In 7 years, thanks to preferential financial resources for loans of Binh Duong Branch of Bank of Social Policies and provincial budget, thousand turns of poor and nearly poor families and other subjects in Binh Duong Province have emerged out of poverty. However, it is expected that many would fall back to poverty due to loan shortage. Talking about this, Binh Duong Newspaper reporters had an interview with Vo Van Duc as Director of Binh Duong Branch of Bank of Social Policies.
- Sir, please let us informed of the lacking of loans for the poor and nearly poor families in majority of localities?
- Preferential credit offered by Bank of Social Policies has recently been creative measures of deep humane characteristic and suitable to the reality of implementing decisions, policies and targets that the Party and the State have proposed for poverty reduction, job creation and social welfare assurance and political stability and local economic development.
However, the reported results of the pivotal program of poverty reduction in Binh Duong Province showed that no families are under the national bottom-line poverty standards, making the loan allocation of the central government unavailable to Binh Duong Branch of Bank of Social Policies.
A credit officer of Binh Duong Branch of Bank of Social Policies is checking for loan disbursement to socially privileged people in Phu My Ward of Thu Dau Mot City. Photo: T. Hong
Recently, to timely support the poor and nearly poor family in terms of finance for production and business, the branch has made use of the facilities allocated by the central government ever since 2010 and a partial of additional finance of the provincial budget. From August 31, 2015, total loan resources for poor and nearly poor families stood at VND 330.304 billion (central government resources stood at VND 291.444 billion, accounting for 88% and from the provincial budget at VND 38.860 billion, accounting for 12%).
- By calculation of the branch, how much is the shortage from demands of loans to such subjects annually?
- It is true that current financial resources of the branch are limited to over VND 330 billion which is not enough for the needs for loans of poor and nearly poor families in Binh Duong Province. Statistically, about 2,500 families need loans annually, making up 25% shortage. For the time to come, it is expected that more families will be considered as poor and nearly poor under multi-aspect poverty bottomline. Besides, the Document No. 1602/VPCP-KTTH under direction of the Prime Minister on loan repayments from January 01, 2016 has made it harder for subjects of poverty to access loans unless other substitute loan resources are available.
- What does the withdrawal of facilities by the central government affect the poverty reduction implementation of the province, sir?
- From January 01, 2016 on local authorities on implementing Document No. 1602/VPCP-KTTH dated March 12, 2014 of government Secretariat Office will be issuing their own poverty bottom-line which is higher than national poverty bottom-line. This requires concentrated financial resources of localities entrusted to Bank of Social Policies to offer loans by the new bottom-line. Credit funding from the budget is the significant measure for families of poverty to be financed for their businesses to overcome poverty sustainably. Thus, as the central government is withdrawing the fund, they will be pushing back to poverty due to capital lacking and income reduction, causing social disorder and public reaction towards social welfare policies of the localities.
- So, what measures does Binh Duong Provincial authority need to do to overcome such circumstances?
- In this situation, we have reported to and consulted with Binh Duong Provincial People’s Committee; and by March 31, 2014, Binh Duong Provincial People’s Committee Chair issued Document No. 896/UBND-VX on loans for the poor of local bottom-line while demanding for supplementation of local budget to replace central government financial resources and offset the loan interest difference by 20% higher comparing with national poverty bottom-line loan interest. Besides, we have proposed for government’s extension of the outstanding balance of the loan offering program for families of local poverty bottom-line so that it can be used for newly poverty escaping families to get loans by 2020 or in other local loan offering programs.
Reported by Thanh Hong – Translated by Vi Bao
