The Executive Director of the National Board for Small Scale Industries (NBSSI), Kosi Yankey Ayeh, has said the government is not charging any interest on the Covid-19 Alleviation Programme.
Her caution comes on the back of reports that some organisations, who have accessed the loans, are charging applicants four percent interest on the loans from the GH¢1 billion loan announced by the government to mitigate the impact of the pandemic on businesses.
“The NBSSI is not charging interest on the loans so please don’t pay any money to anyone,” Mrs Ayeh said in an interview on Asempa FM’s Ekosii Sen programme Thursday.
To ensure fairness and transparency, Mrs Ayeh said the Board has launched a portal that receives applications for the utilisation of the soft loan scheme for MSMEs affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, with application forms available online on its website.
The NBSSI boss advised persons interested in applying to avoid working with people who come around the markets posing as staff of the NBSSI or members of any association working for the Board.
She indicated that the Board has received more than 5,000 applications with more than 1,000 people asking questions on how to access the facility.
Mrs Ayeh appealed to those who are yet to receive their monies to be calm as they work on the pending applications.
