S.Africa’s coronavirus loan scheme lags, hobbling govt relief package
EMMA RUMNEY and ALEXANDER WINNING SOUTH Africa’s National Treasury plans no further easing of its coronavirus loan scheme criteria to stimulate uptake, it told Reuters, meaning almost a third of the government’s 500 billion rands ($30 billion) relief package may end up going unused. The 200 billion rand loan programme is a pillar of South African efforts to shield small businesses from the impact of the pandemic. Conditions were tweaked in July, including expanding who qualifies and extending the repayment grace period, after relatively few firms applied for the loans. Still, only 14.5 billion rand had been paid out through…