The prime minister during the Meet The Press session today said that the implementation of the Economic Stimulus Programme is not going as planned. According to the prime minister, the government and financial institutions are actively working to address issues such as public confusion regarding the application process and eligibility criteria. Financial institutions have received more than 190 applications for Economic Stimulus Programme loans as of Tuesday.
The chief planning officer of the Ministry of Finance said that out of 193 applications received by participating financial institutions, 12 projects have been approved, with Nu 8.3 M sanctioned.
The majority of applications were for agriculture and livestock with 148 applicants, while 47 were for the production and manufacturing sector.
The chief planning officer also said that construction businesses are not eligible for concessional loans. However, the sector excluding housing qualifies for the reinvigoration fund, which offers a four per cent interest subsidy.
Likewise, new start-ups are ineligible for concessional loans, except for existing start-ups that are planning to scale up.
According to the chief planning officer, there are several challenges that the applicants and financial institutions have been facing.
Chencho Tshering, Chief Planning Officer of the Ministry of Finance said “There are big challenges while implementing Economic Stimulus Programme. In the banks, the applicants are having confusion. Hence, a lot of plans are underway to curb it. For instance, the prime minister met with the CEOs of all financial institutions and directed them to support those who are unable to fill in the loan application and expedite the loan disbursements.’’
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay said that despite the challenges, the government is working to resolve the issue.
“We cannot force the banks to help people and give the loan faster. They also have due process to follow. Financial institutions are doing proper research on the business proposals submitted by the applicants. The main objective is to help people and give them financial assistance. As I met with the financial institutions and Royal Monetary Authority, we agreed that the government will render full support to the financial institutions to facilitate the services efficiently.”
He added that to avoid non-performing loans, financial institutions are careful and doing research on business proposals which is delaying the process.
He also said that the financial institutions are facing human resources shortage and the government will support them. And the Bhutan Development Bank Limited will help people in rural areas to avail themselves of ESP loans.
The prime minister added that as Community Centres or CCs are handed over to the gewog administrations, officials from these centres will travel to Thimphu to discuss key issues, including providing support to farmers.
This according to the prime minister, will focus on improving communication with farmers and provide training to them.
The financial institutions started accepting the proposals for ESP loans last month.
Sonam Yuden
