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EDF Initiative – Creating opportunities for low income earners

Contact: Claudia Monlouis

Monday, March 24, 2003 - Persons are being urged to move very quickly, in order to take advantage of the European Development Fund’s Special Assistance Programme, as it is being carried out on a first come, first serve basis.

Officials of the EDF were in Dennery on Friday, as they continue to make good on their promise to hold meetings in various communities on the island, to introduce the Special Assistance Programme. According to Wilfred Pierre, the National Authorising Officer, this opportunity is for people interested in obtaining support for small businesses or to purchase properties or build low income houses.

Pierre says three initiatives are being offered under the programme. “We have developed three major programmes. There are a lot of initiatives but the ones we are going to focus on are the low income housing initiative, the Rural Credit Facility and the Private Sector Development Programme. When you add up all the funds that bring these initiatives together, it’s close to EC$40 million. So for example in the low income housing initiative this is equivalent to some $ 8 million that is available for that purpose,” said Pierre.

The officials of the EDF delved into the framework and requirements for accessing funds under the Rural Credit Facility and the Low Income Housing Programme, saying that the initiative attempts to eliminate some of the constraints associated with financial transactions.

“After we’ve looked at the factors that adversely affect low income persons to access land and to build their houses, we saw that the hindrances were the deposit and money for the legal fees. So we devised a grand programme to provide that for low income individuals so that they don’t have that burden to go and look for the deposit and the legal fees. This is going to be in the form of a grant, and when we say “grant” it’s a grant that you don’t pay back,” explained Pierre.

Grants are also available to assist small business persons under the Rural Credit Facility. However persons can only become eligible for those grants if they approach a lending institution with a good business plan which then gets approval for a loan. Persons must request consideration under the Special Assistance Programme in order to obtain a grant that will cover 50% of the loan.

The grant will cover the cost of business plans, consultancies and legal fees. Interested persons can contact the NRDF, the Bank of Saint Lucia or their credit unions.

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