Painstaking investigations conducted by DAILY GUIDE have revealed that about 15 journalists (names withheld) who were beneficiaries of the Macro Finance and Small Loans Centre (MASLOC) in the Northern Region have defaulted in the repayment of their loans. According to a document intercepted by this paper, the journalists in question took between GH¢500 and GH¢ I,500 and were expected to repay the loans within six months to one year, depending on the amount that was given to them. It was uncovered that the loans were contracted between 2007 and 2008 but as at the end of 2009, the journalists were yet to make any initial deposits based on agreements reached with officials of the MASLOC regional office. DAILY GUIDE has gathered that all efforts to get these defaulting journalists to settle their indebtedness despite the deadline have proved futile as they seem to be playing hide and seek with MASLOC officials. Not even threats of legal action and the publication of their pictures in the media, according to deep throat sources seems to be yielding the desired results, as the journalists have stood their ground. Sources however say that most of them are secretly arranging with the officials to give them more time due to the threats. Though authorities are tight-lipped over the matter, it is believed that they are reportedly planning to embarrass the Journalists. Some of the affected journalists, who spoke to the paper, were worried that confidential arrangements were gradually turning into a public affair. Others have also expressed disappointment at the manner in which the loans were disbursed since majority of them in the inky fraternity were sidelined. Some of the sidelined and aggrieved journalists have noted that the defaulting Journalists bargained for the embarrassment. Government recently issued an ultimatum to loan defaulters under the Micro Finance and Small Loans Scheme to settle their indebtedness or face legal action but most of them have since remained adamant. The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of MASLOC, Bertha Ansah-Djan, who gave the directive, indicated that only 6.3 per-cent of about GH¢5 million that was disbursed to individuals between 2007 and 2008 had been retrieved, leaving a whopping 93.7 percent in the hands of defaulters. She noted that the situation was crippling the scheme and denying credit to other people. The Micro and Small Loans Scheme was introduced by the previous New Patriotic Party (NPP) administration to provide soft loans to petty traders and small business operators as part of efforts to reduce unemployment and poverty. The scheme was established by the erstwhile government to manage micro finance schemes under the Ghana Poverty Reduction Strategy (GPRS) II to boost the private sector with adequate credit facilities to small-scale entrepreneurs. Under the micro credit scheme, 149,690 groups received assistance, while 7,122 individuals benefited from soft loans totaling GH¢48,585,757. In some regions, GH¢1,343,092 was collected over the period but the chunk of the monies were still with defaulting groups throughout the country. Madam Ansah-Djan blamed the development on political interference, saying "taxi drivers are the worst offenders." She threatened to order seizure of the taxis and prosecution of people who have allegedly hidden the vehicles, stressing "the monies were not for free." Since its introduction, the scheme has provided funds to support the Ghana Society for the Physically Disabled to meet the demand of 50, 000 boxes of white chalk for the Ghana Education Service (GES). Source: Daily Guide