Dear Editor,
I have checked and rechecked the Minister of Finance’s release and quotes verbatim from the newspapers, “The Finance Minister has announced interest reduction packages for those who make arrangements to repay their loans by August and September, 2016. In keeping with a wide-ranging audit report into the operations of the Student Loan Agency, the `Jubilee offer’ will be a 75 percent reduction in the accumulated arrears of interest if borrowers pay their indebtedness no later than August 31, 2016 or a 50 percent reduction in accumulated arrears of interest if borrowers bring their accounts up to date by September 30, 2016.”
Nowhere here is it stated that the accumulated arrears of interest must be current.
Immediately prior to this announcement, a payment of $450,000 was made to the Loan Agency. All excited about the 75% reduction I went to the Loan Agency to pay off my loan so that I can benefit from this largesse. But here is the catch!
The Loan Agency informs me that they were instructed that the 75% is only applicable to current accumulated arrears of interest. The $450,000 payment gone fuh channa. My 75% discount amounted to a mere pittance of the current arrears of interest. We haven’t touched the principal yet.
I did not proceed with my transaction and will now await further instructions and clarification from either the President, the Minister of Finance or Mr. Winston Felix. Someone must pronounce on this ongoing saga before August 31st.
Otherwise I will just sit back and await further development in this sitcom. You are damned if you do and damned if you don’t. Furthermore, while there I did not see a multitude beating down the doors to make payments!
Yours faithfully,
Hema Persaud
