The government had disbursed income support allowance to over 17,000 individuals affected by the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, by the end of last year.

According to the Ministry of Finance, a total of MVR 221.1 million was disbursed to 17,147 individuals by 31st December 2020.

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.

Further, a total of MVR 326.9 million was disbursed for 1,414 businesses under the Covid-19 recovery loan scheme by December 31 while MVR 19.1 million was issued for 639 self-employed individuals or freelancers, through the SME Development Finance Corporation (SDFC).

In total, MVR 346 million was issued for 2,053 individuals through SDFC by the end of 2020, while MVR 578.5 million was issued through recovery loan scheme for large businesses via the national Bank of Maldives (BML) by December 30.