Make SLB loans easier to repay

THE EDITOR, Madam:

While the policy change made by Minister of Finance Nigel Clarke as to how repayment is done to Students’ Loan Bureau (SLB) loan is applauded, the effect of such change should have been equitable and not only applicable to new loans.

If the decade-old policy was to apply payments made to the SLB by beneficiaries, “first to penalties, then to interest and finally to principals,” as stated by Mr Clarke, why is it that beneficiaries who were affected by the old policy, and still has a balance with the SLB, are not currently benefiting from the new policy change?

The past policy, as rightly stated by Mr Clarke, “is not in keeping with the practice of financial institutions generally and has the effect of making the SLB’s loans harder to service”.

Beneficiaries are still suffering from the injustice of the old policy, and the future administration should take the necessary steps to allow all past and new loans to benefit from the revised policy change.

The application of the new policy should have been retroactive, making all active loans easier to repay. Please fix this Mr. Clarke

S. HARE