THE Parliamentary Opposition Group is calling on the Government to release the names of Members of Parliament (MPs) who are recipients of the 2016 shipping grant.
In a statement on Monday, the Opposition Group says it is aware that a good number of MPs including senior Government MPs have already been allocated their shipping grants.
The statement said the Government particularly the Ministry of Infrastructure and Development must also reveal how much each MP had received.
The statement said this is for the sake of transparency to citizens of this country amidst reports that some senior Government MPs have received up to $6million dollars each.
“The Government needs to release the names of recipients, which constituency and the criteria MPs were allocated the grant given that some constituencies are located in land and getting shipping grants might be highly questionable and unnecessary,” it said.
The Opposition statement said it is aware that some MPs have already received their grants from the ministry.
“For the sake of transparency, our people must also be made known how much their MPs have received for the purchasing of new ships for their constituencies,” it said.
Meanwhile, the Parliamentary Opposition has also called on those MPs who have received shipping grants in the past to also provide their acquittals and reports to the Government for transparency purposes.
The statement added that a good example is the Member for Northwest Choiseul Hon Connelly Sandakabatu who has acquitted and provided a report on his constituency’s shipping grant to the ministry recently.