The movable property of a woman in Polonnaruwa who could not repay a loan of Rs.500,000 with 10% monthly interest and 120% interest per annum has been decided to be auctioned on December 14.
The unilateral decision in this case was made because the woman who took the loan did not appear in the case. (Perhaps she may not have been able to obtain legal assistance) However, the legal system in Sri Lanka, which gives judgments in favor of high interest lenders regardless of reasonable interest / payable loans, should be changed to protect borrowers.
Social activists who oppose the microfinance crisis say that the law is there to protect those in power, and that legal amendments are needed to protect borrowers. History bears witness to the way in which the peasants rallied against the usurers. They further state that we are living in an age when mobilization and community leadership are sorely needed against the moneylenders, the finance companies as well as the law that protects them.
