The Finance Committee of Parliament has recommended cancellation of the vehicle loan arrangement for Members of Parliament and members of the Council of state.
The recommendation, according to the Committee, is based on recent concerns expressed by many sections of the Ghanaian public about the burden the current vehicle loan arrangement for MPs and Members of the Council of State imposes on the public purse.
It observed that the concerns are legitimate and fueled by the fact that of all the Article 71 officeholders, it is only MPs and Members of the Council of State who benefit from the vehicle loan scheme, which are re-paid by the state.
It indicated that as representatives of the people, MPs cannot continue to leave these concerns unattended because it weakens the confidence Ghanaians have in the legislators.
“We have a responsibility to reflect the values and ideals of the people we represent. Accordingly, the Committee strongly recommends to Parliament the discontinuation of the current vehicle loan arrangement for MPs and Council of State Members.”
“Members of Parliament and Members of the Council of State should have similar duty post vehicle arrangements as other Article 71 officeholders have.”
“And the Committee respectfully recommends that Parliament and the Parliamentary Service take the necessary steps to ensure that this happens,” it stated.
The recommendation is contained in the Committee’s Report on the Medium Term Loan Agreement for $28,000,000.00 to finance the purchase of Vehicles for members of the 8th Parliament and the Council of State
The agreement is among the Government of the Republic of Ghana (represented by the Ministry of Finance), Members of the Eighth (8th) Parliament [2021 to 2024] and the National Investment Bank Limited.
Since the inauguration of the Eighth Parliament on 7th January 2021, Members have not been provided with any means of transport even though they are required to perform various functions in Parliament and in their Constituencies as well as travel to various destinations for workshops, conferences and monitoring visits. So far, no provision has also been made for the Members of the Council of State either.
The Ministry of Finance, for this reason, is procuring a loan facility from the National Investment Bank Limited (NIB) to make funds available to the Members of Parliament and Members of the Council of State to purchase vehicles.
The State is required to facilitate a car loan for Members of Parliament and Members of the Council of State in accordance with the Report of the Presidential Committee on Emoluments (PCE) for Article 71 Office Holders (January 2017 – December 2020),
It would be recalled that in the Seventh Parliament an amount not exceeding the cedi equivalent of US$80,000.00 was provided as a loan to each Member to purchase a vehicle.
Meanwhile, the number of vehicles to be purchased by each beneficiary MP has been capped at two for the purpose of the tax waiver and does not exceed the cedi equivalent of US$43,750 per member
Thus, any member who purchases more than two vehicles would be required to foot the tax bill on the extra vehicle even if the total tax exemption on the first two has not exceeded the tax exemption cap.
Source: MyPublisher24.com