High interest rates are hampering the economy

Early this year, the government twice reduced the interest rate that the Central Bank charges commercial bank when it lends them money (Repo), bringing it down to 6%. The move was meant to encourage banks to give out more loans to the public and stimulate the financial sector. The logical sense would have been seeing the interest rates in commercial banks dropping due to the government windfall, but that is not the case. Even though banks have increased the volumes of credit to the public, their interest rates remain prohibitively high. Simple loans can cost as high as 19% per annum in interests, and if one was to factor in other charges the charges hit the roof.