It has emerged that some Members of Parliament (MPs), most of who are first timers, go to the House in Uber.
MP for South Dayi constituency, Rockson-Nelson Dafeamekpor, revealed this on Adom FM’s morning show Dwaso Nsem, Thursday, stating he has text messages as evidence to back his claims.
“There are a lot of members, especially on the Minority side. We have our platforms where they always complain that they don’t have an official car and come to work in Uber. I can show you those messages to prove that they are not making this issue up,” he said.
He said his personal car for instance was acquired through a loan he took from Parliament in the 7th parliament.
But he said for someone who does not have an official car, it would be very difficult to travel to their constituencies and discharge their duties.
The Finance Ministry on Tuesday, July 6, presented to Parliament, a request by the government for a $28 million loan from the National Investment Bank to procure vehicles for the 275 MPs and another for a $3.5 million car loan for members of the 8th Council of State for them to purchase vehicles.
Addressing the floor of the House, Deputy Finance Minister, Abena Osei Asare, said that the medium-term $28 million loans are to be paid back by the members in the course of their four-year term as MPs.
This request has, however, been condemned by members of the general public and scores on social media. According to many, procuring such a loan amidst the adverse effects of Covid-19 on the economy is not the right step to be taken by the government.
Mr Dafeamekpor stated the loan is not compulsory, adding the MPs have the choice to take or not.
“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 said.
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