Economic Minister Ismail Fayyaz has stated that the state does not have sufficient budget to provide financial assistance to all freelancers in the country.
Economic Minister has noted that the state budget is limited hence the state is facing difficulties in paying freelancers.
He further added that there are problems in categorizing in freelancers and the ministry is working on a guideline to categorizing freelancers.
He also said that the state would have provided financial assistance to everyone if they had unlimited funds, however as they have limited funds thus, they are working on guidelines to provide financial assistance to freelancers.
Economic Ministry and SDFC have included freelancers in their loan scheme to provide financial support to SMEs amid the pandemic. Under this loan, freelancers will get maximum MVR 18,000 loans.
In this loan scheme, SDFC provides freelancers loan if, in the past 12 months, the individual has worked for 6 months and has received an income. This loan is given with 6% interest and 3 years repayment payment.
Economic Ministry will also be providing financial assistance for three months to those who lost their jobs to COVID-19.
Experts are suggesting to minimize government expenditures during this difficult time before opting to withdraw money from MMA.
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