Loan shark scourge must be tackled

Being caught in the poverty trap becomes even more accentuated on special occasions or special times of the year, the Christmas period being chief among them.

Therefore, two problems which, unfortunately, are not just seasonal ones but permanent issues, were raised yesterday and, by their very nature, demand to be addressed.

One is the invidious activity of illegal money-lenders and some legal ones who extract exorbitant interest rates from cash-strapped people forced by their circumstances to resort to them for loans.