General News of Thursday, 5 October 2017

Source: www.ghanaweb.com

350 confiscated cars still intact, not rotten as speculated – Deputy MASLOC CEO

Alberta Afia Akoto, deputy MASLOC CEO play videoAlberta Afia Akoto, deputy MASLOC CEO

The deputy Chief Executive Officer of Microfinance and Small Loans Centre (MASLOC), Alberta Afia Akoto has debunked rumours alleging that the 350 vehicles that were confiscated are left to rot.

According to her, such information going out is false as the confiscated vehicles are still intact at the parking lot.

On September 30 rainbowradiononline.com reported that per their investigations, the brand new vehicles have been left to rot at a parking space within the premises of the International Conference Centre. They claimed the cars have started wearing out because it has been left at the mercy of the weather, of which some of the vehicles have rusted with tyres deflated.

But speaking to GhanaWeb in an exclusive interview, deputy MASLOC CEO denied the allegations saying only falsehoods are being spread out about the state of the cars. According to her, although the cars are left in the harsh weather conditions, it is possible it will wear out but that isn’t the case as the cars have not been left there for long.

She said “I don’t know how cars can get rotten because these cars we have seized are not something we’ve kept here for a year and I know that definitely with the harsh conditions of the weather it will go through some wear and tear but you can’t say they are getting rotten”.

“Whoever published that is a big liar. So when you go out there and you see the cars and you see the conditions, then if they are really getting rotten, let Ghanaians know”, she told Ghanaweb.

She further explained that it will be bad on their part to let the cars get rotten as they intend auctioning them to retrieve some money.

“I mean properties that we intend to auction them to help us retrieve some money, we won’t keep them here to get rotten. It would be a bad managerial role and we are not here to worsen the plight of MASLOC”, she said.

MASLOC, since its inception in 2006, has provided micro, small and group loans to individuals in many areas of endeavour of micro-enterprise such as food crops, agro-processing and marketing, livestock production and the poultry industry among others.

MASLOC has mounted an intensive search to retrieve more than 150 more vehicles whose owners are indebted to the centre.

The affected owners are said to have secured the loans from MASLOC to purchase those vehicles but have defaulted in their commitment to repay the loans, a situation which has contributed to the financial difficulties confronting the centre.

Beneficiaries of MASLOC credit facilities are indebted to the centre beyond GH¢100 million, covering the period from 2009 to 2017.

The level of indebtedness, she said, had rendered MASLOC financially incapacitated to effectively execute its mandate.