Morally wrong if interest waiver is not passed on to rents: PM

Says most must have passed on the benefit

One major issue that the Private Sector COVID-19 Task Force has come across was the complaint from many business outlets that landlords are not passing on the interest waiver in the form of rent waiver or reduction to impacted sectors.

Ordinary citizens, who are also impacted by COVID-19, complained about the issue.

The Prime Minister said that while the government has no plans to make such passing of benefits mandatory he said, “Morally it will be wrong if it is not passed down.”

“If any landlord is gaining out of this interest free loan deferment then it is not correct,” said the PM emphasizing that those landlords benefiting from the waiver should pass some benefit to impacted sectors and tenants.

“It is only a genuine request which I don’t have to reiterate as His Majesty himself indicated very clearly that we all must work together and protect this country together. Working together clearly means that it is expected to be passed down,” said the PM.

However, he said that while he does not have the statistics now but many have passed down the waiver in different grades.

“I really don’t know how many have not passed down at all but I am sure they are there. I am thinking of doing a survey to find out, but to mandate it compulsorily will not be correct. As far as possible we will leave it to their thinking process, their individual mentality and morality,” said the PM.

“Have we really entered the crisis zone or not, I don’t know. So I am not saying I am for it to be mandated but I really don’t find such mandating to be correct and I don’t find the need too,” said the PM.

He said going by the number of people who are coming at his office to offer monetary support and going by the religious nature of the Bhutanese people he feels that it is hearsay and that one two people saying we did not get must be being blown up.

“Nobody will say we got. Those not transferring down would be very less in number,” estimated the PM.

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