ATTORNEY-GENERAL and Minister for Economy Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum says people should stop going to money lenders because it only puts them into more debt.
While explaining the debt culture in the country, he said there was a need for people to acquire assets that would assist them in securing bank loans instead of seeking out money lenders.
“I’ve seen footage in Suva when the money goes to your bank account at 3am, which is when the banks do their transactions,” he said.
“I’ve seen how at 3.30am or 4am, a group of folks will go to the ATM with all of these ATM cards and a book with all the PIN numbers.
“A money lender’s requirement is they ask for your ATM card because that’s one of their securities.
“Then they take out your money.
“Those people who don’t have their ATM cards, they go inside the bank and there’s these long queues in the bank. That’s one of the reasons for the long queues in the banks.
“We understand that we people have obligations, for example, you need money to pay for a funeral or a family gathering of some sort.
“But because you don’t own an asset, you can’t go to the bank because you don’t have collateral and people end up going to money lenders.” Mr Sayed-Khaiyum said Government was working on helping people acquire assets for financial security.