Member of Parliament for South Dayi, Rockson-Nelson Dafeamekpor, has expressed his support for government’s proposed $28 million official car loan agreement. According to him, legislators are more than deserving of the $28 million official car loan presented to Parliament by the Ministry of Finance.
His comment follows the rejection of the proposal of the loan by the Vice-Chairman of Parliament’s Finance Committee, Patrick Yaw Boamah.
This was after a presentation by the Deputy Finance Minister, Abena Osei Asare who revealed that the medium-term $28 million loan will be paid back by members in the course of their four-year term as MPs.
Mr Dafeamekpor explained that MPs should instead be given official cars like state officeholders.
“Check the condition of service for the Electoral Commissioner. She has about 5 military officers following her in two land cruisers, she is an article 71 officeholder. She was not given money or a loan to buy these vehicles. I don’t have five military men following me.
“Supreme Court judges have land cruisers; they were not given loans to buy their land cruisers. Ministers of State have land cruisers or official vehicles. Yesterday you saw in the papers that another facility is been taken by the executive to acquire official vehicles for members of the council of state.
“MPs are the only category of article 71 holders who are not given an official vehicle. So, if the agreement is that we are given a loan to purchase official vehicles; I think it is very wrong. My position is that the government should take steps and get us official vehicles to perform the functions of our office in the next four years like it is done for all the other categories”.
MPs unsafe riding uber
Further reacting to this, Mr Boamah expressed displeasure over the request, insisting that, government should consider purchasing official cars for MPs. The said car, he noted, will be used in their official duties and handed over to their successors when they leave Parliament.
That notwithstanding, Mr Dafeamekpor stated that, in the absence of MPs being given official vehicles, they deserve the loan. He urged government to consider the new MPs who are not privilege to own a vehicle and resort to a ride sharing service.
According to the South Dayi legislator, the act of resorting to the use of an Uber to get to parliament is unsafe.
“It is not about rejecting it. As we speak, we have been in office for seven months and our colleagues who are new and did not have the benefit of having strong vehicles come to this House with uber and is very dangerous.
“The arrangement may be wrong and for me it is wrong. But I cannot say because it is wrong if there are no other alternatives, I won’t accept it”.
Meanwhile, the $28 million car loan agreement has since come under scrutiny by some Ghanaian populace. They argue that the procurement of vehicles for MPs is not the need of the average Ghanaian.
Responding to this, Mr Dafeamekpor insisted that public backlash that follows the procurement of loans is unfair. This is because the monies given out as loans are paid back by the MPs.
“It is offensive. It is attracting very offensive comments unto MPs, and it is unfair. What is troublesome is that those vehicles are not owned by MPs during the pendency of the loan. You only get the vehicle transferred into your name after you’ve finished paying the loan”.
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