Balochistan Assembly passes bill: Centuries old practice of usury banned
The Balochistan Assembly unanimously passed a bill on Thursday to declare private money-lending an offence that is punishable with 10 years of imprisonment and a fine of Rs1 million.
The bill was tabled by Balochistan’s Information Minister Rahim Ziaratwal and has come into force as the Balochistan Prohibition of Private Money Lending Act. Section 3 of the Act prohibits people from engaging, either individually or collectively, in private money-lending in the province.
Groundswell of support
Representatives of the ruling and opposition parties have lauded the enactment of the law as a step in the right direction.
According to sources in the Balochistan government, the oppressive private money-lending regime has left people in an insecure position and many families have lost their properties.
“People borrowed money in times of need but were unable to pay it back on time. Moreover, lenders often occupied expensive properties at throwaway prices,” a senior official revealed.
Opposition Leader of the Assembly Maulana Wasay expressed unstinted support for the provincial government’s decision to improve the plight of those who are disadvantaged by an oppressive lending regime.
“The opposition will always support any measures by the government which are in the interest of the people,” he said.
“The private money-lending regime in Quetta, Loralai and Zhob has proved to be a curse. Several families have lost everything,” said MPA Nasarullah Zeray of the Pashtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP).
“By enacting this law, the government wants to crack down on this menace and address the plight of the people,” Nasarullah Zeray said.
According to the speaker of the Balochistan Assembly, Jan Mohammed Jamali, the new law is the first attempt to monitor and control the private money-lending in the province.
“While the law has been enacted, there is still some scope for improvement as it is our first step to tackle this issue. I would strongly recommend the assembly members to suggest amendments to the law if required,” he said.
Published in The Express Tribune, August 29th, 2014.
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right. so money lenders are banned from operating. so far so good. generally the people who go to money lenders do so because they don't have access to formal channels of funding like banks. sometimes the amounts they seek are too small for banks while at other times they cannot meet the collateral needs of the bank. when the formal channels block them out, they head towards the informal channels. now that these are banned, will the government step in to and provide loans to people who need them. what is the back up plan?
A very Good step taken by the Government. But Government must understand that the real challenge is not making Laws but to implement it. Napoleon Bonaparte a French military and political leader told his Generals that, "Any person can make a good plan, but it takes a genius to implement it". Our Problem stars when our good Laws are handed over to stupid people to implement it.