The Joint Opposition’s presidential candidate Ibrahim Mohamed Solih has on Friday pledged to establish an ‘SME bank’ for small and medium enterprise development.  

Speaking to local news station Raajje Television, Solih said that this bank would facilitate the issuing of ‘soft loans’ for businesses that require it. The issuing process will be completely transparent, Solih added.

Further, the presidential hopeful said in Friday night’s interview that the biggest point of concern for most Maldivians is the lack of decent shelter, with most citizens having to spend most of their income on rent or being forced to live in cramped spaces.

In this regard Solih pledged that the Joint Opposition’s unity government, formed in coalition with its partners allied against incumbent President Abdulla Yameen, will ensure ‘shelter for everyone’. There initiative will leave no one without adequate space of their own once its implemented in full.

Their housing initiative will first work to grant properties to individuals that do not have a home and unable to rent a space for themselves. These properties will be theirs until these individuals are able to acquire a space or the financial ability to rent one.

The initiative will also subsidize housing so that individuals who do attain a monthly income are able to rent space. Further, it also aims to reduce interest rates and lessen deposit rates for individuals who wish to purchase property.