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Problems of government loans to needy villages |
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To the Gosutomi-Kitami path, about 8 miles. Villages came in from both sides with complaints, etc. Gosutomi applied for an agricultural loan which I refused. The villages are very short this year of food, but to give loans to these Sema villages, always living on the margin of want, is only to embarrass them, and means years of harrying for small payments on account. It would be better if later on they are given relief work, should it be really necessary. Loans that have to be remitted are a very dangerous precedent, as once the idea got round that loans could be obtained and repayment evaded, villages that did not need them at all would pretend to and it is not easy to determine the extent of their genuine needs. As it is cases have occurred in which loans have been given because a village complained of want, and have been put to other purpose, the low rate of interest making the loan a gift to a Sema who expects to pay about 50% on borrowings from his fellow villagers. Wokimi came in to complain of over-assessment. |
