Prosperity for all is more than micro-credit
Aug 06, 2006
There is a lot of excitement and anxiety not only among the peasants, but even among leaders about micro credit, to the extent that prosperity for all has been equated to just one component of micro credit.
There is a lot of excitement and anxiety not only among the peasants, but even among leaders about micro credit, to the extent that prosperity for all has been equated to just one component of micro credit.
If I may use the example of an engine, engine oil is a very important input for an engine to run efficiently, but oil alone cannot make an engine run. One needs fuel and a linkage of machine parts to make the engine run. In the same way micro-credit is just part of what is required to make people raise their household income.
Therefore, serious thinking should be on what productive enterprises should we encourage our people to engage in, in order to make maximum benefit from the micro-credit. This requires well co-ordinated planning among the various players to ensure that our people are properly guided, but not left on their own to gamble into ventures that will frustrate them. It is more important for people to know how and when to use the micro-credit than the micro-credit itself.
There is need for the ministries of trade, agriculture and finance to co-ordinate in identifying markets and marketable products both locally and internationally, promote and guide the production of the selected products through well-organised farmer groups (co-operatives) and oil them with the necessary micro-credit to enhance commercial production. This approach will certainly make a difference.
Currently each farmer is on his own, totally uninformed and, therefore, unconscious of the market dynamics, yet this will ultimately determine what he or she will earn from his or her efforts. The biggest challenge therefore is lack of proper guidance for our farmers and unless this is given due attention, we may not realise the anticipated gains from our micro-credit programme.
The apparent misunderstanding among some politicians as to how micro-credit should be applied in the prosperity for all programme may undermine it, if its not well sorted out. There is therefore urgent need for the Ministry of Finance to come up with a comprehensive and precise guideline on how the prosperity for all strategy will be implemented. This will help to avoid confusion. The success of any programme, however good it may sound, depends on how well it is designed, understood and implemented. It is therefore important to educate the leaders at various levels on what ‘prosperity for all’ is all about and how it will be implemented.
Ends
If I may use the example of an engine, engine oil is a very important input for an engine to run efficiently, but oil alone cannot make an engine run. One needs fuel and a linkage of machine parts to make the engine run. In the same way micro-credit is just part of what is required to make people raise their household income.
Therefore, serious thinking should be on what productive enterprises should we encourage our people to engage in, in order to make maximum benefit from the micro-credit. This requires well co-ordinated planning among the various players to ensure that our people are properly guided, but not left on their own to gamble into ventures that will frustrate them. It is more important for people to know how and when to use the micro-credit than the micro-credit itself.
There is need for the ministries of trade, agriculture and finance to co-ordinate in identifying markets and marketable products both locally and internationally, promote and guide the production of the selected products through well-organised farmer groups (co-operatives) and oil them with the necessary micro-credit to enhance commercial production. This approach will certainly make a difference.
Currently each farmer is on his own, totally uninformed and, therefore, unconscious of the market dynamics, yet this will ultimately determine what he or she will earn from his or her efforts. The biggest challenge therefore is lack of proper guidance for our farmers and unless this is given due attention, we may not realise the anticipated gains from our micro-credit programme.
The apparent misunderstanding among some politicians as to how micro-credit should be applied in the prosperity for all programme may undermine it, if its not well sorted out. There is therefore urgent need for the Ministry of Finance to come up with a comprehensive and precise guideline on how the prosperity for all strategy will be implemented. This will help to avoid confusion. The success of any programme, however good it may sound, depends on how well it is designed, understood and implemented. It is therefore important to educate the leaders at various levels on what ‘prosperity for all’ is all about and how it will be implemented.
Ends