With many Ghanaians suspecting the government of the day will distribute the 600million relief for Small and Medium Scale Businesses (SMEs) suffering amidst the COVID-19 outbreak to its party members, the Welfare Officer of the Ghana Union of Traders (GUTA), Benjamin Yeboah has come out to dispel that fear.
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According to him, the association is working tirelessly with government to make sure the right people benefit from the loan. And has already sought out their help in the disbursement process.
He made this known on Happy98.9FM’s Happy Morning Show; “As at now we don’t know how much and who will receive the money but we are currently working with government to sort that out. We have provided them with data of all our members. This will help make the distribution a smooth and effortless one.”
Ben Yeboah went on to acknowledge the government’s effort in supporting Ghanaians and businesses in these trying times. “It’s a very good move by the gov’t to put together the soft loan of 600million cedi’s for SMEs. It’s good that governments around the world are putting in place packages to help out their people. By the end of the COVID-19 period some people may have survived on their capital and without such a package some people may have possibly ended up unemployed,” he noted.
He also applauded the various financial institutions for granting its customers a six-month moratorium on principal repayments per the President’s directive.
He acknowledged that things may get difficult for traders if the lockdown is extended further and prayed for a quick end to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Government announced measures aimed at mitigating the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on Ghanaian businesses and households. In the President’s fourth national address on controlling the spread of CIVID-19 in Ghana, President Nana Akufo-Addo announced a relief package of at least GH¢1 billion for households and businesses, particularly small and medium scale enterprises.
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The loan scheme which is expected to have a one-year moratorium and two-year repayment period was approved by parliament yesterday and government has already taken steps to distribute the 600 million cedi’s dedicated to SMEs.
By: Joel Sanco
