The Member of Parliament for South Dayi has thrown his weight behind the proposed $28 million car loan agreement presented to Parliament by the Ministry of Finance.
Speaking to JoyNews on Wednesday, Rockson-Nelson Dafeamekpor, revealed that some MPs go to Parliament in Uber rides which is worrying and unsafe.
Arguing in favour of the agreement, the legislator insisted that MPs deserve better than the $28 million car loan being given to them to purchase vehicles; and should rather be given official cars like members of the Executive and Legislature.
“Check the condition of service for the Electoral Commissioner. She has about 5 military officers following her in two Landcruisers. 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 Landcruisers, they were not given loans to buy their Landcruisers. Ministers of State have Landcruisers or official vehicles. Yesterday, you saw in the papers that another facility is being 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,” he told Joseph Opoku Gakpo, Wednesday.
His comment is in support of calls by the Vice-Chairman of Parliament’s Finance Committee, Patrick Yaw Boamah who is urging MPs to reject the $28million loan.
Addressing the floor of the House, Deputy Finance Minister, Abena Osei Asare stated that the medium-term $28 million loan is to be repaid by the members in the course of their four-year term as MPs.
Another request for a $3.5million car loan for members of the 8th Council of State to purchase vehicles was also made.
Mr Boamah, who was unhappy with the request intimated that government should rather consider purchasing cars for MPs for their official duties and hand them over to their successors when they leave Parliament.
But the South Dayi MP stated that in the absence of MPs being given official vehicles, they deserve the loan.
He says, “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 it’s 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,” he added.
Meanwhile, the $28 million car loan agreement has since come under scrutiny by some members of the public who argue that the procurement of vehicles for MPs should not be a priority.
Reacting to that, Mr Dafeamekpor noted that public backlash that followed the procurement of loans is unfair since the monies will be repaid 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,” he explained.
