Govt denies financial bailout to businesses

By The Standard | Jul. 1, 2021 | 1 Min read

BY VANESSA GUZHA THE Finance ministry yesterday denied social media rumours that it had partnered international financers to provide grants to businesses. According to reports doing rounds on social media, the ministry was said to have partnered the International Economic Development Council and Africa Investment Forum in offering financial aid to struggling businesses in the […]

BY VANESSA GUZHA

THE Finance ministry yesterday denied social media rumours that it had partnered international financers to provide grants to businesses.

According to reports doing rounds on social media, the ministry was said to have partnered the International Economic Development Council and Africa Investment Forum in offering financial aid to struggling businesses in the country.

But in a statement yesterday, the Finance ministry denied the developments, warning people against falling for a scam.

“The Finance ministry has noted with concern some messages which are circulating on social media inviting entrepreneurs to submit applications for financial aid as part of the economic recovery programme in the wake of COVID-19,” the ministry said in a statement.

“Further, the messages cite a non-existent Economic Empowerment Act No 9 of 2020 and SI [statutory instrument] 36 of 2019 which talks about Financial Service Authority (Regulatory Sandbox Exemption).

“The address used on the advert suggested a connection with the Finance ministry of which the ministry does not have a Department of Local Economic Development and the individuals cited were not ministry officials.

“To avoid loss of private information as well as actual and potential financial loss, the ministry urges the public to ignore any malicious messages and in particular, to check the authenticity of any information propagated on social media before sharing personal details.”