The Finance Committee has recommended that loans for cars are discontinued for MPs
• The debate on whether or not MPs deserve loans to purchase official vehicles has been ragging
• Completing its work, the Finance Committee of Parliament has said that the practice should be discontinued in the future
• That recommendation does not however affect the current arrangement
It has been recommended by the Finance Committee of Parliament, that a discontinuation of the practice of offering loans to Members of Parliament, and members of the Council of State, to purchase cars, be implemented.
This, the Committee suggested, should be taken note of by Parliament such that all the necessary steps will be taken to ensure the provision is discontinued in the future.
According to a news report on citinewsroom.com, the government usually pays 60 percent of such loans with the accrued interests, whiles beneficiaries cough up the remaining forty percent.
This being the arrangement, there have also been instances where some MPs have defaulted in repayment, the report added.
In the meantime, the Finance Committee has said that the existing agreement for MPs and Council of State members to benefit from the current loan agreement of 28 million dollars and 3.5 million dollars respectively, will still go on, the report of the Finance Committee on the two loan agreements stated.
Following the news of the announced money for the MPs to be able to purchase official vehicles, a lot of people have lashed out at them, citing the current economic hardships in the country as their reasons, among others.
It is by this that the Finance Committee of Parliament is urging Parliament and the Parliamentary Service to take the necessary steps to block any such provisions in the future.
“Accordingly, the Committee strongly recommends to Parliament the discontinuation of the current vehicle loan arrangement for MPs and Council of State Members. Members of Parliament and Members of the Council of State should have similar duty post vehicle arrangements as other Article 71 officeholders. And the Committee respectfully recommends that Parliament and the Parliamentary Service take the necessary steps to ensure that this happens.
“The instant vehicle loan arrangement for MPs and Council of State Members before us today should therefore be the last one the state is sponsoring,” the report stated.
It will be recalled that the MP for North Tongu, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, and, the MP for Okaikwei Central, Patrick Yaw Boamah, rejected the loan facility made available to them, in a motion served on the floor of the House.
Instead, they want the state to provide for members with all the logistics necessary for the performance of their duties as provided for under article 71 of Ghana’s constitution.
