North Tongu MP, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa,
The hypocrisy exhibited by North Tongu MP, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, over the raging debate on MPs car loan has been exposed by his colleague NDC MP for Tamale Central, Ibrahim Murtala Mohammed.
Mr Mohammed has described as hypocritical, the North Tongu MP’s advocacy for the discontinuation of government guaranteed loans to purchase vehicles for MPs.
According to him, Mr Ablakwa has already benefitted twice from the MP’s car loan facility and wondered why his recent stance against the facility.
“It is the height of hypocrisy and I have to say this about my brother. Okudzeto is not just a colleague Member of Parliament, 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,” Mr Mohammed fingered his colleague MP.
Opposition
The North Tongu MP 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. After the post, Mr Ablakwa has gone ahead to file a motion in parliament urging his colleague MPs to reject the facility.
But reacting to Mr Ablakwa’s position on Accra based Joy Prime TV, the Tamale Central MP said he finds his colleague’s position regarding the car loan facility surprising.
“…so where is the principle in this? Since when did he realize that taking the car was unconscionable. Who is he trying to deceive? This is not a principled position,” he said.
Car loan
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 Members of Parliament and Council of State members for use as enjoyed by other Article 71 office holders.
