Old MPs Fail to Pay Loan

Members of Parliament in the second session of the fourth republic have not yet paid the car loans they received during their tenure of office, The Independent's investigations have revealed.

According to the investigations there were no proper arrangements between the old members of parliament and the then NDC government with respect to the repayment of the loan.

In 1997 it would be recalled, the NDC government gave members of parliament about 20 million cedis each as car loans. Most of the MPs bought Peugeot 406 saloon cars whilst others purchased KIA Sportive.

Defaulters of the loan according the investigations include those members of parliament who lost their seats during the 2000 general elections as well as those who won their seats.

The investigations further revealed that early this year when all MPs of the second session of parliament of the fourth republic collected about 20 million cedis each as their ex-gratia none of them made an attempt to pay the loan.

Parliament did not also deduct the loan from their ex-gratia because according to the investigations it did not have the authority and was not competent to do so.

When The Independent contacted the clerk of parliament, Mr. Rex Owusu Ansah at his office, he confirmed the story.

He stated that this is a very tricky issue and it is up to the government to deal with it.

The clerk hoped that the present government would come up with a strategy to retrieve the loans from the old members of parliament.