NASSAU, Bahamas — The Ministry of Education is seeking to garnish the wages of civil servants who have failed to repay the Education Loan Authority as it aims to recover over $83m in delinquent money, The Tribune reported June 13.
While the overall sum owed to the ELA has been reduced from the $100m that was outstanding in January this year, Education Minister Jeffery Lloyd said yesterday this is still not enough to restart the programme.
When the Minnis administration took office in 2017, more than $150m in principal and interest had not been satisfied. In total, some 2,057 loans are delinquent and many of these include money granted to people in the public service.
“There is a default rate of over 90 percent and a delinquency rate of almost one year – 275 days,” the minister told the House of Assembly yesterday.
“Because of this very high default rate the programme was suspended in 2009, ten years ago and we want to restart this programme, but we can’t because many of those 2,057 who owe money won’t pay and we are going to go after them as we have and seek to prosecute them and require them to pay.
“I am sad to say, Mr Speaker, some of those who don’t pay are public servants, they work for the government. We are going to seek the ways to have their salaries garnished.” http://www.tribune242.com/news/2019/jun/13/payday-payback-student-loan-debt-could-force-govt-/
