans obtained by these families to restart their self employment ventures. The Sri Lanka Samurdhi Authority has allocated Rs.6 million for this purpose.

In addition ,steps have been taken to reduce the 18 per cent annual interest rate charged on loans granted to Samurdhi beneficiaries for self employment projects down to 14 per cent, the Minister said. The intention of the Government is to see speedy economic empowerment of the country's low income groups who have faced severe hardships due to the tsunami catastrophe.

A large number of Government and Non-Governmental Organisations have also extended their cooperation towards such development activities aimed at rebuilding the lives of Samurdhi beneficiaries affected by the tsunami, she said.