Indian credit-line to set up 14,000 home shops favouring SLPP supporters
The Government is using the recent US$1 billion credit-line from India to set up 14,000 home shops run by female entrepreneurs country-wide while conceding that the move is aimed to solely benefit supporters of the ruling party.
These home shops will fulfill the needs of food items and non food products, such as clothing and household items because villagers in rural areas had to travel to nearby towns located very far from their villages to buy their requirements from city groceries.
Finance Minister Basil Rajapaksa had earlier decided to provide a sum of Rs. 800,000 per family to open a home shop each in their villages but it has now been pruned down to Rs. 300,000 due to the financial crisis of the Treasury, Ministry sources said. A sum of Rs. 15 billion has been allocated for this project.
The main aim of this home shop initiative is to further improve women empowerment and to form a women entrepreneur network in rural areas countrywide.
But the hidden agenda is to indirectly influence villagers to gain their support for the ruling party in the event of local government or provincial council elections, analysts said.
The Finance Minister recently stated that the local government election or provincial council elections will be held soon, noting that the Government has no fear to hold another election.
“One woman entrepreneur in one village will be promoted through supporting, to supply the entrepreneurship guidance and the initial capital identifying the women entrepreneurship in rural family units,” Trade Minister Bandula Gunawardena told the Business Times.
Divisional Secretaries will be directed to issue necessary guidance to identify relevant women entrepreneurs on the recommendation of the electoral organiser of the ruling party, he added.
The whole project will be implemented under the guidance of the regional development committees on the instructions of the poverty alleviation task force.
The home shop will be maintained by the selected female entrepreneur in a building space of 200 – 400 square feet or renovating a suitable place at their homes, he disclosed
The recipients for this financial grant will be selected by considering their political affiliations with the aim of further strengthening the rural base of the ruling party, several village level social activists told the Business Times.
The Finance Minister has already sent letters containing details of this programme to all electoral organisers of the ruling party requesting them to nominate the prospective recipients, they disclosed.
According to the plan, essential commodities being purchased from India with the use of the credit-line are to be distributed among these home shops in villages and shop owners will have to repay the value of goods after selling it while keeping a profit margin.
Further food coupons to the value Rs. 2,000 each are to be distributed among ruling party members to purchase food and non food items from these home shops which will be established after the Sinhala and Tamil New Year.
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