MASLOC to distribute 600 taxi cars

Microfinance and Small Loans Centre (MASLOC) will, this year distribute over 600 vehicles on hire-purchase basis to taxi-drivers and other commercial drivers under its Vehicle Hire Purchase Scheme, its Chief Executive Officer Bertha Ansah-Djan told B&FT.

The scheme is targetted at empowering individual drivers, especially the youth who belong to taxi and drivers’ unions, to own their vehicles after paying the loan facility within a four-year period. It is also to support the productive unemployed professional drivers who want to own their taxis.

Already, MASLOC has provided 500 vehicles to drivers who have started paying by installments to be completed within four years.

Mrs. Ansah-Djan disclosed that the Centre has partnered with the National Drivers’ Academy to organise training programmes that will help drivers be courteous and decent to clients including,especially, foreigners.

“Beneficiary drivers will receive training on the importance of car maintenance, proper dressing and grooming, and best passenger relations.

“Taxi-drivers are the first port of call to tourists, and there is need for drivers to be properly groomed to bring out the best in them and improve on their performance.”

Mrs. Ansah-Djan said the training will also help the drivers to cultivate the habit of returning passengers’ valuables left in their vehicles to bring respect and dignity to the country in the eyes of foreigners.

The Centre will also institute tracking systems that report all drivers who misconduct themselves, she said.

“The repayment of the facility will be flexible to ensure that the beneficiary drivers will be financially responsible for car maintenance and routine mechanical servicing; they are to partronise only approved service centres authorised by MASLOC,” Mrs. Ansah-Djan explained.

Government this year has earmarked GH¢35million for MASLOC’s operations to enable it disburse loans to small businesses in supporting the value chain processes under its small-scale credit schemes.

As of July 2011, GH¢15.2million had been disbursed to 31,793 customers as loans -- and with close monitoring, the Centre successfully recovered 95 percent of the loans disbursed as at June 2011.