Gopee-Scoon: Credit unions vital to covid19 recovery

TRADE and Industry Minister Paula Gopee-Scoon on Tuesday underscored the important role credit unions continue to play in supporting households and small businesses, especially during the covid19 pandemic.

Addressing a webinar hosted by Rhand Credit Union, Gopee-Scoon said the credit union sector remains a key player in efforts to guide the overall national recovery through the pandemic.

"One of the immediate measures to be addressed," she said, "is a mechanism to allow credit unions to provide for the payment of utility bills, subject to the requirements of the respective agencies."

Gopee-Scoon said this and other issues relating to credit unions were discussed between an interministerial subcommittee established by Cabinet last year to examine the future role of credit unions to national development and various related stakeholders. The work of this committee is being continued under the new Youth Development and National Service Ministry.

That ministry, Gopee-Scoon continued, will establish a committee by next month which will implement Cabinet's decisions pertaining to the credit union sector.

With a five per cent contribution to GDP and accounting for over four per cent of Trinidad and Tobago's financial assets, Gopee-Scoon observed, "The sector is therefore not an insignificant contributor to the social and economic fabric of our country."

After noting the socio-economic shocks experienced worldwide because of the pandemic, Gopee-Scoon thanked credit unions for partnering with Government to continue to sustain families, build communities and support businesses through these uncertain times.

She recalled Government's $100 million financial support facility to the credit union movement, in the early days of the pandemic, "to provide low-interest loans to their members, with a long repayment period beginning after the situation normalises." Gopee-Scoon added this was further supported by an additional $100 million.

"The objective of the programme was to provide liquidity support to individuals and small businesses who qualify for credit-union loans."

Gopee-Scoon said there must be a greater focus on entrepreneurship (including youth entrepreneurship) as one of the strategies, to navigate the economy out of the negative effects of the pandemic. Credit unions, she said, must play their part in this effort.

Apart from its role of bringing relief to households and sustaining industries (whether fledgling or export-oriented businesses), Gopee-Scoon said, "Let us agree that the (credit union) movement can extend, in a substantial way, its intervention in providing other business services to SMEs (small and medium enterprises).

She added that credit unions can examine their respective asset bases and "know that business facilities to entrepreneurs can be expanded suitably tailored.

While the pandemic and volatility of global energy prices have created challenges for TT, Gopee-Scoon opined they have also created "unexpected opportunities with new tools and platforms that can take us beyond the known horizons."

She also said the National Youth Policy can provide avenues for young people to become involved in entrepreneurship.

Rhand Credit Union president Ainsley Andrews said the organisation, which was formed in 1947, continues to support both individual members and small businesses.