President, Dr. Irfaan Ali recently announced two major initiatives that will not only increase access to home ownership, but also provide funding for families to build small businesses.
During a post-labour day event at State House on Sunday, Ali said he instructed the Finance Minister, Dr. Ashni Singh to write the New Building Society to increase their loan limit to $30 million with the guarantee that their interest rate on those loans, and any thing below, will be five percent maximum.
The Head of State also announced plans to establish a special development agency, which focuses on facilitating concessional loans for small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) and working families as part of a wider drive to boost entrepreneurship and productivity.
“We don’t want to just give you more subsidies and grants, we want to help you to earn more. We want to help you to build small businesses, we want to help you to build greater productivity,” President Ali said.
The president was also keen to remind that since assuming office, his government has made significant headway in improving social conditions and boosting economic empowerment. He said these include a 46.2 per cent increase in public sector wages from 2021 to 2025 and the restoration of the one-month bonus for members of the disciplined services.
He also pointed out that the income tax threshold was doubled from $65,000 in 2020 to $130,000, placing more than $18 billion annually in the pockets of more than 60,000 workers countrywide.
