The Parliament of Ghana has rejected misconceptions from certain quarters that $28 million was contracted for the purchase of vehicles to be given for free to members of the 8th parliament of the 4th republic.
The decision-making arm of the government noted that these misconceptions have brought their name into disrepute.
A statement from the Public Affairs Directorate of Parliament explained that although the conditions of service for article 71 holders, including MPs, spell out that they are entitled to official vehicles, among others, MPs have never received vehicles without payment since 1997.
“It must be noted that members of the other arms of government and Article 71 office holders are ordinarily given duty vehicles in their official capacities.” On the other hand, members of the legislature, despite their representation role, are offered loans which are payable during their term. Indeed, in previous Parliaments, some members of Parliament have had to use their end of service benefits to defray costs incurred to purchase vehicles for official use”, the statement explained.
“Parliament will like to put on record that the MPs’ cars are bought with loans which they pay for, as has been the culture since the Inception of the Second Parliament of the Fourth Republican Parliament in 1997. The arrangement for the Member of Parliament is no different from the arrangement for Members in previous Parliaments”, it stressed.
The statement further called for a general discussion by the citizenry on matters that border on the official duty vehicles of Members of Parliament while urging the state to bear full responsibility for “procurement, servicing, fueling, maintenance and replacement of duty post vehicles for Members of the Legislature” as is done for officials in the other arms of government.
