During the economic downturn arising from the COVID$-19$ pandemic in South Africa

the government created the Covid$-19$ Loan Guarantee Scheme which provided loans,

substantially guaranteed by government, to eligible businesses to assist them Funds

borrowed from this scheme, through the banking industry, can be used for operational

expenses, such as salaries, rent and lease agreements and contracts with suppliers.

The scheme however has not been as great a success as had been envisaged.

a$)$ Describe how the scheme works;

b$)$ Analyse the reasons why the uptake has been so poor;

c$)$ Identify the losses which are being guaranteed by government; and

d$)$ Propose changes which could be introduced to improve the scheme.