MPs pay back MASLOC loans

Some Members of Parliament (MPs) who have defaulted in the payment of what they owe the Microfinance and Small Loans Centre (MASLOC) have begun to pay up, following threats by the centre to make their indebtedness public.

MASLOC recently threatened to publish the names of high-profile figures and some entertainment personalities who had failed to honour their financial obligations, which run into thousands of Ghana cedis, in the national newspapers.

“Following our threat to publish the names of persons owing us in the media, some MPs have started paying, although the process has been slow,” the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of MASLOC, Mr Stephen Amoah, told the Daily Graphic.

Recovery effort

He said his office would not renege on its efforts to retrieve all the money owed MASLOC, an institution which has been bogged down by financial difficulties, making it unable to effectively discharge its function of providing loans for small and medium enterprises.

Mr Amoah said MASLOC had so far recovered about GH¢16 million from its debtors across the board, of which GH¢10 million came from loan defaulters and the remaining realised from assets of the centre in the hands of defaulters.

“Some of the people owing us have started to pay up, but what we are receiving is not encouraging. We shall intensify our recovery efforts to retrieve every single penny,” he said.

MASLOC seized scores of commercial vehicles, mostly taxis, from individuals and groups who have defaulted in the payment of loans taken from the centre.

Challenges

One of the major challenges facing MASLOC has been the politicisation of the centre, with succeeding managers in the past blaming previous administrations for failing to follow due diligence in disbursing money to beneficiaries, citing weak institutional checks and monitoring, as well as improper documentation of beneficiaries.

Sympathisers of a governing party at any particular point in time who benefit from MASLOC have always failed to pay back their loans, on the assumption that the support given them should serve as reward for their support for the party.

Some of the beneficiaries are said to have used names of others to secure loans without their knowledge and consent.