By Alpha Abu
The Chief Executive Officer of Small and Medium Enterprise Development Agencies SMEDA, the institution facilitating the micro-credit scheme named Munafa Fund, Sharka Sannoh has announced that registration for possible access to the loan scheme is free.
At a press briefing at SMEDA’s office in Freetown on Monday 1st February 2021, he said they have received complaints from all over the country of people soliciting cash payments from other persons so they could be registered for the micro-credit.
Sannoh condemned the act and said they were in touch with the police to make sure that “appropriate action was taken against the crooks.” He revealed that the police have arrested some individuals in Makeni and Magburaka who were caught in the act and that another group of people who had assembled in Bo for the same malpractice of requesting money for registration fled the scene soon after they got a tip-off that the police were on their way.
He said they will embark on extensive sensitization of the public to guard them against potential swindling by fraudsters in the name of registering for the scheme.
The SMEDA boss said contrary to rumors prior to the launch of the Munafa Fund in Magburaka last month, the allocation of the funds to districts in this first phase of the scheme, demonstrated that the process was devoid of politics as each district got a fair share of the funds.
A Press release by SMEDA advised the public including business people that the registration of Small and Medium Enterprises should be done with City and District Councils, the Administrator and Registrar General’s office, the Cooperative department or the Corporate Affairs Commission and with SMEDA.
26.5 billion Leones will be distributed to 10 selected Financial Service Providers who will undertake the implementation of the initial phase of the program. Beneficiaries are expected to form themselves into groups or cooperatives under the small business category with the opportunity to receive 5 million Leones each, while those in the medium business would get 10 million Leones. Over 3,000 people are expected to benefit from this maiden implementation of the micro-credit facility.
Copyright © 2021 Politico Online
