Government to pay 60% of car loan for MPs and Council of State members
Government will pay 60% of the loan facility tabled before Parliament for the purchases of vehicles for members of the 8th Parliament and members of the Council of State.
The State will bear 60% of the principal sum and all the interest that will accrue on the loan, while MPs and Council of State Members will also pay the remaining 40% of the loan facility.
The Finance Ministry had tabled two different loan agreements in Parliament to that effect.
If approved, each MP and each council of state member will receive about $100,000 for the purchase of a vehicle.
With regard to the MPs, government is seeking approval to secure a $28 million loan facility from the National Investment Bank for the initiative.
It is further asking Parliament to ratify an additional $3.5 million loan agreement with the NIB to purchase vehicles for the 31-member council of state.
Portions of the agreement document sighted by the media, indicate that, while the $28 million facility has to be paid within a 45-month period, the $3.5 million loan facility is to be paid within 42 months.
Per the document, the MPs and the Council of State members will take care of only 40 percent of the principal sum, while the government will bear 60% of the principal sum and all the interest that will accrue on the loan.
Source: Citi
