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| Volume 1, Issue 1: March 2003 | ||||
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In This Issue Speech Excerpts from the Microcredit Summit +5 Plenary Session: Ensuring Impact International Year of Microcredit Archived Issues
Vol 1 Iss 4 Sept. '03 E-News Information |
HE Prommin Lartsur Nsuriday, Deputy Prime Minister, Thailand
I am most honored to have this opportunity of addressing you on behalf of Prime Minister Thaskin Shinawatra of the Royal Kingdom of Thailand to examine and to exchange the modalities in the war to eliminate the plight of poverty and other inequities in our respective countries... Mr. Chairman, The Village and Urban Fund Programme, a microcredit mechanism, was launched with a state grant of 1 million baht (US$23,000) per village. Transfer of ownership and management of the Fund to enable collective responsibility to the village council of 9 to 15 members elected by their own peers to manage, set their own lending rules, loan amount, terms and conditions, credit assessment and repayment, were the key components. To create networks of Village Funds with local expertise of over 1 million loan-officer-like villagers distributed in every village all over the country will be the next stage of development…To date, after 15 months of operation 74,000 Village Funds have been established [in Thailand] and loans for farm use, handicrafts, trading and emergency needs were extended to 5.5 million borrowers totaling 74 billion baht (US $1.7 billion). Loan delinquency averages 4.5 percent... Mr. Chairman, to solve poverty in this capitalistic market economy we have to put our people first, empowering them with ownership and participation in the management of their own destinies, and get the government and bureaucrats to support this appropriately. Our progress will be much more impressive because it will be truly sustainable and home grown. I look forward to hearing the continued wisdom and guidance of all my peers and gurus in our common task. Thank you. |