The government has issued over MVR 160 million as income support allowance for those affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.

According to the Ministry of Finance, a total of MVR 164.3 million was disbursed to 13,177 individuals by December 10.

The income support allowance scheme was introduced by the government in May, as a relief for individuals experiencing financial difficulties as a result of employment issues due to the Covid-19 crisis.

The goal of the financial relief package is “to ensure job continuity for Maldivians, large-scale lay-offs and wage reductions have taken place.”

Those eligible for the MVR 5,000 relief package are Maldivians who are currently unemployed; are on no pay leave; had their salary deducted; and had their earnings affected- the latter is both for self-employed and freelance workers.

While the Covid-19 emergency income support allowance was introduced in May, for a three-month period -April, May and June- a second round was announced for July, August and September. Back in October, the finance minister announced plans to continue the programme until December. Application submission for the month December will be open from 10-31 January 2021.

Further, a total of MVR 318.8 million was disbursed for 1,388 businesses under the Covid-19 recovery loan scheme by December 10 while MVR 18.8 million was issued for 627 self-employed individuals.

In total, MVR 337.6 million has been issued for 2,015 individuals under this scheme.

The Covid-19 recovery scheme was introduced by the finance ministry in partnership with the SME Development Finance Corporation (SDFC), and implemented via the Covid-19 ‘Viyafaari Ehee’ loan product by SDFC.

The scheme is targeted towards self-employed workers, with annual turnover less than MVR 10 million in 2019, who are facing difficulties in meeting their current operational requirements due to the ongoing pandemic.

While the eligibility criteria include a six-month work history in the past 12 months as well as an income during that period, those eligible can apply for loans up to MVR 30,000 at six percent interest per annum for a three-year period; a grace period of up to six months is offered during which no interest is charged.