The Ministry of Finance has presented a $28 million loan agreement before Parliament for the Members of the House to purchase vehicles.
All two hundred and seventy-five (275) Members of Parliament (MPs) are entitled to this loan; aside the 28 millon-dollar loan is another for a $3.5 million car loan for members of the 8th Council of State for them to purchase vehicles.
This offer has however been vehemently condemned by the general public as many people see it as an insensitive response to the plight of Ghanaians, particularly as the country is currently saddled with challenges arising from the COVID-19 pandemic.
There is also the thought that it’s the taxpayer’s money the government will be using for the MPs to buy their cars.
Discussing the matter on Peace FM’s ”Kokrokoo” Thursday morning, the Chief Executive Officer of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Henry Kokofu has clarified issues regarding the MPs’ car loan.
According to him, the loan has nothing to do with State money.
He expounded that the role of the Government of Ghana in the loan agreement is to become a guarantor to help the MPs to buy their cars.
He noted that the loan is given by a bank and the MPs are supposed to refund it, so pay in instalments from their own salaries.
The expereinced former MP emphasized that the $28 million car loan is ”not part of government expenditure”.
He added that the loan is neither a compulsion but a choice that the MPs make, therefore, “an MP can decline it. You can refuse to receive it. It’s an offer, so you have the right to say you don’t want it”.
“I believe the 28 million is not State money. It’s rather an agreement between a bank and the Parliament . . . what the government or Finance Ministry does is to only provide a guarantee,” he insisted.
