Brasília - The Ministry of Cities is the recipient of a donation of US$500 million (around R$1.1 billion) from the international organization Knights of Malta. The money will be used to provide low-income families with zero-cost loans for housing within the framework of the Solidarity Credit Program (Programa de Crédito Solidário). The donation was announced jointly by the ambassador of Malta, Alan Charles Smith, and the minister of Cities, Marcio Fortes.

The Solidarity Credit Program is aimed specifically at low-income families, making up to five minimum wages monthly (around US$650 - R$1,500), and will provide them with loans that do not carry interest. The families must be organized in associations or cooperatives, a longstanding requirement of the PT for this type of program, that has been adopted by the Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva adminstration.

So far the program has reached 812 associations and cooperatives with some 40,000 families. It has been funded through the Social Development Fund, with a budget of R$500 million.

Under the terms of the progam, a family can get a loan of up R$20,000 for a 20-year period. The money can be used to buy a lot, build a house, renovate an older structure, cover the costs of legalizing ownership or for the purchase of building material.

"This is an area where repressed demand is enormous," says Cesar Ramos, the program manager. "We have a backlog of over 2,700 requests for enrollment."

Translator: Allen Bennett