May 18 (SeeNews) - North Macedonia's prime minister Oliver Spasovski said the government will implement a third package of measures aimed at reducing the impact of the coronavirus outbreak by supporting both citizens and the economy.
Under the latest set of economic relief measures, 100,000 citizens who are unemployed or receive wages lower than 15,000 denars ($263/243 euro) per month will receive a stimulus payment of 9,000 denars each, as well as vouchers and cash to spend on domestic tourism, Spasovski told a news conference streamed on the government's YouTube channel on Sunday.
Some 100,000 young people will also get 3,000 denars in stimulus payment each, in addition to vouchers to cover part of their education expenses and to enroll in trainings and courses for IT and digital skills.
Moreovere, the government is introducing no-VAT weekends that will apply to certain goods, such as clothes, white goods and books to stimulate household spending and increase profit in certain industries.
The package also includes financial compensation for people who have lost their job in the period between March 11 and April 30.
The new set of measures encompasses an additional 31 million euro in interest-free loans for micro and small companies founded or run by women entrepreneurs and employing young people. Additional financing will be provided to companies for the development of innovative products and services.
The government is also boosting financial support for agriculture workers and will implement a new programme to finance micro agribusinesses.
(1 euro = 61.66 denars)