Member of Parliament (MP) for Tamale Central, Ibrahim Murtala Mohammed, has described as hypocritical, the North Tongu MP’s advocacy for the discontinuation of government guaranteed loans to purchase vehicles for MPs.
The North Tongu MP, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, in a post on Facebook, urged his colleagues to get the Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, to withdraw the $28 million car loan agreement from Parliament.
Reacting to his comment, Mr Murtala said, “it is the height of hypocrisy and I have to say this about my brother. Okudzeto is not just a colleague MP, myself and him have come a very long way. He has taken the loan two times. I went to Parliament with him at the same time when he took the car loan. In the Seventh Parliament, I wasn’t there but he took the loan.”
He, therefore, found his position regarding the car loan facility surprising.
Speaking on Beyond The Headlines on Joy Prime TV, Thursday, Mr Murtala asked, “so where is the principle in this? Since when did he realise that taking the car was unconscionable? Who is he trying to deceive? This is not a principled position.”
The Finance Ministry, on July 7, presented to Parliament, a request by the government for a $28 million loan from the National Investment Bank, to finance the purchase of 275 vehicles for the members of the eighth Parliament.
The move received a lot of backlash from the general public insisting that the procurement of a loan facility for MPs amidst the prevailing economic hardships, is unacceptable.
Following the controversies surrounding the $28 million car loan, Parliament’s Finance Committee on Wednesday, July 14, recommended the discontinuation of periodic car loan procurement for MPs and the Council of State.
The Committee, in a press statement, suggested that the current $28 million car loan for Parliamentarians in the country should be the last of its kind.
According to the document, subsequent governments must provide official vehicles for MPs and Council of State members for use as enjoyed by other Article 71 office holders.