PNG microfinance impacts in Hula
By PATRICK MARCO
PALA Kila, a fisherman in Hula is among an increasing number of people in the area who are satisfied clients of PNG Microfinance Limited.
Officers from the Bank travel to Hula every Thursday to do business with the people there.
Last Thursday, Boroko Lending Manager, Alu Vali, Joe Marave (Business Loans Officer), Apisai Guguna, Emmanuel Ila (both customer service officers from the Koki Branch) and myself set out for the Magi highway on a Toyota ten seater land cruiser for our weekly banking routine at Hula village outside Port Moresby.
It was a two and half hour drive from Port Moresby, a little longer than usual, because part of the highway from Kwikila onwards is pot holed ridden slowing down the normal speed of PMV’s and vehicles.
We arrived at Hula around 11:30am to find a long queue of customers waiting expectantly for us.
The customers came from all the villages within the Coastal Rural Local Level Government (LLG) Council namely Hula, Kamali, Makerupa, Babaka, Alewai, Kalo, Iruale, Kamaruru, Babakaruru, Rialerivu and Irupara.
The microfinance rollout program started on February 15 together with Digicel (PNG) in which customers from Hula and neighboring villages would purchase mobile phones and accessories through loans provided by PNG Microfinance Limited. It was called ‘mobile banking’.
However, the concept has been put on hold pending negotiations between Digicel (PNG) and PNG Microfinance Limited.
The microfinance roll out programme aims to create a money saving habit and attitude among the people. It will also educate them about how they can earn interest on their savings.
The people were told that because they do not have easy access to commercial banking facilities in the city due to bad road conditions and stringent conditions set by commercial banks, micro finance banking was the only option for them.
Hula village councilor Tekura Renagi said microfinance banking was a good opportunity for people to save. The community has welcomed the idea with open arms.
“There are lots of fishing activities, food marketing, trade stores and other sources of income in Hula but the money earned from these activities is lying under the pillow or maybe around the house because there is no way to save them due to commercial banks stringent conditions and requirements to open a personal account,” Mr Renagi said.
He said membership will expand rapidly in Hula and the neighboring villages because there is no minimum amount requirement.
“This will motivate people to save K1.00 or K2.00 and so forth depending on how much they want to deposit in their passbook accounts,” he said.
As for fisherman Pala Kila, who spends a considerable time out at sea, micro finance banking officers coming out to them is a life saver.
He says he spends most of the time fishing with the boys in the night all throughout the week and then does his banking every Thursday when the PNG Microfinance team travels to Hula.
“They are providing a wonderful service to the community and as time goes by, I will go to Koki branch and ask for a loan for working capital to expand my fishing business with new fishing nets to sell a lot of fish,” said Mr Kila.
Koki branch Lending Manager Alu Vali said since the inception of the microfinance banking in Hula, the number of customers had steadily increased to about 400 new passbook accounts and is set to increase as word-of-mouth information is spread throughout all the coastal villages of Kamali, Makerupa, Babaka, Alewai, Kalo, Iruale, Kamaruru, Babakaruru, Rialerivu and Irupara.
PNG Microfinance Limited provides Passbook Savings, Schools Savings Accounts, School Fee Accounts, and Term Deposits.
It also provides Start up Loans, Business Expansion Loans and Woklain Dinau Loans for those people who are in the workforce.
It has branches in Alotau, Balimo, Daru, Kiunga, Kimbe, Popondetta, Tabubil and Koki in Port Moresby.
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